S O S Bottle Of Whiskey !

[Windjammer]

 

[John Doe]

Arrey Jam, why are you posting scans of the Eastern front? Is that where MM ALam shot down the Hunters? Seriously, what is wrong with you?
And if you have read this article by Fricker where he names the same names that you have posted, kindly share it with us, instead of more irrelevant scans.

@Santro:
I have repeatedly pointed out who were the pilots shot down by Alam on 7th Sept. Kaiser Tufail's article has the same information. What is wrong in my correcting blatant falsehoods? In fact, isn't the credit being taken away from 2 other pilots of the PAF?
What baby seals?

C'mon santro, isn't Tufail's research good enough for this forum anymore? Or do you consider Fricker to be a better source of accurate information over TUfail?

 

[SQ8]

Arrey Jam, why are you posting scans of the Eastern front? Is that where MM ALam shot down the Hunters? Seriously, what is wrong with you?
And if you have read this article by Fricker where he names the same names that you have posted, kindly share it with us, instead of more irrelevant scans.

@Santro:
I have repeatedly pointed out who were the pilots shot down by Alam on 7th Sept. Kaiser Tufail's article has the same information. What is wrong in my correcting blatant falsehoods? In fact, isn't the credit being taken away from 2 other pilots of the PAF?
What baby seals?

C'mon santro, isn't Tufail's research good enough for this forum anymore? Or do you consider Fricker to be a better source of accurate information over TUfail?

My point being.. if you read my posts a little coolly..
"relative accuracy".. Gauged on what is accurate in it.. and what is NOT.
So please.. enough with the repeat criticism.. and let the topic be unless something else is posted.

 

[Windjammer]

Arrey Jam, why are you posting scans of the Eastern front? Is that where MM ALam shot down the Hunters? Seriously, what is wrong with you?
And if you have read this article by Fricker where he names the same names that you have posted, kindly share it with us, instead of more irrelevant scans.

Blinded by fury are we or just habitually making a spectacle of your self. !!
Since when has this become an exclusive M M Alam thread....??
I do indeed have the scans from John Fricker's article but it's not exactly fan boy material....hope you get the drift.

 

[Windjammer]

BLASTING OF AMMO TRAIN

“DON’T hit it. It is a passenger train”, called out the chivalrous leader of flight of four fighter-bombers as they zoomed past a train steaming along Batala-Gurdaspur railway line.

It was 10.30 in the morning and Squadron Leader Alauddin Ahmed, known as ‘Butch’ by his friends, was on his second mission of the day.

That morning, with the break of dawn, he had led the army-support mission of four Sabres in Chawinda-Narowal sector where the historic tank battle was still raging with all its blasting fury. Undaunted by heavy artillery fire they flew at tree-top level and blasted the enemy armour and guns with rockets and Armour Piercing and Incendiary (API) bullets sending huge spirals of smoke and fire all around. They made a number of strafing runs on the enemy until their whole ammunition was expended and they headed back home. After breakfast and little rest the pilots started getting ready for the next mission: this time an armed reconnaissance patrol over the Gurdaspur area.

It was past 10 O’clock and the heat of summer sun had started swelling when the Sabres again roared out of their base into the blue haze of September sky. With Squadron Leader Alauddin in the lead the four fighter-bombers – Flt. Lt. Saleem, Flt. Lt. Amanullah and Flt. Lt. Arif Manzoor in other cockpits – flew in battle formation and soon they were knifing gracefully through the enemy territory. With eight eyes scanning the skies all around and below for any speck or dot which could be enemy interceptors, they pressed on eastward. Nothing was in sight. The steady roar of the engines and the general air of tension combined to bring the nerves to a razor’s edge. They checked their guns and gunsights.

Suddenly the voice of Flt. Lt. Amanullah rang on R/T: “A train below at 5 O’clcok. Let us go for it.”

The four fanned out, and went into a steep dive towards the train. As they drew near and the form presented itself as a vivid picture they could see the terrified looks on the faces of passengers craning their necks out of the windows of the red coloured train in an effort to identify the on-rushing aircraft.

