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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0270.PDF
284 FLIGHT,28 February 1958 PAKISTAN AIR FORCE ... from East Pakistan and their native language is Bengali; the restfrom West Pakistan where Urdu is the mother tongue), Mathe- matics, Science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology), Geography,History, Religious Knowledge, Drawing and Carpentry. In addi- tion, the Air Force aspect of their education is stressed from thebeginning, a P.A.F. unit being attached to the school to give lectures and ground training. Elder boys (with their parents'permission) get gliding tuition and some powered flying. The airfield at Sargodha is a mile or so from the school anda new long runway is in course of construction. Soon, two of the Sabre squadrons at present at Mauripur are to be based there;so boys at the school who may later become pilots will have the incentive of seeing P.A.F. fighter aircraft flying daily above them.As a further help to air-mindedness, the school houses are named after aircraft used (or formerly used) by the P.A.F.—Attacker,Fury, Sabre and Tempest. It was logical after seeing Sargodha to visit the P.A.F. College atRisalpur, not far east of Peshawar, where boys who have been successful at the school (and whose parents opt for them to jointhe P.A.F.) go for training as pilots (or navigators) and officers. The college's intake comes from both Sargodha and Lower Topa,and also by direct entry from civilian life and from non-com- missioned members of the P.A.F. selected for commissions. It ishoped that in time the whole intake will come from the schools. The Commandant at Risalpur—the P.A.F.'s Cranwell—is G/C.M. Khyber Khan; the station CO. is W/C. W. Khan. The Commandant's lieutenants in the college are W/C. A. Hussain(director of studies) and W/C. Poly Shah (chief instructor). In- takes at six-monthly intervals or less are designed for 75 studentsthough the P.A.F., like other air forces, has some difficulty in maintaining the number of aircrew recruits it would like; thereare plenty of other openings in Pakistan's growing industries. The course at Risalpur lasts two years and in addition to flyingtraining there are four spheres of academic work—aeronautical sciences; humanistic studies; Air Force requirements, generalService training—and various extra-curricular activities. The syllabus is nothing if not comprehensive; and considering thatthe aerosciences section, for example, sub-divides into eleven separate subjects and the humanistics includes language tuitionin English, Urdu, and Bengali, it cannot be said that the P.A.F. pilot's education is one-sided. Flying training at Risalpur is carried out on Harvards, pupilsdoing 125 hr dual, 65 hr solo, and 20 hr on grading tests—a total of 210 hr. In addition they do 25 hours on the Link Trainer.From the college, graduates go either to fly T-33s at No. 2 Fighter Conversion Squadron at Mauripur, or Bristol Freighters withNo. 3 Transport Conversion Squadron at Lahore. Whether they become fighter or transport pilots depends partly on their indivi-dual ability and temperament, partly on squadron requirements. The college, whose administration is controlled by a Board ofGovernors nominated by the Government of Pakistan, comes under the jurisdiction of No. 1 Group of the P.A.F., whichcontrols all operational and training flying. Facilities at Risalpur are impressive and the instruction givenhas obviously been carefully thought out; for example a self-brief- ing room with numbered wall charts ensures that nothing is for-gotten by the u/t pilot before he sets out on a flight; a library of 12,500 books provides him with the means for a complete generaland technical education; and a blow-type "wind tunnel" which has been ingeniously constructed on the Schlieren method gives hima lantern-slide view of an aerofoil at supersonic speeds. When a Risalpur graduate proceeds to No. 2 F.C. Sqn. atMauripur (the work of No. 3 T.C. Sqn. at Lahore has already been briefly described), his first 12 weeks are spent doing 80 hrflying on T-33s and 125 hr ground school study. If successful in that three months' training he then goes to Korangi Creek (whosemain function as the Apprentices' Training School has similarly been described) for two weeks' instruction on the engine andancillary mechanisms of Sabres. Returning to Mauripur, he does 50 hr flying on Sabres to fit him for operational duties and at the Cadets at the P.A.F. College at Risalpur (above), dining in their