THE RAF "BLUE DIAMONDS" AT FARNBOROUGH, UK
SEPTEMBER 1961

In 1961, Flight Lieutenant Hameed Anwar, a young PAF Officer on exchange posting with the British Royal Force, brought ditinction to his parent Service by being selected as a member of the RAF's official display team. Hameed, a veteran of the PAF's own formation aerobatics team, was eagerly welcomed into the "Blue Diamonds". The painting shows the tem of sixteen Hunters performing at the Farnborough Air Show.

"THE HASHEMITE DIAMOND" OVER JORDAN
JUNE 1964 - JERASH

The Hashemite Diamond was the national air display team of Jordan between 1964-1965. It was the largest formation aerobatic team in the Middle East at the time and became well-known in the region for its impressive performances. The team was formed, trained and led by Flight Lieutenant Hameed Anwar of the PAF. The painting shows the Diamond over the historic Jerash ruins north of Amman.

WORLD'S FIRST BOMBER FORMATION LOOP
27 OCTOBER 1964 - PESHAWAR AIR BASE

The first ever formation aerobatics on bombers were performed at Peshawar during an air display on 27 October 1964 - at which Air Marshal Omar Dani, C-in-C of the Indonesian Air Force, was the Chief Guest. The 4 B-57s were led by Wing Commander Nazir Latif with Squadron Leader Altaf Sheikh and Flight Lieutenants Abdul Basit and Shams as team members. The team executed loops, rolls and wing overs, the first two manoeuvres being unheard of in such a heavy class of aircraft as the B-57, which was not really designed to perform aerobatics even singly. Their precise but apparently effortless station-keeping throughout the demonstration effectively concealed the intense concentration, and physical exertion that all four pilots went through.

"SABRES NINE"
27 OCTOBER 1964 - PESHAWAR AIR BASE

A striking deature of this 1964 aerobatics team of the PAF was that five out of these nine pilots were awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat during the 1965 War. Of these pilots, Rafiqui, Munir and Yunus attained Shahadat and M M Alam became an ace. The leader, Wing Comander Anwar Shamim, later became the Chief of the Air Staff.

The Team:
Wing Commander M Anwar Shamim
Squadron Leader M Arshad
Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Rafiqui
Squadron Leader Mukhtar Ali
Squadron Leader Muniruddin Ahmad
Squadron Leader M M Alam
Flight Lieutenant M M Khalid
Flight Lieutenant Yusaf A Khan
Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain

AN INDIAN GNAT FIGHTER SURRENDERS
1105 HOURS, 3 SEPTEMBER 1965 - PASRUR AIRFIELD

Squadron Leader Brijpal Singh Sikand, Commander of an Indian fighter squadron, surrenders to a PAF F-104 in combat. The painting shows him landing his Gnat fighter at Pasrur, a Pakstani airfield near Gujranwala. The F-104 was flown by Flight Lieutenant Hakimullah who became the air chief two decades later. Sikand was taken prisoner and later rose to be an IAF Air Marshal. This encounter was the most unusual event of the 1965 Air War.

THE FIRST ENCOUNTER
0525 HOURS, 6 SEPTEMBER 1965

Dawn over Wazirabad. Flight Lieutenant Aftab Alam Khan in an F-104A Starfighter destroys a Mystere IV and damages another, to mark the start of the India-Pakistan war. India launched the war over West Pakistan with an attack by a formation of four Mystere IV aircraft. The Mysteres crossed the international border to attack a Pakistani train near Wazirabad. Flight Lieutenant Aftab Alam Khan was on a routine morning combat air patrol in the Chamb/Mangla area. He was directed by the Controller at Sakesar, Flight Lieutenant Farooq Haider, to intercept the intruders. First contact with the enemy was made as the F-104 passed head on through the Mystere formation. In the ensuing combat at tree top level, he skillfully outmanoeuvred the opponents to destroy one Mystere and damage another. The remaining members of the formation managed to slip away in the poor light conditions, only to tell the tale of the "dreaded F-104 and the deadly Sidewinder". Apart from being the first encounter to start the war in earnest, the engagement was also significant in other respects. It marked a new era of dog-fighting at very low altitude. It was also the first combat kill by any Mach-2 aircraft, and the first missile kill for the Pakistan Air Force.

PATHAMKOT STRIKE
1705 HOURS, 6 SEPTEMBER 1965

8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War. Tied escorts consisted of Wing Commander M G Tawab (later Air Marshal and air chief of Bangladesh Air Force) and Flight Lieutenant Arshad Sami while the strike elements were led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider with Flight Lieutenants M Akbar, Mazhar Abbas, Dilawar Hussain, Ghani Akbar and Flying Officers Arshad Chaudhry, Khalid Latif and Abbas Khattak (later Air Chief Marshal and CAS, PAF) in his formation.