“On, no; it’s a passenger train. Don’t hit it”, came the word of command from the leader.

The Sabres pulled up from the sharp dive and leveled off. Rubbernecking, they again searched the sky, no enemy aircraft. The Indian skies seemed to be conspicuously free from their guardians.

With eyes peeled they roared on when suddenly the R/T again became alive. It was Saleem who had seen the runway of the IAF base at Pathankot gleaming in the distant haze. They had come to the end of the area assigned to them for reconnaissance. ‘Butch’ ordered return and with flick of hands on the boards the four were turning sharply to the left. Now they set course for the city of Gurdaspur. They were flying low, searching the ground below for any enemy build-up.

They had reached the outskirts of Gurdaspur when they beheld the silhouette of another train in the marshalling yard of the railway station.

“It may be the same train”, but on second thought ‘Butch’ decided to ‘check’ it.

Suddenly his aircraft peeled off to the right and went screaming down towards the railway station. It was a goods train. It could be some military hardware, he thought.

“I am going in for attack”, called out ‘Butch’.

The wagons grew bigger and bigger grimly enclosed by the circle of diamonds of his gun-sight; and his finger slowly but deliberately pressed the trigger. A stream of bullets slammed into the target. A terrific explosion followed and a huge column of black smoke and debris went up. He pulled up.

“It’s an ammunition train; let’s make a short work of it”. With these words ‘Butch’ dived for the second attack.

A few more rockets and bursts of API bullets, and number of other wagons went up in smoke and fire. Nothing was visible now as the whole place was engulfed in a black pall of smoke. Large pieces of twisted steel and burning wood were flying in all directions. ‘Butch’ had a narrow escape. Some splinters of broken metal hit his aircraft when he was pulling up from the dive. The Sabre lurched. He checked the instruments; all seemed to be well.

Now he circled overhead and saw the fireworks from above. A few buildings near the marshalling yard had also caught fire.

“I can’t see anything down below due to smoke. There might by some more wagons left”, said the leader on the R/T and again streaked down into the thick pall of smoke.

He was engulfed in the dark billowing clouds of black smoke rising more than a hundred feet above. ‘Butch’ strained his eyes to see if any part of the train was left. But, he could not make out anything. He must dive further. Again he went down until he was flying dangerously low, a few feet above the burning train.

All of a sudden he picked up the wagons he was looking for and pulled up steeply for yet another attack. His salvo of rockets scored direct hit and there was gigantic explosion of the munitions in the wagons which sent up pressure waves that shook the other Sabres flying high up like leaves in an autumn breeze. The debris leapt hundreds of feet into the air engulfing the whole area into darkness.

‘Butch’ had pulled up but to no avail. His Sabre was hit by flying debris and soon his cockpit was filled with pungent cordite smoke. He headed his aircraft towards Pakistan, a bare 12 miles away – a minute and half of flying time!

“My cockpit is full of smoke”, he called out to inform his formation. But a few moments later he said: “It seems to be all right now.” These were the last words his comrades heard.

The formation, at this time, was not in visual contact with one another, and when the deputy leader called again to confirm his safety, there was no response. Realising that ‘Butch’ must have bailed out, they carried out a vigorous search that was soon taken over by other aircraft. Army Aviation’s L-19s enthusiastically joined in and in spite of their greater vulnerability to ground fire and interception by enemy aircraft, they combed the entire area for five hours: all to no effect.

A great fighter pilot and a man of unsurpassed courage had gone.

Fifteen years ago a young boy was bitterly disappointed when he was told by the PAF recruiting officer that he could not be selected as a pilot as one of his legs was slightly shorter than the other. He appealed to higher authorities; and, on being rejected, to still higher authorities until they had no alternative but to concede to his enthusiasm. This youth blossomed into one of the most colourful and dashing fighter pilots during his career in the Pakistan Air Force.

Son of a well-known medical specialist of East Pakistan, Dr. T. Ahmed, Squadron Leader Alauddin Ahmed was born at Dacca in 1935. Always the centre of life at the station, he was man with cheerful spirit that was infectious. He had boyish grin, a firm handshake and a direct manner. In spite of his boisterous behaviour with his boys he always retained that streak of strict disciplinarian which demanded respect. All these combined to make him the very image and epitome of a young squadron commander.

