M M Alam
A daring fighter pilot, Top Gun of his own class, war hero, scholar par excellence, a patriotic Pakistani and a committed professional, M M Alam was born in a well-educated family of Calcutta on 6 July 1935, British India.
The family moved to East Pakistan at the time of partition and got settled at Dacca. Alam was the eldest among eleven children of Mr Masood Alam. His father died when he was still in his teens and he himself had to take the reins of his family early in life.
Having completed his secondary education from Govt High School, Dacca in 1951, Alam joined PAF in 1952 and was granted commission on 2 Oct 1953. Soon after graduation, Alam did the Fighter Conversion Course and emerged as a top class fighter Pilot. During the 1965 war with India, he established a combat record, which has written in the history of jet air warfare.
Only few pilots have scored several air victories in one sortie but none have equaled or exceeded Alam’s claim of shooting down number of enemy aircraft within few seconds and no one is likely to match his record of destroying five 'Hunters' of the Indian Air Force within a minute on 7 Sept 1965. This remains a record till today, as during the war, he ruled the fiery skies of battle area with his supreme tactics, razor-sharp reactions and evasive maneuvers.
On 6 Sep 1965 during an aerial combat over enemy territory, Sqn Ldr M M Alam flying as pilot of an F-86 Sabre jet, shot down four enemies Hunter aircraft and damaged two others. Overall, he had nine kills and two damages to his credit.
For the exceptional flying skill and valour displayed by Sqn Ldr M M Alam in operations & number of interception missions flown by him against the enemy aircraft attacking Pakistan Air Force Station, Sargodha, he was awarded SJ with Bar. He was also among the pioneering aircrew that went to France for finalizing the first batch of Mirage III strike interceptors.
His name once again entered into the annals of history when on 8 Mar 1968 he led the formation of first 6 Mirage aircraft while ferrying them from France to Pakistan. His major appointments included air gunnery and tactical instructor at Fighter Leader School, Officer Commanding of No 11, 5 & 26 Squadron, Director of Operation Research, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Flight Safety) & Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (plans) at the Air Headquarters.
Alam retired as an Air Commodore in 1982. A great warrior, a fighter ace, an icon and a national hero breathed his last on 18 Mar 2013 at Karachi. At the funeral, which held at PAF Base Masroor, the men in blue saluted his Pakistani flag wrapped casket for one last time.