KEITH FERRIS (Founding Father - AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AVIATION ARTISTS & The ART DIRECTOR UNITED STATES AIR FORCE OPENS HUSSAINI's Art Exhibition in his studio. (Chaklala - 1987 - now Noor Khan Air Base). This was also the occasion when it was the 40th anniversary of the PAF and the Pakistan Post Office issued ten postage stamps on Hussaini's aviation paintings.
Seventh September occupies a place of prominence on the PAF calendar. Popularly known as the Air Force Day, it evokes memories of heroism and gallantry displayed by the nation's air arm during September 65 India-Pakistan war. It was on this day, that a small band of daring PAF pilots supported by an equally dedicated group of officers and men on the ground rose to the very heights of professionalism and, although outnumbered and outmatched in equipment, blunted the aggressor's air power.
The occasion is celebrated all over the country with great patriotic fervour and public enthusiasm. To share the PAF's pride in its rich heritage of courage, sacrifice and professional excellence as well as to honour those daring pilots who wrote a glorious chapter in our history with their blood, Pakistan Post Office has issued a set of 10 commemorative postage stamps, each depicting a different PAF aircraft, on the occasion of the 1987 Air Force Day.
The scenes depicted on the stamps are from a series of specially commissioned aviation paintings done by Squadron Leader Masood A Hussaini, the officially appointed aviation artist of the Pakistan Air Force. The set of 10 stamps, each bearing the impression of a combat, transport or training aircraft, shows how the PAF grew, from its modest beginnings, to its present hard-hitting posture. Manned by highly professional men, the PAF stands ready today to rise swiftly to deter and defeat aggression against Pakistan.
TThis US-built four-engined transport aircraft was inducted in 1963. Besides carrying out a number of crucially important tactical and logistic missions during the wars of 1965 and 1971, the PAF's C-130s have been a multipurpose air fleet of the Air Force.
The British Supermarine Attacker was the first jet fighter to enter the PAF inventory. It remained in service from 1950 to 1956.
F-104, a supersonic American fighter-interceptor, had the distinction of serving the PAF creditably from 1961 to 1972.
A-5 is a twin-engined ground-attack aircraft of Chinese origin. It entered the PAF inventory in 1983. The aircraft meets PAF's specific requirements of close air support missions.
Since the induction of this US-built multirole aircraft in 1983, the PAF has fully exploited its deterrent capability to dissuade would-be aggressors.
The Mirage IIIs and Vs used for strike, interception and reconnaissance, have been the mainstay of the PAF for almost two decades. Inducted in 1968, the French-built Mirage III was effectively used for day and night air defence as well as offensive roles in the 1971 war. The Mirage VPA 2s and PA 3s, inducted in 1982, are suitable for long-range reconnaissance and air support to friendly naval forces.
The PAF's front-line aircraft since 1966, the F-6 climbs and accelerates fast and has proved its worth both in the air defence and close-support roles.
This aircraft was received at the time of independence in 1947. It served the PAF as a fighter-bomber till 1957.
The American F-86, better known as 'Sabre remained. the PAF's work-horse from 1956 to 1980. It proved its potency in both the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971.
Fury was the last of the propeller fighter-bombers which served the Pakistan Air Force from 1949 to 1963.