Greatly loved and admired by his squadron pilots, ‘Butch’ was punctilious and thorough about his work. To every new pilot in his squadron he would relate a story of a German painter who was hired to paint a small patch on a wall. After painting it over twice he would throw a light on the patch from different angles to see if the colour was uniform. He would go away and return after two hours to check the final effect. The moral of story: work should be extremely thorough and even the minutest detail should be taken into account.

‘Butch’, who joined the PAF in 1951, was the winner of the coveted Sword of Honour on graduation from the PAF College in 1953.

Squadron Leader Alauddin Ahmed was awarded Sitara-e-Jurat posthumously for his “exemplary leadership, courage and valour” during the war. In the citation it was stated that Squadron Leader Alauddin Ahmed, as officer commanding of a PAF fighter-bomber squadron, led the squadron in twenty combat missions against the Indian ground and air force. His leadership throughout the operations was cool, courageous and most determined which inspired the greatest confidence amongst pilots of his formation and resulted in destruction of many Indian tanks and vehicles. His will to destroy the enemy was exemplary. He attacked and blew up an important ammunition train at Gurdaspur rail-head in complete disregard of his personal safety. During this attack on September 13, his aircraft was damaged and Squadron Leader Alauddin was reported missing over enemy territory. Subsequently, it was confirmed that the officer died in this action.”

Squadron Leader Alauddin 'Butch' Ahmed.

 

[Windjammer]

In another later narrative, the conclusion was as follows......

It is known that 'Butch' Ahmed ejected from his burning Sabre, and two other F-86s flying in the vicinity from Peshawar were diverted by Sqn Ldr 'Nosey' Haider to cover him on his way down. PAF aircraft, assisted by Pak Army Cessna L-19s, spent five hours searching the area in an attempt to rescue him. But Sqn Ldr Ahmed was dead by the time he reached the ground, and is generally thought to have been shot while hanging helplessly from his parachute. ‘If he’d reached the ground alive, nothing on earth could have stopped him from escaping’, was Sqn Ldr Haider’s comments. A fitting epitaph, perhaps, for one of the finest and most popular officers in the PAF. Sqn Ldr Ahmed was awarded a posthumous Sitara-e-Jurat for his exemplary leadership, courage and valour."

 

[Windjammer]

FRYING THE FISHOIL.



IAF master radar station was situated just across the border from Lahore at Amritsar. After the first abortive missions against Amritsar on 6 September, the next move came on 7 September when attempts were made to locate Alfa radar by photographic reconnaissance. RT-33s of 20 Squadron were initially used for this task, operating unescorted at low level, and their results were sufficiently accurate for the site of 'Fishoil' - the call sign of Amritsar radar to be pinpointed.

The first attack as a result of this intelligence came on 9 September, when 4 F-86s from Sargodha hedge-hopped for fifteen minutes across the border to Amritsar in poor visibility, to drop napalm jellied petroleum bombs on the radar site. Despite the adverse weather conditions, the 4 Sabres came across part of the Amritsar complex after setting course from their Initial Point, and the accuracy of their navigation was confirmed by the heavy ack ack fire encountered in the target area. Leading the mission was Flight Lieutenant Bhatti, who delivered his napalm close to the site, although slightly to one side. His No 2, the ebullient Squadron Leader Munir, pulled up into a text book attack pattern over the site, but then lost visual contact with the target because of the thick haze. Further attempts to continue the attack were then abandoned following warnings from Sakesar of large numbers of IAF fighters racing towards the scene from the nearby airfields. After exiting at low level, the PAF Sabres dropped their remaining napalm loads harmlessly in Indian fields before returning to base.