THE LAST MOMENTS OF A HERO
1800 HOURS, 6 SEPTEMBER 1965

Deep into enemy territory three F-86s - not the originally planned eight - tightly manoeuvre in mortal combat against ten or more IAF Hunters near their Halwara air base. Seconds earlier, the formation commander, Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Rafiqui, has shot down a Hunter and now his second mark is perfectly under his guns. Suddenly, Rafiqui slides back, his guns jammed and useless, but determined to fight on. Saving precious moments he instructs his No 2, "Cecil, take over lead" and falls behind to let his wingman shoot and to give him cover, and while doing so loses his life. Cecil downs another Hunter but there are many more, in every direction. The remaining two, Flight Lieutenants Yunus Hussain and Cecil Chaudhry fight on in the footsteps of their leader. Between them No 5 Squadron's three F-86s account for five Hunters, before Cecil returns to Sargodha alone.

STRIKE AGAINST A BOMBER BASE
7 SEPTEMBER 1965

The painting shows 2 of the 5 Dhaka-based F-86 Sabres attacking the IAF bomber station at Kalaikunda. The Sabre pilots, quickly overcoming their initial surprise at finding so many bombers neatly lined up, wasted no time in making the best of it. Formation leader was Squadron Leader Shabbir H Syed with Flight Lieutenants Abdul Baseer, Tariq Habib, Abdul Haleem and Flying Officer Afzal Khan in his formation. In his memoirs written after the 1965 India-Pakistan War, Air Chief Marshal P C Lal, Chief of the Air Staff, IAF, conceded the losses suffered by the IAF during this daring attack. He wrote:"A sharp lesson ... was taught by the PAF in an attack on an IAF base near Kharagpur (Kalaikunda). In one raid that it mounted, it destroyed several Canberra bombers and Hunter fighters aircraft on the ground."

ATTACK ON BAGDOGRA
1730 HOURS, 10 SEPTEMBER 1965

Four F-86Fs of No 14 Squadron, Dhaka strike IAF Base, Bagdogra. Four enemy aircraft were destroyed on ground and damage inflicted on the ATC building and hangers.

Leader Squadron Leader Shabbir H Syed
No 2 Flying Officer Salim
No 3 Flight Lieutenant Farooq F Khan (later CAS, PAF)
No 4 Flight Lieutenant Hasan Akhtar

THE DESTRUCTION OF AMRITSAR RADAR

The painting depicts the last of several air strikes by PAF aircraft on the Amritsar radar installation during the 1965 War. Wing Commander M Anwar Shamim, who led this mission on 11 September, is seen pulling up after his strafing attack. The leader's No 2 was Squadron Leader Muniruddin Ahmed, who attained Shahadat when his aircraft was hit by a heavy ack ack shell. Following behind and faintly visible are his No 3 and No 4, Flight Lieutenants Imtiaz Bhatti and Cecil Chaudhry.

INTERDICTION AT GURDASPUR

On 13 September 1965, four Sabres led by Squadron Leader Alauddin "Butch" Ahmad on their second offensive patrol over Indian lines of communication, attacked a long line of freight wagons at Gurdaspur railway yard. The Sabres' rockets and guns soon yielded some spectacular explosions as the ammunition wagons received direct hits. Squadron Leader Ahmad's F-86 was struck by fragments of an exploding train after he had fired a salvo of rockets. Despite a radio call from him that he was ejecting from his disabled F-86 this superb, intrepid pilot never returned from this mission. He was awarded a posthumous Sitara-e-jurat for his exemplary aggressiveness, combat leadership and valour.

A B-57 IS LOST OVER ADAMPUR
2345 HOURS, 14 SEPTEMBER 1965

Flight Lieutenant Altaf Sheikh had pulled up his B-57 after his dive bombing run over the heavily defended Adampur airfield when it received direct hits from the IAF's medium ack ack guns. As the B-57 began to lose control, the pilot ordered his navigator Flight Lieutenant Bashir Chaudhry to eject and then fired his own seat out of the cockpit. Both landed in the close proximity of the airfield and while attempting to escape, were surrounded by Indian police. They were to become the first prisoners of the war.

AIR BATTLE OVER LAHORE

The painting depicts a publicly witnessed dog-fight over the city of Lahore on the afternoon of 19 September 1965. The F-86 Sabre is pulling up after a kill. In this encounter four PAF Sabres were pitched against eight enemy aircraft - four Hunters and four Gnats. Two IAF Hunters were destroyed. The F-86 formation pilots were Squadron Leader S A Changezi (Leader), and Flight Lieutenants A H Malik, S N A Jilani and Amanullah Khan. Air Defence Controller for the mission was Flight Lieutenant Ijaz A Khan from Sakesar radar.

