[🇵🇰-Airforce] PAF History

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M M Alam

A daring fighter pilot, Top Gun of his own class, war hero, scholar par excellence, a patriotic Pakistani and a committed professional, M M Alam was born in a well-educated family of Calcutta on 6 July 1935, British India.

The family moved to East Pakistan at the time of partition and got settled at Dacca. Alam was the eldest among eleven children of Mr Masood Alam. His father died when he was still in his teens and he himself had to take the reins of his family early in life.

Having completed his secondary education from Govt High School, Dacca in 1951, Alam joined PAF in 1952 and was granted commission on 2 Oct 1953. Soon after graduation, Alam did the Fighter Conversion Course and emerged as a top class fighter Pilot. During the 1965 war with India, he established a combat record, which has written in the history of jet air warfare.

Only few pilots have scored several air victories in one sortie but none have equaled or exceeded Alam’s claim of shooting down number of enemy aircraft within few seconds and no one is likely to match his record of destroying five 'Hunters' of the Indian Air Force within a minute on 7 Sept 1965. This remains a record till today, as during the war, he ruled the fiery skies of battle area with his supreme tactics, razor-sharp reactions and evasive maneuvers.

On 6 Sep 1965 during an aerial combat over enemy territory, Sqn Ldr M M Alam flying as pilot of an F-86 Sabre jet, shot down four enemies Hunter aircraft and damaged two others. Overall, he had nine kills and two damages to his credit.

For the exceptional flying skill and valour displayed by Sqn Ldr M M Alam in operations & number of interception missions flown by him against the enemy aircraft attacking Pakistan Air Force Station, Sargodha, he was awarded SJ with Bar. He was also among the pioneering aircrew that went to France for finalizing the first batch of Mirage III strike interceptors.

His name once again entered into the annals of history when on 8 Mar 1968 he led the formation of first 6 Mirage aircraft while ferrying them from France to Pakistan. His major appointments included air gunnery and tactical instructor at Fighter Leader School, Officer Commanding of No 11, 5 & 26 Squadron, Director of Operation Research, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Flight Safety) & Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (plans) at the Air Headquarters.

Alam retired as an Air Commodore in 1982. A great warrior, a fighter ace, an icon and a national hero breathed his last on 18 Mar 2013 at Karachi. At the funeral, which held at PAF Base Masroor, the men in blue saluted his Pakistani flag wrapped casket for one last time.

 

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Pilot Officer Idris Hasan Latif In Flight - Audax Aircraft Of No # 3 Squadron Royal Indian Air Force Over Kohat Airfield, 1942 (c).

Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif (9 June 1923–30 April 2018) was the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force, having served as such from 1978 to 1981.

After retirement, he has also served as the governor of the Indian state of Maharashtra (1982–85) and later as the Indian ambassador to France (until 1988). He was the first and only Indian Muslim to become the head of the Indian Air Force, or of any Indian armed forces branch.

 

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Badin

In 1962 it was felt necessary by the PAF to establish a radar installation at Badin due to the strategic importance of the area. It was located close to the Indian border, and enemy aircraft taking off from forward Indian airfields in Rajasthan would have to pass through its cover to attack civil and military targets in the lower Sind region between Sukkur and Karachi. For a number of years the base remained an important sector operations centre contributing to the air defence of a large area in the southern region of Pakistan. The base is located in the typically sandy and flat terrain of the southern Sind where the post-independence availability of water has transformed the countryside into highly productive farm lands. Due to its remote location, friends did sympathize in the early days if one was posted to Badin. But with the efforts and initiatives of each successive base commander, the technical and domestic facilities at Badin continued to improve and today the base is fully self sufficient in all operational, administrative and recreational respects. Throughout the 65 war Badin's men bravely warded off air attacks and kept its operational facilities fully intact. On 21 September, When an enemy rocket set ablaze an equipment building, Leading Aircraftman Muhammad Anwar Hussain Khan, a radar mechanic of the maintenance wing, died a hero's death while trying to extinguish this fire. For his courageous conduct Anwar Hussain was posthumously awarded the Tamgha-e-Juraat. He lies buried near the main guard room where floral wreaths are laid on his grave on 7 September every year to renew the memory of his valour. Some time before the 71 war began, the sector operations centre at Badin was moved to a new location to enable it better to cover a larger area of responsibility. During that war, the observer squadrons of the base were deployed at their assigned surveillance posts and provided excellent and timely warnings to the air defence network. In one particular air raid against Badin itself the determined gunners of the ack unit shot down an attacking Mig-21 with their intensive and accurate fire. Much has been done in recent years too by way of further development and modernization of the base. Its responsibilities have been enhanced both in magnitude and in character to enable it to continue its solid contribution to the PAF's operational efficiency.