On the following day, 10 September, the PAF followed up with a further 2 missions against Amritsar radar by a total of 12 F-86s from Sargodha, escorted by 2 F-104s as top cover. For these attacks, first by 4 F-86s escorted by two F-104s, followed by another 4 F-86s with 4 more as top cover, primary armament comprised 2.75in rockets, but it was soon found that the dust, smoke and debris from delivery of the first aircraft's weapons restricted visibility to such an extent that it was impossible for subsequent pilots to achieve an accurate aim. Slight damage was caused to some parts of the installation but unfortunately for the PAF, 'Fishoil' was soon back on the air.

At least the location of site Alfa was now known, and the Sabres at Sargodha were detailed for yet another strike against Amritsar on 11 September. Having tried and rejected napalm and rockets, the Sabres this time were to use only their 0.5in machine guns against the radar installation, for optimum accuracy and adequate striking power. The use of bombs at this stage was vetoed by the C-in-C, since the radar site was very close to the town of Amritsar, with the possibility of civilian damage and casualties.

For the attack on 11 September, 4 Sabres plus a top cover of 2 F-104s were to be led by OC 33 Wing Commander Anwar Shamim with Flight Lietenant Bhatti as his No 3 and F/L Cecil Chawdery as No 4. Enquiries as to the whereabouts of the wing leader's No 2 were answered by Squadron Leader Munir, who arrived at the briefing in a freshly starched uniform, and announced that Flight Lieutenant Seraj had been kind enough to stand down so that the ops officer could come along in his place. Resignedly, Shamim completed the briefing, and the 4 Sabres set off at low level at 0800 hours on the half hour flight to Amritsar.

Despite poor visibility from the usual dust haze Bhatti, who was responsible for the navigation of this mission, brought the 4 Sabres out at low level precisely on track to Amritsar. Some help in identifying the target was in fact received from the Indian ack ack fire, which began even before the Sabres started their pull-up to attack. As planned, Bhatti and Choudhry began climbing to about 7,000 ft as top cover to draw some of the ack ack fire, while the two F-104s, flown by Squadron Leader Jamal and Flight Lieutenant Amjad, orbited even higher to guard against interference from IAF fighters.



As the first pair of Sabres started their climb, Bhatti called on the radio "Target at 3 o'clock", and Shamim replied "Lead and No 2 pulling up".

As the first pair of Sabres started their climb, Bhatti called on the radio "Target at 3 o'clock", and Shamim replied "Lead and No 2 pulling up". By this time the target area was a veritable inferno of light and medium flak and within a few seconds there came another call, "Two is hit". Bhatti, when later describing the mission, recalled it in these words:

"No 2 of course, was Munir but his voice on the radio was calm and unhurried. As I looked down, however, I saw three balls of flame tumbling through the air where his Sabre had already exploded. He must have taken a direct hit from a heavy ack ack shell and never had a chance to eject. The flaming wreckage fell on the eastern outskirts of Amritsar town, and Munir was reported that evening by the Indians to have been found dead in the debris".

Wing Commander Shamim completed his strafing attack, firing long bursts into the radar aerials with his 6in machine guns. Bhatti called up and said, "How about me having a go", and the remaining 2 Sabres then came in to expend most of their ammunition on the radar installation before exiting, still at low level. Munir's loss on his ninth combat mission of the war was deeply felt at Sargodha and throughout the PAF, among whom he is remembered as a 'professional to the end'.

Two days earlier, Munir had shot down a supersonic Gnat thus entering the list of those elite pilots which had their share in IAF fighters, and that too in air-to-air combat. Both his courage and inspiration were recognised by the posthumous award of the Sitara-i-Jurat. For the first time, Amritsar radar was put out of action for several hours, and it remained only intermittently effective for some time afterwards.

On 11 September, with an escort of 4 F-86s led by F/L Bhatti, and 2 F-104s from Sargodha flying top cover, the vulnerability of the 4 B-57 Bombers to effective enemy interception was considered acceptable, especially since the target was only just inside Indian territory. As an additional precaution the TOT was fixed at dusk, with a rendezvous time of 1715 hours over Bhagatanwala for the 10 aircraft involved.

