Official and Unofficial Aviation Art

[air marshal]

BATTLEFIELD SUPPORT - 14 APRIL 1948 - GILGIT: Flight Lieutenant M Khyber Khan lands on an unprepared surface at Gilgit to deliver the first heavy mortar to the liberation forces during the Kashmir operations. The mortar was carried to Skardu on a Bactrian camel and played a vital role in the capture of Skardu Fort, the last enemy stronghold. Till the early 1950s the only access to this part of the country was an unreliable mule track which remained blocked for most part of the year due to land slides and snow. The runways at Gilgit or Skardu had not yet been built. The aircraft shown in the painting is a Harvard which flew from Risalpur under the instructions of Wing Commander M Asghar Khan, Commandant RPAF College, Risalpur. Although the rear seat of the Aircraft was removed, the barrel remained protruding out of the cockpit, making the flight of the aircraft all the more difficult.

 

[air marshal]

A PIONEER PROVES HIS METTLE: On 4 November 1948, a PAF Dakota, returning after an air supply paradrop near Skardu, ran into two Indian Air Force Tempests patrolling the area. When Flying Officer M A Dogar, the Dakota's pilot, ignored orders by the fighters to accompany them to the nearest Indian airfield, the Dakota was attacked. The cannon fire killed a crew member, Naik Muhammad Din and wounded Flying Officer jagjivan, the navigator. But the courageous Dogar refused to give- in. Handling the aircraft with great skill, he continued to take evasive action till he managed to enter the narrow mouth of the valley below. He flew down to treetop height and flying along the twisting river escaped to safety. In the painting the Dakota, which has successfully evaded the Tempest leader and is threatened by his No 2 in the distance, is commencing another evasive manoeuvre. Flying Officer Dogar was later decorated by Khawaja Nazimuddin, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with the gallantry award of Sitara-i-jurat, the first to be received by an officer of the Pakistan Air Force.

 

[air marshal]

HALIFAX: The Handley Page Halifax bombers were acquired by the Pakistan Air Force soon, after Independence. The aircraft served in No 12 Squadron for bomber and transport operations. The painting shows a fully armed Halifax engaged in a supply dropping mission in support of combat troops during the first Kashmir War in 1948. The Halifax was phased out in 1954.

 

[air marshal]

JAHANZEB OVER THE PESHAWAR VALLEY - 9 JULY 1949: The Wali of Swat, Honorary General Abdul Vudood, was an enthusiastic supporter of the PAF. On 9 July 1949 the Wali contributed (the cost of) a Hawker Fury fighter for the newly independent country's air force. To commemorate the occasion a brand new Fury, in its distinctive silver livery bore the Swati crown prince's name. Operational requirements later forced Jahanzeb also to be painted over in the camouflage scheme carried by the other Furies.

 

[air marshal]

HARVARDS AT THE ALMA MATER - RISALPUR: For twenty-five years the PAFs new pilots learned to fly in various models of the Harvard trainer. Shown here is one of the Harvards and its starting battery cart, against the early post-Independence setting of the PAF's Flying Training School at Risalpur, the forerunner of the modem Air Academy of today.

 

[air marshal]

LOW LEVEL AEROBATICS BY “F.S.” - NOVEMBER 1949 – PESHAWAR: Even as a young Flying Officer, Fuad Shahid Hussain's incredible mastery in low level aerobatics became legendary in the PAF. Manoeuvring just a few feet above the ground in a Hawker Fury, his propeller was kicking up dust on the runway, or just missing the tree tops in a graceful 8-point roll, it all look like child's play. By the early 1950s he was a rapidly rising star – now known by thousands throughout Pakistan as just “F.S.” – and a role model of every fighter pilot in the air force. Tragically, “the prince of pilots” lost his life to diabetes at the young age of 40, when he was an Air Commodore.

 

[air marshal]

SEDBERG GLIDER TAKES OFF FROM DRIGH ROAD AIRFIELD - 2 SEPTEMBER 1949 - KARACHI: To introduce the young nation's youth to the joy of flying, glider pilot training was introduced through the "Shaheen Air Troops", established at Karachi on 2 September 1949. On 22 July 1950, Governor General Khawaja Nazimuddin awarded the Glider Flying Badges (Wings) to the first group of student pilots.

 

[air marshal]

THE ALBATROSS: Grumman SA-16A Albatross amphibians were a part of the Search and Rescue Flight at Drigh Road (now Faisal) Air Base, Karachi in the mid-1950s. The aircraft were also used for coastal patrol and maritime reconnaissance during the 1965 War. One of their more important tasks was to keep a sharp look out for the Indian Navy aircraft carrier "Vikrant' whose entry into the area would have added a new and far more menacing dimension to the air war in the south.

 

[air marshal]

Illustrations: Propellers to the Jet Age 1951-1960
PAF Falcons - Picture Gallery - Aviation Art by Group Captain Syed Masood Akhtar Hussaini

PAF ENTERS THE JET AGE: Attackers - the PAF's first jet fighters- arrived from England in August 51 and were allotted to No 11 Squadron. Although designed primarily as a ship-borne machine, the Attacker was also produced in a land version, offering the nautical advantage of short take-off and landing characteristics, with a heavy load of bombs and rockets. Despite some teething problems, this first-generation jet fighter was soon mastered by PAF pilots and was used quite effectively. The aircraft also participated in fire-power displays on many occasions but never saw combat. It was phased out in 1958. The artist shows an Attacker overtaking a fury during a simulated interception.

 

[air marshal]

SIKORSKY H-19D: In the mid-1950s, the PAF received 8 H-19Ds under the US assistance agreement, for the establishment of Search and Rescue (SAR) Flights at certain PAF Bases. This also marked the beginning of 'chopper" operations in the PAF, and in Pakistan as a whole. The last H-19D was phased out of the PAF in 1971.

 

[krash]

It is beyond saddening that we did not have the sense to preserve these beautiful birds. The Tempests, the spitfires and the tiger moths all were our heritage, the roots of our PAF.

 

[air marshal]

Aviation Art by Waqar Ahmad Rana
PAF Falcons - Picture Gallery - Aviation Art by Waqar Ahmad Rana

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-7 PG.

 

[air marshal]

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) FC-20/J-10.

 

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Pakistan Air Force (PAF) JF-17 Thunder.

 

[air marshal]

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) K-8.