Mess; and on the left, students at No. 2 Fighter Conversion Squadron at Mauripur studying the cockpit of one of their T-33 trainers. same time has 100 hr ground instruction. There are two pointsof especial interest about the methods and standard of training at No. 2 F.C.S. One is that if a pilot does not make the grade he maylose the brevet he gained at Risalpur; and another is the use of the American system of "chase pilots." On his first few solos in aSabre no P.A.F. pilot goes into the air unaccompanied; an in- structor flies with him in another aircraft to watch his manoeuvresand help him by R/T. to perform them correctly. No. 2 F.C.S. is commanded by S/L. M. K. Abbasi and it startedflying turbojet aircraft in May 1955. (Originally the squadron— then called a school—was at Risalpur and in 1949-50 it was runby A.S.T.) Out of 120 pilots who have so far come on courses, 105 have qualified; and it is satisfying to record that after 8,000 hrflying on T-33s and 900 hr on Sabres there has only been one fatal accident and no major ones—none of these having occurred on theSabres. As the CO. puts it: "We think this is because of our training on the T-33s." In addition to training potential fightersquadron members, No. 2 F.C.S. gives a "short" (six-week) course to staff officers; convert pilots who have not hitherto flownturbojet aircraft; and does all I.R. training of Sabre and Fury squadron pilots, who have to get a rating every six months. Allthe present No. 2 F.C.S. instructors did their flying training in Pakistan, some of them subsequently having advanced training inthe U.S. or Germany; and a measure of their standard is given by the fact that when the C.F.S. examining team came to categorizethem, it awarded two A2s and five Bis. At present most of the total fighter strength of the P.A.F. isgathered at Mauripur (which is commanded by G/C. S. A. Joseph), but new dispositions of the Sabres are being made. The squadrons will eventually be positioned (in addition toMauripur) at Peshawar, Sargodha and Quetta—the two last- named airfields being reconstructed to accommodate Sabres. Ascan be seen from the map of West Pakistan, these sites are strategically effective for the defence of Karachi and of thecountry's northern, eastern and western frontiers. Although the number of squadrons is small, it can be presumed from what onehas seen of their training—the most important aspect of their peacetime operations—that they are highly effective as DF/GAunits. Indeed, the impressive display put on by the Sabres at Mauripur on February 2 [reported in detail in Flight forFebruary 14] and the Furies' demonstration at Miram Shah gave visible proof of the squadrons' discipline, accuracy and flyingability. Their training programmes, based on both U.S.A.F. and R.A.F. systems with the P.A.F.'s experience of local conditionsadded, are carried through with great enthusiasm and thorough- ness; practice interceptions have brought good results and thestandard of air-to-air and air-to-ground firing—judging by films shown and the mock attacks made at Mauripur and Miram Shah—seems to be high. But it was particularly stressed by the C-in-C when speaking of the P.A.F. fighter squadrons that their role isa purely defensive one. Before closing this account of the P.A.F., mention should bemade of one of its non-flying branches, the Ground Combatteers. This is the P.A.F. equivalent of the R.A.F. Regiment and itsprime function is, similarly, the defence of airfields. It has units both at Mauripur and Peshawar. At these stations, as at Lahore, Kohat, Miram Shah, Sargodhaand Risalpur, a warm and kindly welcome was extended and every opportunity given to see the P.A.F.'s work in all its aspects.It was a stimulating experience to see a young Service growing up and, having decided on its function in the new Republic ofPakistan with its responsibilities as a member of the Common- wealth and of the Baghdad Pact and SEATO, flexing its muscles.The cynic might have expected to find, behind the outward glamour of the R.A.F.-type uniforms, something of a pastiche ofthe R.A.F.; but this was far from being the case, and the more one saw of the P.A.F. the more one admired its discipline andthoroughness—for those were the two qualities constantly pre- dominant. It has yet to be tested in full-scale action; and onehopes such a dreadful opportunity for operational proof will never arise. If it should, one feels confident that the P.A.F.—despiteits smallness—would acquit itself well.
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