On this occasion the attack went completely to plan. After a low level approach from Pakistan, the B-57 formation, led by Wing Commander Latif pulled up to their briefed attack height of around 7,000 ft, above the reach of light flak, to dive bomb the target. Each B-57 delivered its full load of 7,000 lbs of bombs in the target area, and all the PAF aircraft returned safely, despite heavy ack ack fire. This time 'Fishoil' really did go off the air, as a result of the heavy damage caused by 28,000 lbs of bombs, and photographic reconnaissance of the target the next day revealed that the site had been vacated.

For this recce flight, one of 9 Squadron's two unarmed two-seat F-104B Starfighter trainers was pressed into service, using a hand-held camera in the rear cockpit for oblique photography. Piloting the F-104 was Flight Lieutenant Aftab Alam, with Squadron Leader Middlecoat as cameraman. Flying at highspeed (around 600 knots) at about 3,000 ft, the F-104 evaded both ack ack fire as well as fighter interception, the only problem being that g forces resulting from the turn over the target made the heavy camera, which normally formed part of a fixed aircraft installation, almost impossible to lift. But the F-104 also managed to get some photographs of Adampur airfield in the same sortie, before returning safely to Sargodha.

 

[Windjammer]

Clash Over Lahore

Lahore had earned itself a place of distinction the moment the war started in 1965. On the one hand it became target of enemy attacks, boasts, and propaganda claims, and on the other its citizens became both participants in, and spectators to, PakistanÕs counter-offensive in that theatre. One of the unique spectacles they witnessed, was a rare dogfight between 10 fighter aircraft right over the city. Of these, 4 were PAF Sabres, while the others were 4 Hunters and 2 Gnats of the enemy airforce. Interestingly, it was the last dogfight of the war.

It all started on the evening of 20 September, when four fighter-bombers were ordered up into the air by the air defence controller. Squadron Leader Changezi followed by Flight Lieutenant Anwar-ul-Haq Malik, Jilani and Amanullah lifted off in twoÕs and as they were still climbing, the controller came on the radio: Victor 125, Angels 20, Patrol between Kasur and Lahore. It appears that the enemy mistook this Combat Air Patrol (CAP) for an offensive mission, poised to cross the border, and it started scrambling fighters to intercept our planes over our territory. The ensuing air battle saw the loss of two enemy aircraft, and the number could have been higher, if the enemy had not broken off the engagement, and the Sabres had not been deferred by the fast approaching darkness into giving up their chase of the fleeing enemy.

Maintaining a steady climb, the Sabres set course for Kasur. They levelled off at the planned height and a few minutes later they had reached Kasur-Khemkaran sector. At 20,000 feet with the afternoon haze and glare nothing was visible down below. It was the 14th day of the war and it was long time since our ground forces had captured the important Indian town of Khemkaran, about six miles from Kasur. The fighting was now going on a few miles south of Khemkaran. The Sabres now turned about and headed for Lahore. All was quiet and peaceful, only the steady roar of engines broke the silence. Suddenly Sakesar Radar beamed a warning: ÒFour bogies climbing well inside enemy territory heading northÓ Soon the Sabres were over Lahore. They had been circling over the historic city at a lower height with eyes scanning the air above, behind and ahead, seeking to detect the approach of enemy fighters when out of the corner of his eye Amanullah caught some dark specks below. ÒTwo bandits about 5000 feet below, 11 OÕclock:Ó he yelled on the intercom. With a flick of hands the four fighters jettisoned their spare tanks to get ready for the fight. Except Amanullah, No 4 in the formation, nobody had yet sighted the enemy. On guidance by his wingman, Jilani now spotted the approaching enemy and recognized them as Hunters. The two Sabres peeled over like graceful birds of prey and slashed down, angling towards the enemy. Changezi, the leader, was on the climb when suddenly he spotted two Hunters at 12 OÕclock diving towards Jilani at about 3000 feet. Followed by Malik, who was keeping his ÔtailÕ clear, Changezi streaked down towards the two Hunters.

