[Style Mantra]

Few fighter pilots of any nation could claim nine victories in three combats.
Fewer still could claim seven in two days.
Barely anyone could claim to have at least three jets destroyed within the space of 30-40 seconds.
But Mohammad Mahmood Alam of Pakistan Air Force did it all in 1965 war!

The rebirth of Pakistan's record-holding Air Fighter as a New Man: Mohmammad M. Alam

The middle of the year 1965 was unquestionably the peak point of the Pakistan Air Force's 54-year history. It brought into focus the fundamental character of this relentless air force when faced, for the first time, with a full scale confrontation with its number one enemy, the Indian Air Force.

Mohammad Mahmood Alam, who was born in 1935 in the state of Bihar, Western Bengal, is so far the top scorer fighter pilot of PAF. In the war of 1965, he shot down nine Indian planes (five in one sortie) and damaged another two. On September 6, 1965, during an aerial combat over enemy territory, Squadron Leader Mohammad Mahmood Alam, in an F-86 Sabre Jet, shot down two enemy Hunter aircraft and damaged three others. For the exceptional flying skill and valor displayed by this Squadron Leader, Alam was awarded Sitara-i-Juraat [The Star of Courage]. On September 7, 1965, Alam is said to have destroyed five more enemy Hunter aircraft in less than a minute, which remains a record to this today. Overall he had nine kills and two damages to his credit.

It is worth quoting an Indian author here from his book Fiza'ya, regarding this remarkable achievement of M. M. Alam: "The claim of shooting down five Hunters within 30 seconds by Squadron Leader M. M. Alam OC No. 11 Squadron (F-86F), if true, would be a feat unprecedented in the annals of jet air warfare, probably in the history of all air warfare. A Luftwaffe pilot in WWII downed five Soviet aircraft in a single sortie, but no one (except M. M. Alam) could claim five in the space of less than a minute."

According to M. M. Alam himself, he is now a changed man. After his promotion to Wing Commander, he bagan to question and rectify his lifestyle, and reached the conclusion that the abandonment of traditional Islamic values by the PAF constituted a betrayal of the people it served. The most obvious symbol of that compromise of values was the consumption of alcohol. Alam not only quit such immoral and unIslamic practices himself, but also took the initiative to persuade his colleagues to banish alcohol from the officers' mess. Not surprisingly, Alam's growing zeal for Islam frustrated many PAF officers, a good many of whom were his superiors.
In 1979 Alam took a leave of absence and slipped over the border into Afghanistan. It is believed that Alam advised and inspired the Mujahiddin of Afghanistan in their operations against the Soviet-backed Afghan government. Since his return to Pakistan from the Jihad against the Soviet atheists, Alam's life has changed. He began to live a life of simplicity, residing in a sparsely furnished apartment in Karachi with little more then a pile of books.

It is interesting to note that during his appearance on Pakistan Television with his fellow war veterans in 1994, this once dashing Ace of Pakistan made very few remarks about his brilliant war time achievements, which is quite indicative of his new humble and peaceful nature. "That had been another, earlier Mohammad Alam," as Alam himself admitted in this interview. Indeed this new Alam is a different man, more concerned with his spiritual integrity than with glorifying his old dogfights.

On this Defence Day of Pakistan, we should honor and pay tribute to this honest and God-conscious man, not only for the great courage he demonstrated in the 1965 war and for the other landmarks in his PAF career, but also for his courage in giving up his prestigious life and for his efforts in removing immoral practices in Pakistan Air Force.

Eye-witness to M.M. Alam's encounter with the IAF
By Wing Commander (Retd.) M. Arif Iqbal (PAF)

History has never been a particularly interesting subject for me, but on 7th September, 1965, I had the unique opportunity of seeing history being made. I shall not hesitate to accept that, ever since, my prejudices against history have weakened quite a bit.

The tension of the post Rann-of-Kutch period had increased progressively culminating in the outbreak of the Indo-Pak War. The PAF was in a high state of alert. I was then at Sargodha - the focal point of interest for the Indian Air Force. It did not take a psychologist to analyse the state of mind of the PAF pilots. Calm and resolute, quite yet zealous, they were all too keen to their teach adversaries a lesson.

Seated in the cockpit of an F-104 aircraft, I was awaiting my turn to the launched into the air. On a warning of an approaching low-level raid, some of my colleagues had already got airborne. For a short span of about half a minute we were anxious, but it was not long before we realised that the enemy had failed to deliver a proper attack and had caused no damage except to chip off a corner of a transistor-radio. They had to pay a rather heavy toll for the damage they had caused on the personal property of an officer - 4 out of the 6 raiding aircraft were shot down.

