WARS & ENCOUNTERS COLLECTION

No.5 Squadron was the PAF’s only multi-role unit in the 1971 war and it was skillfully utilised from several air bases in strike, air defence, reconnaissance and air support roles. This painting recreates the final moments of an Agra-based Canberra of the IAF’s Jet Bomber Conversion Unit on a mission against Mianwali AFB. Earlier, that air base had scrambled a single Mirage, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Naeem Atta, to intercept the unidentified intruder. Picking out and tracking a target blip from the clutter-rich display of the Mirage’s Cyrano radar at low altitude required intense concentration and the blacked-out countryside added to the instrument flying workload. Atta also needed some luck to launch a surprise attack - since the Canberra pilots were well trained in night evasion with the aid of their Orange Putter tail warning sets. A combination of pilot-controller coordination and the Canberra pilot’s decision to ease up his altitude provided the right circumstances. Naeem and his ground controller Khalid both did a superb job of positioning the Mirage quickly and accurately. Seconds after the pilot launched his Sidewinder, he saw the sky lit up by a fireball as burning parts of the fuselage and engines plummeted to earth. When the assigned Crashed Aircraft Locator Team (CALT) recorded the wreckage details of Canberra (Tail No. IF 916) near village Nara a few miles from the Sindh River’s left bank, they found that Flight Lieutenants Lloyd Sasoon (pilot) and Ram Advani (navigator) had not apparently got a chance of bailing out of their disintegrating bomber. Flight Lieutenant Naeem Atta – Pilot Flight Lieutenant Khalid Kashmiri – Controller

Preparing to launch a piercing attack towards Hyderabad, the Indian Army was stopped in its tracks astride the Khokrapar - Chor railway line. The air campaign involved several missions and a mix of combat aircraft from Masroor Air Base. The painting shows one of these missions that employed 5 F-86s and 4 T-33s. It was led by Group Captain Wiqar Azim seen here in the F-86. At some distance are the T-33s that were led by Wing Commander Asghar Randhawa. The lone escort was flown by Flight Lieutenant Kamran Qureshi.

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 artist 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, spiralling Canberra, hit at 32,000 feet, reflected light of 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.

During the 1971 War, different types of fighters from some friendly countries were temporarily transferred to the PAF. Of these groups, a formation of three F-5As with PAF markings are shown here entering the Pakistani territory. The pilots who ferried the F-5s were:- Squadron Leader : Tahir Kheli, Squadron Leader : Zaigham Aizad and Flight Lieutenant : Bilal Khan

Flight Lieutenant Javed Latif destroys an IAF SU-7 over the railway line near Faisalabad. The Indian Pilot Flight Lieutenant Harvinder Singh from 222 Squadron Halwara did not survive. In the background is Flying Officer Rifat Munir, giving a chase to another SU-7. The F-6s belonged to No.23 Squadron deployed at Risalewala during the war.

The painting shows Squadron Leader A Hameed Qadri of No 9 Multi Role Squadron of F-16s having a close look at the SU-22 which has just turned into a ball of fire after being hit by his AIM-9L missile while his No.2, Squadron Leader Yousuf Chaudhry, is trying to get behind the other SU-22. The encounter took place at 16,000 feet over Parachinar, during the Afghan War, 1979–1988.

One of the most lethal weapons used by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan was their latest fighter bomber, the SU-25. During one of its night engagements with the Pakistani F-16 inside Pakistan, the SU-25 was shot down and its Russian pilot who ejected was taken POW. The Pilot of the SU-25, Colonel Rudskoi Alexander Vladimirovich, was also the Inspector of SU-25s deployed in Afghanistan. He was eventually handed over to the Russian authorities on 16 August 1988. This officer rose to the position of Vice-President of Russia in 1991. Squadron Leader Athar Bukhari of No.14 Squadron was the pilot of the F-16 while this night interception was conducted on radar by Squadron Leader Taufiq Raja.

The pilot of the Gnat going down in flames, Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, was posthumously given the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest gallantry award. Before being shot down with a gun burst by Flight Lieutenant Salim Beg Mirza (leader of the escort F-86 pair), Nirmaljit was claimed by the lAF to have scored hits on two of the six F-86s but in fact all of them had returned to Peshawar without a scratch. The painting shows Salim and his wingman in the foreground. Two of the four strike F-86s can be seen at a distance, attacking their targets at the Srinagar Air Base, through the bursting ack-ack shells. Strike Element : Wing Commander Sharbat Ali Changezi and Flying Officers H K Dhotani, Amjad Endrabi and Maroof Mir. Escorts : Flight Lieutenant Salim Beg Mirza and Flying Officer Rahim Yousefzai.

During the India-Pakistan war of 1971, F-104 Starfighters of the PAF's No.9 Squadron were heavily engaged in both air and ground attack roles. In a never-to-be-forgotten gesture of brotherly solidarity, some F-104s belonging to No.9 Squadron of the Royal Jordanian Air Force were dispatched to Pakistan to assist in Pakistan's righteous defence. Imbued with similar feelings, a number of PAF pilots felt honoured in participating in both the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israel wars. The painting shows the arrival of the RJAF contingent leader's Starfighter, a two-seat F-104B, over the familiar Karachi landscape. Joining it in welcome is a Pakistani F-104A. The following day, aircraft markings were changed on the reinforcement F-104s to the standard Pakistani colour scheme. Both the young Jordanian pilots later rose to become the Air Chiefs of their country's Air Force. Front Cockpit : Major Ahsan Shurdom, RJAF, Rear Cockpit : Captain Awni Bilal, RJAF, In the PAF F-104 : Squadron Leader M Amanullah

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-i-Jurat for his exemplary aggressiveness, combat leadership and valour.

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.

Timely photo reconnaissance about where the enemy was gathering his armour provided precious intelligence on which the Pakistan Army developed its own battle plans. The painting depicts such a mission during the 1971 War. The high-speed cameras in the photo recce Mirage-IIIRP, flown by Squadron Leader Farooq Umar (foreground) brought back that afternoon’s scene at the Mukhtasar railway yard. Indian tanks were loaded and ready to move towards the Pakistan border. In the background is the escorting Mirage, flown by Wing Commander Hakimullah (later CAS, PAF).