It was an interesting situation: Two Hunters pursued by two Sabres which in turn were followed by two Hunters, and the end of the line was made up by two Sabres again. The calm air over Lahore was filled with thud-thud of machine-guns and hissing tracers from the fighting aircraft and thousands of Lahorites, despite the air raid warning, came out of the houses to witness the show of death. The formations clashed with a high screaming reaching its crescendo as the fight developed into a melee. The sky over Lahore was a jumble of crisis-crossing, diving climbing fighters. Changezi braced his controls. With eyes fixed on the gun-sight and his spine slightly arched, he veered sharply to the left as his quarry went through a high-G turn. The silhoutte of the ÔbanditÕ had started filling his gun-sight and as it came within range he pressed the button letting out a short burst. The bullets went home and hit the fuselage of the Hunter.

The enemy wavered slightly but continued pursuit of the Sabres ahead. Changezi waited for a brief moment and fired again with the old tenacity of a pilot who feels a kill in his bones. He did a steep turn left, flicking over and then climbing all the time chasing the Hunter as if glued to his tail. The enemy tried all types of evasive tactics but could not throw away the determined Changezi. The diamonds of the gun-sight again closed on the silhoutte and he squeezed the firing button, for about two seconds. This was the end of the Indian. Giving out big plumes of smoke and flames the enemy reeled away and went straight down to his doom. The pilot could not bail out.

In the meantime ChangeziÕs Wing-man, Malik, stopped giving radio calls of Ôtail clearÕ. Changezi called him but could not hear anything. There was lot of radio talk going on between Jilani and Amanullah. He called out but again Ôno contactÕ. At that time Malik was engaged in another death struggle with two supersonic Gnat fighters which had suddenly come out of the blue and pounced upon him as he was keeping ChangeziÕs ÔtailÕ clear. One of the Gnats sneaked near him and gave a long squirt with his guns, and as the bullets landed straight into his right wing, the Sabre lurched. Surprised at this sudden turn of events Malik, who had shot down a Mystere during the historic Battle of Sargodha on September 7, now looked into his mirror and saw another of Gnat fast closing on him with leadersÕ guns blazing. The Sabre was badly hit but Malik kicked the controls and banked hard. The Gnat cut across and got his fire converging at an angle and then veering to meet his line of flight from below, giving Malik another burst, a long burst, sending the Sabre into a threat to spin. Malik brought it straight but dense fumes had started filling his cockpit. He put the aircraft in a shallow dive. Fumes had started getting worse and the controls were not answering properly. The R/T was dead and he set course for the base.

However, on the way the conditions worsened and he had to bail out. By evening he reached his base safely.

The grim dog-fight went on between three Sabres and five enemy fighters (three Hunters and two Gnats). Jilani and Amanullah maintained their chase of the two Hunters despite continuous pecking by Gnats. Amanullah was keeping JilaniÕs ÔtailÕ clear when suddenly he spotted two Gnats closing on him. He broke and after manoeuvring hard he kept himself clear of the attack. While containing the Gnats, one of the Hunters which was being chased by Jilani banked hard and manoeuvred to get behind Amanullah. He closed in and opened fire but the tracers went wide as Amanullah veered sharply to the left. The Hunter shot ahead.

In the meantime Jilani had grimly maintained his chase of the other Hunter. The enemy seemed to be a good pilot and took various evasive tactics through high Gs but Jilani kept his pursuit gradually getting nearer and nearer. His persistence paid off when the shouter of the hunter filled his gun-sight.

As it came within range he moved his finger on top of the firing button and held it down. The Sabre shuddered at the recoil of six machine-guns and a stream of armourpiercing and incendiary bullets slammed into the fuselage of the enemy. The Hunter started spitting smoke and flames as it careered down towards the ground.

Flight Lieutenant Jilani, who had mortally damaged a Gnat in an earlier combat near Ferozepur on September 13, was later awarded Tamgha-e-Basalat.

With two Hunters gone the Indians thought it better part of valour to disengage and leave for home. The three gallant fighters returned to their base safely.

Squadron Leader Sharbat Ali Changezi

F-86F Sabre (serial# 51-13407) flown by Squadron Leader Sharbat Ali Changezi during air battle over Lahore on September 20, 1965.

 

[bigest]

fighting arguement

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

I still cant believe how shamelessly indians shot Squadron Leader Alauddin 'Butch' Ahmed....SHAME.