END OF A NIGHT INTRUDER
0409 HOURS, 21 SEPTEMBER 1965 - FAZILKA AREA

In the closing days of the September 1965 War an Indian Canberra on a night bombing raid against Sargodha was shot down by an F-104 near the border and its pilot who ejected was captured.

The painter chose the only moment of the episode when some details could have become clearly visible on an otherwise dark night. The area was brightly lit up when the burning, sprialling Canberra, hit at 32,000 feet, reflected light off a layer of clouds at 10,000 feet. The pilot of F-104 was Squadron Leader Jamal A Khan (later Chief of the Air Staff) and the Controller Squadron Leader Anwar Ahmad from Sakesar Radar.

This is said to be the only confirmed missile kill at night in actual combat by an F-104 Starfighter anywhere in the World.

F-86s STRIKE HEAVY GUNS AT WAGAH

Having failed to advance across the BRB canal towards Lahore, the Indian army brought up its heavy guns between Jallo and Attari to shell the historic city. On 21 September 1965, air support was requested to neutralize this threat. The F-86 formation tasked with this mission came from No 32 Wing of Sargodha Air Base. Mission Leader was Squadron Leader Azim Daudpota with the following pilots in the strike namely Flight Lieutenants Amanullah Khan, Mansoor Ul Hassan, Saiful Azam, Pervaiz, Saleem Sheikh and Flying Officer Aftab Raja and Qadir.

HERCULES BOMBER

PAF converted this cargo aircraft into night bomber during the 1965 War, for neutralizing moderately defended targets. The painting shows a C-130, piloted by Wing Commander Zahid Butt on the night of 21 September 1965, on its bombing run over an Indian artillery regiment deployed along the BRB canal.

PAF IN ACTION DURING THE BATTLE OF CHAWINDA

The painting shows PAF F-86 Sabres contributing decisively at the battle of Chawinda, said by some observers to be the largest tank battle after World War II.

POST-WAR RECONNAISSANCE
10 OCTOBER 1965

No 24 Squadron of the PAF operated the GD/ Martin RB-57Fs, the highly specialised ultra high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Their enormous 122 ft wing span earned them the name of 'Droopies'. The RB-57F could cruise comfortably at 80,000 ft out of the reach of any fighter or SAM of that time. They were in PAF service during the 1965 War and overflew most of the IAF airfields at heights up to 67,000 ft or more. During one of the post-war reconnaissance missions, the 'Droopy' shown in the painting was badly damaged by 3 Russian supplied SA-2 SAMs. The aircraft was hit when it lost some height over Ambala during a turn towards its home base. The fragments of exploding SAMs around the aircraft caused major structural damage and almost knocked out the vertical stabilizer and one of its auxiliary turbojets, which hampered its accurate flight. Despite the intense enemy activity, the skilful handling of the situation both by the pilot and the navigator made it possible for the aircraft to land back at Peshawar. The aircraft skidded along the runway with its nose wheels jammed before it came to a final halt.

Pilot Squadron Leader Rasheed Meer
Navigator Flying Officer Sultan Malik

THE F-6 JOINS THE PAF
20 DECEMBER 1965 - SARGODHA

The first two F-6s (Mig-19s made in China) arrive at Sargodha Air Base. The pilots flew over the Karakorams directly from the Chinese airfield at Hotian. The F-6 carried VHF radios, Soviet style instruments and many pieces of equipment that were strange to the PAF pilots and technical hands. The Pakistani markings were not yet painted and the pilots wore leather helmets and throat mikes. Many officers and men of Sargodha gathered near the runway to watch the landings.

Pilots: Squadron Leader M Sadruddin, Flight Lieutenant Khalid lqbal

THE RED DRAGONS - 1967

An aerobatic team of red Sabres, call sign "Red Dragons", (the second team to carry this name) pulls up over Jamrud Fort for its last display at Jamrud range. The Chief Guest on this occasion was H M Raza Shah Pehlavi, the Shahinshah of Iran. This display was held on 9 March 1967. Apart from carrying out standard aerobatics, and many formation changes, this team performed most of the stunt manoeuvres for which the world's leading aerobatics teams were known at the time.

The Team:
Wing Commander Wiqar Azim
Squadron Leader Shabbir H Syed
Flight Lieutenant M Akbar
Flight Lieutenant Farooq F Khan
Flight Lieutenant Cecil Chaudhry

THE PAF TRIDENT IS DELIVERED TO NO 12 SQUADRON
AUGUST 1967

The PAF's only Trident 1E VIP transport aircraft on its ferry flight to Chaklala Air Base. No 12 Squadron flew the Trident during 1967 for a brief period, before it was diverted for other duties.