 

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Karachi Air Port

A site was agreed at Karachi (now part of Pakistan since the partition of the country in 1947) in . This was agreed to be the one of the main "terminals" or junctions as part of the Imperial Airship Communications scheme in 1926.


A site was located outside Karachi in 19525, as a preference to Mumbai (Bombay) due to the advantageous weather and thunderstorms were less frequent in the area. The Karachi site was situated some 13 miles east outside of the town, and was almost at sea level. This would have given the airships an advantage with being able to maximise their lifting capacity, despite the heat differential.


The land was purchased and surveying commenced on the land as to where best to place the buildings. Construction began in 1926 and an airship mast, hydrogen plant and hanger. The Mast followed the same basic designs as the Cardington mast, with the same height and construction method. The only exception was that the base of the mast contained buildings followed along the baseline in an octagonal shape. The airship base also contained a hydrogen plant in order that the ships can be repassed at the mast.



The gasometers contained enough gas to refill the R101, at a capacity of 5.5 million cft of gas. The Karachi airship shed was erected which was larger than the original Cardington sheds and of a simpler design. This was decreed that the slanting side areas were not needed as it was not to be a constructional shed, and the sides of the hangers at Cardington contained a lot of the offices and storage space during construction of a ship. The shed also differed from other previous designs of sheds, in that the shed only had doors at one end, with a differing door frame design. Once completed, the Karachi shed was the largest building in the British Empire at that time.

The shed was also designed with the future in mind as it was 850ft long , 170ft high and 180ft wide. This would have fitted the new R102 class ship which was designed to be some 822ft long. Construction of the facility cost some � 93,000 in 1928 ( �5,500,000 - 2017 value).

As there were no major iron or steel works in India at the time, the materials and components were fabricated at the Geriston Steel Works, Glasgow, with the Armstrong Construction Company being awarded the contract for the Shed's construction.

The first piece of structural steelwork being lifted in to place on 9th October 1926. Despite the shed being erected along the lines of previous sheds, the Karachi Shed was the largest. Despite the size, and some 4,000 tons of steel used in the construction, one of the conditions of the assembly and design, was that the shed could be dismantled and moved to another location. The precedent of this had already been made with the moving of the constructional shed in Pulham in Norfolk, to be re-erected and suitably enlarged as Shed 2, at the Royal Airship Works, Cardington.

The mooring mast was constructed along the same design lines as the Cardington and Ismailia mast, and work began in 1929, with the completion of the construction in August 1930. The mast itself was the standard design, however the buildings around the base were added in an octagonal design. As with the Montreal Mast, it was see that administration and other logistical space was needed. Space would have also been needed for customs and official passenger formalities. At Cardington, these were not to be processed at the mast but in what was know as the Administration Building or Short's Building as it's known today. To transport passengers, a 8 mile railway spur was built to connect the base with the city.

The Shed and mast, although never used by an airship remained, and according to records, some eighteen men were employed up until 1939, to maintain the facility which shows the decision on "cancelling the programme" was not as immediate as people believe after the R01 tragedy. With the decisions over the future of the Imperial Airship programme being discussed in London over the next few years, the locals managers allowed the Karachi shed to be used by local soldiers as a sports arena, out of the sun. It was reported that two games of football could be played inside the shed at once. It was also rumoured that the building was large enough to host local polo games, although there is no current evidence to substantiate this, however again the shed was certainly large enough for shelter play.
The shed became involved in aeronautical activities finally in the late 1930's when Imperial Airways took over responsibility of the building as an aero plane hangar and workshops.

It was during the Second World War that the shed was used by both the RAF and the US Army. They utilised the shed for repairing aircraft which were being used in Burma and Indochina. The British Government were always looking for other uses for the shed, as well as offering the facilities to other interested Governments.

