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Aviation History
1969
1969 - 0112.PDF
90 PAKISTAN'S AIR POWER . . . at that time, however, the Indian claim was easily disproved by the Pakistanis flying 86 Sabres, ten Starfighters and 20 Canberras in a parade soon after the end of the war. Pakistan then listed its losses of 19 aircraft (also confirmed by the US Military Assistance Advisory Group) in detail, including only nine as a direct result of enemy action, while India was said eventually to admit to the loss of at least 75. More important than statistics, however, was the fact that the unexpectedly effective close support for Pakistani troops provided by the PAF altered the entire complexion of the land battle. By the second day of operations, the PAF was claiming complete air superiority over the battle area. This, more than any other single factor, was considered responsible for neutralising the large disparity in military strengths between the two countries, and gave Pakistan a new confidence in its air force as an instrument of foreign policy. No visit to Pakistan can fail to convey the impact of the Indo-Pak war, which still looms large on the PAF horizon. It was both justification and encouragement for the PAF doctrine that personnel quality, high standards of training and aggressive leadership can more than offset numerical superiority, at least for a time. All these requirements were present in the PAF, which continues to be fortunate in its direction by the same Commander-in-Chief, Air Marshal M. Nur Khan. A man of remarkable personality, originally commissioned as a fighter pilot in the then Royal Indian Air Force early in 1941, the air marshal took over control of the PAF a few weeks before the start of hostilities, after putting the Pakistan national airline on a sound basis over the previous five or six years. From occasional trips in PIA's Boeing 707s, he moved without pause into the cockpit of Sabres. Starfighters. MiG-19s and every new type of combat aircraft available, demonstrating air-to-ground: gunnery scores of up to an extraordinary 100 per cent in the process. Right, one of the MAP-supplied Kaman HH-43B helicopters used for aerial firefighting and SAR; and below, a Lockheed C-I30B Hercules of the PAF Transport Wing over typical mountainous Karakoram country, where 60 per cent or so of their operations take place FLIGHT International, 16 January 1969 Spearheading the PAF tactical fighter force is a wing of Chinese-built MiG-l9s, operating in both interception and ground-attack roles. The ' third 30mm cannon can be seen just behind the white VHF aerial of i the photographic MiG-15 in the right-hand view. For ground attack the big wing tanks are replaced by bombs, rocket pods or other stores ! i j ''v'J ; ,:• •::B';IJ •EraKi" '3SSHE9BBS9BEL •' * < 1
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