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Aviation History
1969
1969 - 0116.PDF
MAP-supplied Martin B-57B Canberras still equip a PAF bomber-wing. The extended nose indicotes the installation of new electronics. Below, Chinese-supplied AliG-UUTI two-seat trainers used for conversion to MiG-l9s PAKISTAN'S AIR POWER . . . operated in both air-to-air and air-to-ground weapon modes. Purchase of the Mirages from France represented a major investment for the PAF, which hitherto had received nearly all its modern aircraft through aid programmes. With the entire Pakistan defence budget pegged to the equivalent of some S514 million (£214 million) for 1968-69, the Mirage purchase will not easily be repeated, but there is ample evidence that the Soviet Union is willing to take over the aid programme where the US left off. In any case, the recent visit of the PAF C-in-C to Washington at the invitation of the USAF chief of staff indicates the possibility of resumed American interest in military assistance for Pakistan. Long-range strike and reconnaissance duties by day and night have been undertaken since about 1959 by the PAF Bomber Wing, consisting of two squadrons of Martin B-57B, plus a few dual-control B-57C, Canberras. These US-built interdietor aircraft differ from the British Canberras in having longer noses for tandem crew accommodation, four 20mm cannon in the wings, and rotary bomb doors. They were kept going with some difficulty during the US spares prohibition, but their situation is now back to normal. Pakistan has denied Indian claims that it is operating Ilyushin Il-28s supplied by China in first-line service, but some PAF crews have been trained on this type in the People's Republic. From its original transport force of more than 60 Bristol Freighters, the PAF has modernised its support force to a single squadron operating nine Lockheed Hercules from a joint-user base at the former RAF airfield of Chaklala, Rawalpindi. The first C-130B Hercules arrived from the US in March 1963, and the initial four aircraft were later joined by a further four transferred under MAP from Iran. The PAF Hercules fleet was then completed by the arrival of two civil- registered Lockheed Model 382 Hercules, approximating in most respects to the C-130E, which were operated on dry lease from Pakistan International Airlines by air force crews. Although the Transport Wing has many responsibilities, including army support and tactical operations, paratroop training, aerial delivery and so on, about 60 per eent of its total effort is devoted to supply missions in the mountainous northern areas of West Pakistan. In the Karakorams, around the Indus Valley, with peaks of up to 26,000ft, most of the villages are completely dependent on air supply pending the completion of all-weather roads, and essential commodities are either dropped by parachute or in free fall throughout the best part of the year. Very strict procedures have been established for operations in the Northern Area, where visual contact of key points must be confirmed before beginning a descent, but night deliveries are frequently undertaken with the aid of the APN-59B tactical radar of the C-130B. Even so, the hazards of operating in this area are illustrated by the disintegration in flight of one of the Lockheed 382s earlier this year, through turbulence. Since this was a PIA aircraft, however, a replace ment is expected from its insurance. To fly the Model 382s, PAF crews require civil licences and operate to civil flight manual procedures. On the Northern Area sectors, the Hercules can lift up to 45,0001b in payload. Other tasks undertaken by the C-130 fleet include long- range SAR operations, carrying survival packs and paramedical teams, while logistic support sorties are flown to and from many countries in Europe and Asia. The Chaklala Transport Wing also includes a Communications Flight, which operates the C-in-C's Fokker F.27 Friendship among other aircraft. A jet replacement for the F.27 is becoming a pressing requirement. Pakistan Air Force Academy Crew training and type conversion is another job handled by the Transport Wing, as the final stage of instruction before joining a squadron. Pilot training is undertaken at the PAF Academy, Risalpur, which is unusual in operating both the veteran North American T-6G or Harvard and the Cessna T-37B jet trainer for the basic stage of the syllabus. AH students undergo some 15 hours' grading on the T-6 before being posted either to the T-6G Wing, where they fly 170 hours in the basic stage, or on to T-37s for a 150hr syllabus. PAF experience is that there is little difference in the end product pilot, although fewer suspensions are found necessary during the T-37 course than on the T-6s. No problems are presented by T-6 serviceability, and the old Harvard appears good for quite a few more years yet. Apart from its own students, the PAF Academy trains pilots from many foreign air forces, particularly in the Middle East, and since its own operations are conducted in English, its syllabus pays particular attention to language studies. Inter national training commitments also operate in reverse, and PAF instructors have taken over many of the responsibilities, for example in Saudi Arabia, of converting air force pilots to Lightnings and Hunters. These duties have given the PAF exceptionally wide operating experience on nearly all modern combat types such as the MiG-21, Su-7 and Tu-16 in the Middle East, as well as the Lightning and Hunter in Saudi Arabia and the F-104, Mirage and MiG-19 in Pakistan. From Risalpur, jet pilots fly about 60 hours on the Lockheed T-33 at the Mauripur Conversion Unit, before undergoing operational training on the F-86F Sabre at the Fighter Leader School, Peshawar. Final operational conversion is done on three or four two-seat M1G-15UTI trainers supplied by the Chinese for the MiG-19s; Lockheed F-104Bs for the Starfighter squadrons; and, eventually, Mirage IIIDPs for the Mirage unit. Even after joining a squadron, however, PAF pilots are still liable to be weeded out if they cannot meet the very high standards required. And if they are not good enough for a fighter squadron, the tough PAF view is that they are not good enough to stay in the air force at all.
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