The US Navy did investigate the possibility of using the base for it's own airship programme as the shed was large enough, however this did not progress any further. The sheds and mast remained erected until well after India's independence from Britain, and later territory tansferred to Pakistan.

In 1952, Pakistan Aviation issued a tender to dismantle the shed, and it was not until 1961 that it was finally agreed to dismantle it. Not that the building would be seen as going to waste, as the resources could be put to other uses. The steel was used for bridges and other smaller buildings along the vast Pakistan Railways. As with some of the other proposed sites, the Karachi site is the location of the International Airport today.

 

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How a young air force organized a Sabre-only fly-past

Maj General Syed Ali Hamid on the 64-ship flypast that thrilled Karachiites on the 23rd of March 1957

by Major General Syed Ali Hamid
March 29, 2019

Arguably the most dramatic event during the annual Pakistan Day Parade held in Islamabad on the 23rd of March is the flypast by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Led by the Air Chief who pulls up a spectacular vertical climb with full after-burners, four ship formations of F-16s, JF-17s, F-7Ps and Mirages roar past the spectators’ stand. It all started in 1957 with the first all-jet fly past by F-86 Sabres in Karachi on the first anniversary of Pakistan being declared a republic.

In May 1954, Pakistan had signed a Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement with the United States and by 1955, it had also become a member of SEATO and CENTO. Those were exciting times for our young air force because the US had agreed to equip it with 102 North American F-86 Sabres as well as T-33 Shooting Star jet trainers and B-57 Bombers.

The F-104 Star Fighters would be released a few years later. The Sabre was a battle proven design that had fought extensively in the Korean War. It was the first jet aircraft designed for an air superiority role and by the standards of the 1950s, it was a sleek, modern war machine – a state-of-the-art weapons system.

PAF Air Base Mauripur on the 14th of August 1956, with a lineup of 80 F-86 Sabres of No. 32 Fighter Group Attack Wing, T-33 Shooting Stars and Bristol Freighters on the large trooping apron

By the end of 1956 the PAF was halfway past in its conversion to the F-86s, when it was asked to consider a dramatic public introduction of its latest weapon system by staging a ‘Sabre Only’ fly-past on the first 23rd March Parade to be held in 1957. The Pakistan Air Force was young in terms of organization and service of its officers, but some of its leaders had flown combat sorties during the Second World War and were not averse to taking risks. Air Vice Marshal Asghar Khan, the Deputy C-in-C Administration had flown bombing missions in Burma and subsequently commanded a squadron of Hawker Hurricanes. Nur Khan, who was the Deputy C-in-C (Air Operations) in 1957, had flown with No.7 Squadron in Burma carrying out high-angle dive bombing attacks in his Vultee Vengeance. The PAF also had legends like Fuad Shahid (FS) Hussain who was acknowledged as ‘The Prince of Pilots’ and was an inspiration for a breed of younger pilots who would perform brilliantly in the 1965 War.


The PAF not only agreed to a ‘Sabre Only’ flypast, it was also prepared to execute it with 64 aircraft which corresponded with the maximum number of Sabre pilots it could muster. In August 1956, the PAF had established the No. 32 Fighter Ground Attack Wing at Mauripur which was being equipped with the F-86. Of its four squadrons that were to participate in the flypast, two had received the Sabres earlier but No.14 and 16 were newly raised and had the least experienced pilots. At the time the decision was taken, the conversion program had produced about 60 pilots whose time on the Sabre ranged from a couple of hundred hours to ten hours or less. Everything was hurriedly put together to complete the total of 64 pilots with a couple of reserves for the Pakistan Day Flypast.

In fact, on the momentous day, some of the pilots in No.14 Squadron had less than 2 hours of flying time on the Sabre! There was no dual-seater version of the aircraft so the pilots first did their jet conversion training on the T-33 Shooting Star, which was a dual-seater.

This training was held with the No.2 (Fighter Conversion) Squadron at Mauripur. Then after the necessary classes and cockpit familiarization with the F-86, the first experience of the pilots in flying a Sabre was solo.

