INDO-PAK WAR of 1965 - Aerial Warfare

Aerial warfare

Main article: Aerial warfare in 1965 India Pakistan War
Further information: Indian Air Force#Second Kashmir War 1965 and Pakistan Air Force#Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The war saw aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) engaging in combat for the first time since independence. Though the two forces had previously faced off in theFirst Kashmir War during the late 1940s, that engagement was very limited in scale compared to the 1965 conflict.
The IAF was flying large numbers of Hawker Hunter, Indian-manufactured Folland Gnats, de Havilland Vampires, EE Canberra bombers and a squadron of MiG-21s. The PAF's fighter force comprised 102 F-86F Sabres and 12 F-104 Starfighters, along with 24 B-57 Canberra bombers. During the conflict the PAF was out-numbered by around 5:1.[19]
The PAF's aircraft were largely of American origin, whereas the IAF flew an assortment of Soviet and European aeroplanes. It has been widely reported that the PAF's American aircraft were superior to those of the InAF, but according to some experts this is untrue because the InAF'sMiG-21, Hawker Hunter and Folland Gnat fighters actually had higher performance than their PAF counter-part, the F-86 Sabre.[20] Although the InAF's de Havilland Vampire fighter-bombers were outdated in comparison to the F-86 Sabre, the Hawker Hunter fighters were superior in both power and speed to the F-86 according to Air Cdre (retired) Sajjad Haider, who lead the PAF's No.19 Squadron in combat during the war.[21]
According to the Indians, the F-86 was vulnerable to the diminutive Folland Gnat, nicknamed "Sabre Slayer."[22] The PAF's F-104 Starfighterof the PAF was the fastest fighter operating in the subcontinent at that time and was often referred to as "the pride of the PAF". However, according to Air Cdre (retired) Sajjad Haider who flew with the PAF's No.19 Squadron, the F-104 did not deserve this reputation. Being "a high level interceptor designed to neutralise Soviet strategic bombers in altitudes above 40,000 feet," rather than engage in dogfights with agile fighters at low altitudes, it was "unsuited to the tactical environment of the region."[23] It can be argued that, although the IAF is believed to have feared the Starfighter,[23] in combat it was not as effective as the IAF's far more agile, albeit much slower, Folland Gnat fighter.[24][25]
The two countries have made contradictory claims of combat losses during the war and few neutral sources have verified the claims of either country. The PAF claimed it shot down 104 IAF planes and lost 19 of its own, while the IAF claimed it shot down 73 PAF planes and lost 35.[26]According to one independent source, the PAF flew 86 F-86 Sabres, 10 F-104 Starfighters and 20 B-57 Canberras in a parade soon after the war was over. Thus disproving the IAF's claim of downing 73 PAF fighters, which at the time constituted nearly the entire Pakistani front-line fighter force.[27]
Indian sources have pointed out that, despite PAF claims of losing only a squadron of combat craft, Pakistan sought to acquire additional aircraft from Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and China within 10 days of the beginning war.[citation needed] But this could be explained by the 5:1 disparity in numbers faced by the PAF.

  1. ^ John Fricker, "Pakistan's Air Power", Flight International issue published 1969, page 89. URL:http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%200111.html?search=Pakistan%20Mirage%205, retrieved: 03 November 2009
  2. ^ "Pakistan's Air Power", Flight International, issue published 5 May 1984 (page 1208). Can be viewed at FlightGlobal.com archives, URL:http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1984/1984%20-%200797.html?search=F-86%20Pakistan Retrieved: 22 October 2009
  3. ^ http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/the-right-stuff-499
  4. ^ See the main article Sabre Slayer for the complete list on this issue including sources.
  5. ^ a b Ahmad Faruqui, "The right stuff", published by Dawn News on Monday 14 September 2009, URL:http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/the-right-stuff-499 Retrieved: 01 November 2009. Also published under title "The Debt Owed" on 16 September 2009 by [outlookindia.com], URL: http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?261856
  6. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=MG5wioBJyK0C&pg=PA164&dq=india+1965+pakistan+Sabre+slayer&lr=&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a
  7. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=p40nOZgeh84C&pg=PA161&dq=1965+pakistan+air+force+Sabre&lr=&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a#PPA162,M1
  8. ^ Book Review
  9. ^ John Fricker, "Pakistan's Air Power", Flight International issue published 1969, pages 89 and 90. Can be viewed at Flight International archives: page 89 URL: http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%200111.html?search=Pakistan%20Mirage%205, page 90 URL: http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%200112.html. Retrieved: 03 November 2009

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

- ADDICTION to TECHNOLOGY -

Student 'addiction' to technology 'similar to drug cravings', study finds   Withdrawal symptoms experienced by young people deprived of gadgets and technology is compared to those felt by drug addicts or smokers going “cold turkey”, a study has concluded. By   Andrew Hough   7:30AM BST 08 Apr 2011 Researchers found nearly   four in five students had significant mental and physical distress, panic, confusion and extreme isolation when forced to unplug from technology for an entire day. They found college students at campuses across the globe admitted being “addicted” to modern technology such as mobile phones, laptops and television as well as social networking such as Facebook and Twitter. A “clear majority" of almost 1,000 university students, interviewed at 12 campuses in 10 countries, including Britain, America and China, were unable to voluntarily avoid their gadgets for one full day, they concluded. The University of Maryland research described students...
Read more

Snow-Covered Lahore

Image
I had just returned home with family when it started raining and just a few minutes later we heard that there has been heavy rain and hailing in parts of the city.  What I missed, to regret forever in the rest of life, was captured by others. Here are some photos and a video clip of the snowy-makeover of my Lahore by mother nature on the evening of Saturday the 26th of February, 2011. All photo credits to my son Abdullah's friend Umar.
Read more

INDO-PAK WAR of 1965

Image
World Media Version The  Indo-Pakistani War of 1965  was a culmination of  skirmishes  that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between  India  and  Pakistan . This conflict became known as the  Second Kashmir War  fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of  Kashmir ,  the first  having been fought in 1947. The war began following Pakistan's  Operation Gibraltar , which was designed to infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir  to precipitate an  insurgency  against rule by India. [ 6 ]  The five-week war caused thousands of casualties on both sides. It ended in a  United Nations  (UN) mandated  ceasefire  and the subsequent issuance of the  Tashkent Declaration . [ 1 ] Much of the war was fought by the countries' land forces in  Kashmir  and along the International Border  between India and Pakistan. This war saw the largest amassin...
Read more