When a second in-coming raid was detected, four of my colleagues flying the F-80s and I in my F-104 were ordered to the air. In minutes we were airborne and were waiting to "great-our friends." Squadron Leader M. M. Alam with his wingman was orbiting south-east of the airfield; the other pair of F-86s led by Flight Lieutenant Bhatti was further east of Squadron Leader M. M. Alam's section and I was circling the airfield at a height of about 15,000 feet. While heading north, I spotted four enemy aircraft exiting in a south-easterly direction. I called out on the radio that I had visual contact with them and started turning in the direction of the enemy's exist. By the time I had come behind the enemy aircraft, I saw that four F-86s - two of Alam's formation and two of Bhatti's - were already chasing the Indian Hunter aircraft.

The Hunter is a faster aircraft than the Sabre: In order to close in to a firing range the Sabres had to jettison their external fuel tanks and dive down from height. Bhatti tried to get rid of his external tanks but unfortunately one of his tanks failed to jettison. It was now practically impossible for him to close the gap between himself and his prey. So, he wisely decided to let the other pair of F-86s, led by Alam, tackle the Indian aircraft. Alam and his wingman started gradually to close in on the enemy. Thought I, in the F-104, would have had no problem getting into the firing range, I thought it appropriate and fair to let Alam try his hand first. I decided to keep the Hunters in sight and trail Alam, firstly to allow him more manoeuvring area and, secondly, to be ready for any one of them who might decide to run away faster. In the heart of my heart, I feared that Alam, with his complete mastery of the F-86 and his determination to punish each one of the Indians for the liberty they had taken, would give me no opportunity. In a short while I realised that my fears were turning into facts.

Like me, Alam had also spotted only four Hunters. He decided to engage the one on the extreme right first. It was then that he spotted a fifth Hunter further to the right. He changed his mind and switched his attack to this new find. Barely a couple of seconds must have lapsed before Alam six guns were spitting fire and fury at this Hunter and I saw a ball of fire hit the ground. Alam pulled his guns on to the next Hunter. A few seconds later, another ball of fire hit the ground. Then the Indians tried a half-hearted defensive manoeuvre. Alam was almost overshooting an enemy aircraft but by then he had destroyed it - a third ball of fire and the pilot of this Hunter managed to eject from his aircraft before it crashed. Alam was once again in a better position to tackle the two remaining Hunters. It was only a matter of moments before these two also turned into balls of fire and crashed into the ground. I felt a pang of disappointment - Alam had been unfair to me. He had himself tackled them all, giving me no chance to bear my guns on to any one of them. The Indians disappointed me too. Had they just decided to run away from Alam, I would have possibly had a chance.

I checked my distance from Sargodha; it was 37 miles. This was the first time that a fighter pilot had attacked and destroyed five enemy fighters at almost tree-top level in a short span of a minute or so. A new chapter was added not only to the history of the PAF, but also to that of military aviation.

It was a great privilege to have been a witness to this encounter. The bit "Fox Hunt" started by the Indian Hunters had ended up in the "Fox" killing all the hounds but one. This one hound, I do not know how, managed to detach himself from the rest of the 'hounds' and ran back with his tail between his legs. I believe that on his return he was awarded a "Veer Chakra" for his demonstration of great courage and valour in the face of the enemy!

The Story of the Pakistan Air Force: A Saga of Courage and Honour

A brief review of The Story of the Pakistan Air Force: A Saga of Courage and Honour, a book of over 700 large-sized pages published by the Shaheen Foundation. This book gives a graphic account of the heroics of the PAF pilots in the eastern wing during the 1971 war when they were outnumbered ten to one. Covering the development of the force from August, 1947, when it only had a few Tempest aircraft, the book takes the reader up to 1987 when F-16s were hurtling down the runways to go up in a breathtaking climb in deadly pursuit of their doomed quarry.

[ASQR]

It is an Air force to be fearful specially if u r an Indian pilot, But rightfully their should be no alcohol served in any place in Pakistan, specially in Armed forces, those who do consume it, should be brought to the justice of Armed forces.

But than again our justice system is in disarray than what should one do, curse and swear or just pray to all mighty Allah S.W.T. to help us adopt the true Islam. Ameen