A four-ship flight of F-86 Sabres of the PAF landing at the Mauripur Air Base on Runway 27, which had been strengthened and lengthened by the US (circa 1960)

The flypast was to be conducted from the PAF base at Mauripur (renamed as Masroor Air Base in 1967), which had been established in 1940-41, as a temporary staging post and air transport base for the US Air Corps. In 1942 it became the site of Air Headquarters, India, and a transit station for thousands of troops moving to and from the Far East during and after the Second World War. In 1945, the Royal Air Force took over the base as a strategic link for India and the Far East.

To handle the large amount of air traffic, a very large apron, known as the ’Trooping Apron’, was constructed. The number of flights during 1945-46 made Mauripur look like a scaled-down version of present-day Gatwick, with daily air movements running into three figures and at its peak, the trooping apron held upwards of 70 to 80 aircraft a day. The picture of the aircraft line-up on the 14th of August 1956 provides a view of the trooping apron.

On the day of the flypast, the ground engineers accomplished a miracle by achieving a 100 percent serviceability. In 1956, the US Army Corps of Engineers had undertaken a program of strengthening the main Runway 27 and extending it from 6,100 to 9,000 feet to accommodate large aircraft of the USAF. Therefore 64 Sabres crammed up to takeoff on the old Runway 04. Since Runway 04 was short, the pilots had to apply 98 percent power, consuming precious fuel. The Sabre had no external tanks which drastically limited its endurance.

A flypast required slow and low-level flight and the internal fuel tanks gave the aircraft an endurance of just over 30 minutes. Within this time, each aircraft had to taxi, takeoff, form up, fly past and land. Mauripur Air Base was only 5 nautical miles from the Karachi Polo Ground – where the flypast had to take place. Therefore the fleet first headed west, assembled into diamond formations, each comprising of four flights of Sabres in a four-ship formation, before turning towards the polo ground.

The flypast was flawless and population of Karachi was thrilled by this new spectacle of air power from the PAF.

The 64 fuel-starved jet fighters now headed back to land on the single Mauripur runway. If Runway 04 posed a problem at takeoff, recovery was even more challenging – not only because of its short length but at its furthest end was a two-feet-high lip of the under construction Runway 27.

In spite of this, the recovery was progressing smoothly when disaster struck. On the short final (the last stage of the landing phase and prior to touchdown), the pilots had to reduce speed to the desired 120 knots, flare out to break the glide of the aircraft and fly parallel to the runway for a smooth touchdown.

A young inexperienced pilot was unable to execute this maneuver correctly and crash-landed, blocking the runway. The control tower at Mauripur had no option but to divert the 40 or so Sabres that were still holding pattern to the Karachi Civil Airport, 13 nautical miles to the east. Within minutes, the Karachi airport witnessed a rare spectacle as swarms of F-86 Sabres made a beeline for it, frantically jockeying for position in the landing stream because no one had the fuel to go around! The last few aircraft may well have touched down with only vapour in their tanks.

The risk that was taken may have been the dying echoes of an era gone by when pilots flew by the seat of their pants but the achievement was spectacular, to say the least, and quite memorable. Not one to rest on its laurels, the following year, the PAF put on a flying display at Maripur for King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, in which for the first time anywhere, sixteen Sabres did a spectacular loop in formation; but that is another story to be told another time.

 

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Drigh Road Airfield

In Biggles in the Orient, Biggles and his squadron made a transit stop at Drigh Road Airfield, Karachi, on their way to their destination Calcutta. At Drigh Road, they changed from a Wellington to a Liberator for their onward journey.

Drigh Road Airfield, Karachi, is the oldest air base in Pakistan and one of the most famous. Founded soon after RAF India Command was formed in 1918 as an aircraft depot, its main mission at the time was to receive aircraft in knocked down condition off ships, assemble, test fly and then ferry them to squadrons all over India. Here, in 1927, among a group of airmen arriving from Britain was AC2 T. E. Shaw (formerly T. E. Lawrence), who worked in the Engine Repair Shop for over a year. Lawrence's letters to his mother contain interesting details of life at Drigh Road at the time. Drigh Road was also the birth place of the Indian Air Force, as No.1 Squadron IAF was raised there on 1st April 1933 at Drigh Road, Karachi.

