





Courtesy Vayu
A two-ship B-57 strike on Bombay harbour, staged through Talhar, was planned but cancelled at the last moment, later during the war, according to Wg Cdr Akhtar Bukhari, the B-57 detachment commander at Masroor who was to fly the mission alongwith the Base Commander, Air Cdre Nazir Latif. Some B-57s had been modified to carry four F-86 drop tanks under the wings to be able to fly a lo-lo-lo profile. Two similar long-range strikes had been flown earlier by Mianwali-based B-57s when they staged-through Rafiqui (Shorkot) to attack distant Agra.
Aditya G wrote:
Some googling reveals that there were multiple PIA losses in 1971 (with pics):
http://www.historyofpia.com/forums/view ... =1&t=15751
my mistake. O-1 it is!Rahul M wrote:pardon me, google tells me O-1 is birddog and O-2 is skymaster ?
I believe that was the Gnat pilot and that 'surrender' was a navigational error. Kaiser Tufail mentions it in his blog; the 'victorious' F-104 pilot hadn't even seen the Gnat that supposedly surrendered to him.kenop wrote:According to a source (ex-IAF) this guy landed by mistake and certainly did not surrender. He later rose to the position of AVM. Will see if I can get more details.
The Official PAF HIstory mentions the same - but in a sneaky way fails to mention that the Starfighter was not in contact with the Gnat - giving the impression that Hakimullah was in contact with the Gnat during the whole incident.. Though Hakimullah could not sight the tiny Gnat at the speed he was flying, he learnt from Sakesar that his adversary had slowed down to what appeared like landing speed. Hakimullah set up orbit over the area, wondering if a forced landing was in progress. Shortly thereafter, to his utter surprise, he picked contact with a Gnat taxiing down the disused Pasrur airstrip near Sialkot.
Sakesar had scrambled another F-104 to the scene, Flown by Flight Lieutenant Hakimullah, it arrived in time to take part, together with the other F-104, in forcing down a Gnat which had strayed from its main formation, and had to contend with 2 F-104s at uncomfortably close quarters. Finding himself over an abandoned airfield (Pasrur), Squadron Leader Brij Pal Singh Sikand seeing no other way out of his predicament, immediately landed his Gnat to save his skin. F/L Hakimullah circled overhead until the capture of the aircraft and the pilot was assured by Pakistani troops.
the deal was that all equipment captured belonged to the new country. they kept em. That stil didnt stop the odd war trophy making it to india. the two AA Guns in Palam are one,as are the various vehicles on display.Rahul M wrote:captured some in '71 but gave them to BAF.
Probably this is the sight.. that factored most in the Indian Navy going for the Barak deal in the 90's..Aditya G wrote:
Aditya G wrote:Thus the unit achieved the feat of landing the first ever-tracked vehicles at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO).
BMP-2? Thats the only tracked vehicle in our inventory thats light enough
Bulldozers are tracked and I guess lighter than BMParun wrote:X Posted. Article larded with some interesting bits of trivia about MI - 26 helicopter operations in the IAF:
IAF MI-26 attains 100% serviceability status
Punjab Newsline Network
Friday, 15 January 2010
CHANDIGARH: <snip> .... While doing so it has achieved the sole distinction of landing a MI–26 at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and other high altitude airfields carrying wheeled vehicles, field guns (Medium), Heavy – duty generators, mobile Satcom stations and Bulldozers. <snip>
Uh huh. Can I throw the above quote back to you?Jagan wrote:I sense a book in the making
1. His Highness, Raja Yashwant Rao Patangshah Vikramshah Mukane, Raja of Jawhar
2. Former Royal Air Force (RAF) officer Rup Chand, conferred the honorary rank of Wing Commander
3. His Highness, Raj Tajeshwar Maharaja Manwant Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur, conferred the honorary rank of Group Captain
4. J Beaumont, OBE, AFC of the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF), conferred the honorary rank of Group Captain on February 25, 1950.
5. Sir Thomas Elmhirst, KBE, CB, AFC of the RAF, conferred the honorary rank of Air Marshal
6. His Highness, Sikander Daulat Iftikhar-ul-Mulk Nawab Muhammed Hamidullah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Bhopal, conferred the honorary rank of Air Vice Marshal
7. His Highness, Sir Pratap Chandra Bhanja Deo, GCIE, Maharaja of Mayurbhanj, conferred the honorary rank of Flight Lieutenant on January 18, 1951.
8. GE Gibbs, GIE, KBE, CBE, MC of the RAF, conferred the honorary rank of Air Marshal on April 11, 1954.
9. Maharaja Umaid Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur, conferred the honorary rank of Air Vice Marshal on an unknown date.
10. Raja Brajendra Chandra Singh Deo Birhar Bajradhar Narendra Mahapatra, Raja of Ranpur,
11. NR Batra, about whom there is no information,
12. AS Sandhu, Public Relations Officer
13. SK Kulkarni, Public Relations Officer
14. C Ramni Public Relations Officer
15. SD Jadeja, Maharaja of Jamnagar
16. JRD Tata,
17. HS Malik
18. Yadu Nandan Chaturvedi, Public Relations Officer
19. Abhai Deo, Public Relations Officer
20. Sardar Surjit Singh Majithia, Maharaja of Patiala
21. Vijaipat Singhania
22. Sachin Tendulkar
Copyright © 2010 Saurabh Joshi.
rajatmisra wrote:Mig 21 variants still continue in service in large numbers. WHy has the IAF phased out MIG 23 and 27, which were more contemporary than the Mig 21? As I understand, all were suited for fighter - interceptor and ground attack roles.
Actually Bhuj was an unused decoy air base that was sued as a trap for Paki jets that finally led to the shooting down of an F-104 by a Mig-21Women rebuilt Bhuj airstrip destroyed in '71 Pak attack
BHUJ: The nightmare of a squadron of Sabre Jets dropping napalm bombs on Bhuj, leaving behind a trail of destruction, is etched forever in the memory of Hiru Bhudia, 60. Bhudia was among 300 women from Madhapar who were entrusted with the task of reconstructing destroyed Indian Air Force air strip in Bhuj, in what may be termed as India's answer to 'Pearl Harbour'.
"The air strip in Bhuj was completely devastated by Pakistani bombers that dropped 14 nepalm (sic) bombs on the night of December 8, 1971.
In Nov 1980, a MiG-21FL of No.47 Squadron, operating from Chabua successfully intercepted a Chinese Illyusin 18 aircraft that strayed into Indian Territory. The aircraft was let go but not before it was photographed by the pilot, Wg Cdr M S Vasudeva, who was the CO of the Squadron at that time