F-86 Vs MYSTERE
1548 HOURS, 7 SEPTEMBER 1965

Flight Lieutenant A H Malik destroys an IAF Mystere near Sargodha. In the background is Flying Officer Khalid Iqbal chasing another Mystere. Flight Lieutenant Goha, the pilot of the Mystere was killed in this encounter. The Mystere were exiting at such a low height that the F-86s in pursuit were practically touching the tree tops. The entire bottom of No 2's aircraft was green when it landed back at Sargodha.

HIGH SPEED RECONNAISSANCE
1130 HOURS, 9 SEPTEMBER 1965

An F-104B flown by Flight Lieutenant Aftab Alam Khan of No 9 Squadron Sargodha, on a high speed photo reconnaissance mission over Halwara, on 9 September 1965.

In the environment of the India-Pakistan War, the low-speed RT-33 photo reconnaissance fleet of the PAF was rendered obsolete, for mission deep into enemy territory, and over heavily defended targets.

There was an urgent requirement to survey the enemy concentration at the forward airfields and to observe the effectiveness of the PAF's B-57 night bombing raids. To fulfil this need, the PAF immediately adapted the F-104B. The rear seat observer operated a hand held camera and made visual obervations; in this case it was Squadron Leader M L Middlecoat. En route the aircraft was flown at tree top level, at a speed of 600 Knots. Approaching the target the aircraft was accelerated to a speed greater than Mach 1. In this way the high speed capability of the Starfighter was fully exploited. This was the first time such a profile was flown by an F-104 pilot. The mission was so successful that it was repeated several times. This was the birth of high speed reconnaissance in the PAF.

M M ALAM's F-86

Squadron Leader Muhammad Mahmud Alam emerged from 1965 War as Pakistan's top scoring fighter ace. The painting shows him in his favourite F-86 F-35-NA with the victory tally marked alongside the aircraft. (Nine kills and two probables). Squadron Leader Muhammad Mahmud Alam, Commander of No 11 Squadron in 1965, was already a notable leader and highly experienced pilot. He also excelled in gunnery competitions - a skill that no doubt contributed greatly to his becoming the first and only jet ace in one mission. This Pakistani Squadron Commander established a combat record which has few equals in the history of jet air warfare.

Flying an F-86F Sabre over the battle lines on September 6, Alam first engaged a flight of IAF Hunters. In the ensuing dog-fight, he scored two kills. On September 7, he led an intercept mission against IAF Hawker Hunters that were attacking Sargodha airfield. When the six Hunters broke, Alam loosed a Sidewinder missile at their "'tail-end Charlie". The missile quickly found its mark and blew the Hunter out of the sky. The Hunter pilots also saw the F-86s, and all five broke left in a line-astern formation, crossing in front of Alam's guns. Alam then performed a virtuoso, but well-dQcumented feat of gunnery by shooting down four of the Hunters in rapid succession. In action again on the 17th, Alam bagged another brace of Hunters to bring his final score to nine confirmed kills and two probables.

THE COBRAS ON PATROL OVER THE KARAKORAMS
NOVEMBER 1965

The painting shows a pair of No 15 Squadron Sabres near the K-2 peak. The tail fins of the squadron F-86Fs carry the unit's emblem - a cobra poised to strike. Until the Base Commander ordered it off the air base, a fully grown cobra mascot and its basket were kept for a time in the flight commander's office, and fed by volunteer pilots.

ARRIVAL OF THE MIRAGE
8 MARCH, 1968

Although both the F-6 and the F-86E had reasonable capabilities in the close support role, there was a need to regain the medium range day/night strike power which had also been shared by the F-86F and the B-57 untill 1967. There was also the lingering gap in night air defence. To fulfill these
requirements, the PAF turned to the French Mirage fighter bomber series. The induction started in 1968 with Mirage-III strike interceptors. In the 1971 War, these aircraft were effectively used for day and night air defence as well as offensive roles. The painting shows the first batch of Mirages arriving overhead the Karachi coast line.

Formation:
Wing Commander M M Alam
Squadron Leader Hakimullah
Squadron Leader Farooq F Khan
Squadron Leader Farooq Umar
Flight Lieutenant Arif Manzoor
Flight Lieutenant Akhtar Rao

THE RATTLERS - 1969

The aerobatic team of black F-6s (call sign "The Rattlers"), perform over Sargodha. The team gave its last performance on 14 March 1969 when Marshal Grechko the Soviet Defence Minister visited Sargodha. Specialising in high speed aerobatics, this team was primarily formed for honing the skills of young pilots at Sargodha Air Base.

The Team:
Wing Commander Nazir Latif
Flight Lieutenant Atiq Sufi
Flight Lieutenant A H Malik
Flight Lieutenant S Masood Hatif