In 1942, the Aircraft Depot was redesignated No 1 (India) Maintenance Unit and served as the main supply base not only for the RAF in India but for all of the Burmese and Malayan campaigns. Practically every new aircraft destined for these fronts would have passed through Drigh Road.

In 1947, Drigh Road was handed over to the Pakistan Air Force with two major components No 101 Maintenance Unit looking after main Supplies of newly born aviation units and No 102 Maintenance Unit looking after maintenance of aircraft. It continues to this day as PAF Faisal Airbase.
Also in Karachi was RAF Mauripur (now Masroor Airbase) which was founded in 1942 to serve as a transit airfield to relieve Drigh Road of transit traffic and allow it to focus on its role as a maintenance base. So Mauripur would have been a more appropriate transit stop for Biggles and his squadron, although Drigh Road was probably more well-known to Johns. Still, there could be plausible reasons why Biggles was taken to Drigh Road. The Wing Commander who greeted Biggles there said his "best Liberator" was waiting for him. This Liberator could have just been shipped in and gone through maintenance and test flights and was ready to be ferried to Dum Dum, Calcutta, and it was convenient for Biggles and his squadron to go along in it.

Good photo of Drigh Road Airfield showing Hurricanes, Vultee Vengeances and Harvards lined up awaiting delivery to various units in India. Image is courtesy of the Imperial War Museums

 

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P.A.F History:

History

The story of air power in the sub-continent relates back to the Royal Air Force days.
The modest start came in 1914 when a small flying group initially called the Royal
Flying Corps (RFC) which was later named the RAF, was established at Sitapur in
India. A Central Flying School thus started functioning with a fleet of BE 2 aircraft.
After the partition of the sub-continent the Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) came
into existence at Peshawar on 15 August 1947. Air Vice Marshal A L A Perry Keene
was appointed as its first Air Commander. At the time of its formation, RPAF
comprised four stations; 16 fighters, 40 training / transport aircraft; two fighter
squadrons; one maintenance depot and a meagre ammunition depot. The manpower
comprised 220 officers and 2112 airmen. The pre Royal was deleted from the RPAF's
title on the republic day in 1956.


Organization

At the time of its formation RPAF was headed by an Air Commander. This
appointment was later changed to Commander in Chief. The rank of the C-in-C was
raised to an Air Marshal in 1958 and subsequently to an Air Chief Marshal in 1976
with the appointment redesignated as the Chief of the Air Staff. Air Marshal Asghar
Khan was the first Muslim Chief of the Air Staff and in the history of PAF. He
remained in the office from 1957 to 1965. In 1948, the Air Headquarters were shifted to
Karachi and then back to Peshawar in 1960. The Air Headquarters RPAF East
Pakistan were established in Dacca in 1949. In 1953, PAF Act replaced IAF Act which
was later brought in conformity with the Islamic conjuctions in 1984. In 1982, the PAF
was restructured and was divided into three regional commands namely Northern,
Central and Southern Air Commands with Air Officer Commanding Regional Air
Commands exercising administrative and operational authority over the PAF units
within their jurisdiction. In 1983, the Air Headquarters were again moved
transitionally to Chaklala with a plan to position at Islamabad before the turn of the
century.

Weapon Systems

At the time of its independence, the RPAF inherited 16 Tempest fighters, two HP-57
Halifax bombers, 20 Harvards, 10 Tigermoth trainers and eight Dakota transport
aircraft. the Hawker Fury fighters were inducted in 1949. No. 11 Squadron was the
first recipient of SuperMarine Attacker, the first jet fighter to be inducted in the PAF
in 1951.

Marconi Type 21 was the first radar to be inducted in the PAF in 1954. This was
followed by the induction of FPS-6 and 20 radars in 1959 and Condor High Powered
radar in 1968. AR-1 was the first low level radar system to be installed in the PAF in
1969.

Modernization of the PAF started with the induction of F-86 Sabres in 1956 which
resulted in the phasing out of Tempests and Attacker aircraft.

In 1961, No 9 Squadron was the recipient of F104 Star Fighters- the first mach 2
aircraft to arrive in the subcontinent.The last of the piston-engine, Fury fighters were
phased out from the PAF on 22 April 1963. With the successful induction of T-37,
T-33, F-86, B-57, C-130 and F-104 aircraft, the PAF had come of age and was, in
Quaid's Words, second to none.

After the 1965 Indo-Pak war, PAF inducted French built mirages, the Chinese F-6
Farmers and the B-56 Bomber aircraft. The B-56s were phased out in 1969, the F-104s
in 1972, Sabres in 1980 and the B-57s in 1986. The Harvards were phased out in 1976
after the induction of MFI-17 Mashshak in 1974. The FT-5 advanced jet trainer was
inducted in 1975. American F-16 Fighting Falcon and Chinese A-5III were inducted in
1983. Chinese F-7P is the latest induction in the fighter category dating back to 1988.

The Pakistan Air Defence System 1977 commonly known as PADS-77, was an
introduction to modern radars which included American origin TPS-43G and German
MPDR-45, 60 and 90 radars linked through the command and control centres to
provided low level and high level coverage along the entire length of the country.

French built Crotale-2000 was the first surface to air missile system to be
commissioned in the PAF in 1976 .

Bases and Squadron

The RPAF took a meagre start with two fighter bomber, one transport and one
training squadron and seven bases. Soon after its formation, expansion work started
and new bases were commissioned and new fighter and training squadrons were
raised. The first new base to be commissioned was PAF Mauripur, later renamed as
PAF Base Masroor. Within three years of its formation, three squadrons were added
to PAF inventory. Before the 1965 war, PAF had a total of 17 flying squadrons with
adequate number of bases to house these squadrons.

After the 1965 war, the extension of the infrastructure included increasing the number
of bases and raising of another three squadrons. The newly commissioned bases
provided the much needed dispersal and freedom of operations during the 1971 war.
In the recent years, most of the squadrons have been re-equipped with newer aircraft
while maintaining the number of squadrons.

At present, PAF has a network of its operational, training, technical and supporting
bases along the entire length of the
country with adequate number of squadrons and supporting units to effectively
defend the skies against any aggression.

Officers Training

Soon after independence, the Royal Flying School was established at Risalpur which
was raised to the status of Flying College by Quaid-e-Azam during his historical visit
of the school on 13 April, 1948. The Flying Instructors School and Ground
Instructors School was commissioned in 1952.

In 1967, President M Ayub Khan raised the level of the college to PAF Academy.
To overcome the shortage of
technical officers and meet the requirements of new weapon systems inducted in the
PAF, College of Aeronautical Engineering was established at Korangi Creek in 1965.
In 1966, with an aim of combining all the officers training institutions, the college was
shifted to PAF Academy Risalpur.

In order to provide middle level staff training, the Junior Command and Staff School
was established in 1957. The Air War College, originated as PAF Staff College in 1959
was aimed at providing command and staff training to the rapidly growing officers of
all branches of the PAF. In order to provide advanced training to fighter pilots and
Air Defence Weapon Controllers, the Combat Commander’s School was established
in 1976.

Airmen Training

Soon after independence, a Recruits Training Centre was established at Drigh Road.
The next year, the School of Apprentices was commissioned to train apprentices.
Later the school was renamed as School of Electronics. The other institutions
established for the training of the airmen include School of Aeronautics,
Administrative Trades Training School and the Junior Commissioned Officers
Academy .

 

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Historic Events

Flight Lieutenant A B Awan leads three Westland Wapitis of "A" Flight, No 1 Squadron, IAF from Drigh Road (now Faisal) air base on a coastal patrol in the Arabian Sea. As World War II raged in Europe, Allied air forces in Asia also prepared for possible operations against Germany and Japan. Hailing from Dera Ismail Khan, Wing Commander A B Awan was the first Muslim military avaitor of the subcontinent. He died in 1989, having made a pioneering contribution to what would evenyully become the Pakistan Air Force

Events-Pre Partation

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.

Tiger Moth

A Tiger Moth was the first primary trainer to take to the air from the newly-established PAF Flying Training School (now PAF Academy), Risalpur, a month after Pakistan came into existence. The painting shows Flight Lieutenant M Khyber Khan, the Flying Instructor and his student, Flight Cadet Akhtar, airborne on the morning of 22 September 1947 from Risalpur.