F-104 StarFighter of Pakistan Air Force

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A rather unique photo showing both the PAF F-104Bs (S/N 57-1312 & 57-1309) undergoing maintenance in the old maintenance hangar at Sargodha.
 
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A pair of 9 Squadron F-104A Starfighters (56- 803 in the foreground and 56-805 behind) climb to height during a training sortie from Sargodha in 1964
All images Pakistan Air Force
 
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A rare colour photograph of a 9 Squadron F-104A Starfighter at Sargodha during the mid-1960s. The jet, 56-798, was obtained by Pakistan from Taiwan as an attrition replacement, and survives today in the PAF Museum in Karachi
 
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Fitted with long range tip tanks, F-104A Starfighter 56-804 flies over the snow-capped peaks of Kashmir during a combat air patrol. Delivered to the PAF on June 19, 1961, this jet was shot down in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War
 
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Ten of 9 Squadron’s 12 Starfighters can be seen in this view of PAF Base Peshawar during an air display on October 27, 1964. Less than a year later, 56-868 (sixth from right) and 56-877 (third from right) had been lost in action
 
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The Starfighter’s instantly recognisable lines are more than evident in this study of F-014A 56-803 in flight circa 1963. This aircraft was lost in a fatal crash the following year while being piloted by Flt Lt Tariq Masood after failing to pull up from a strafing run on September 3 the following year
 
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June 24, 1965: Indian Air Force Dassault Ouragan IC-698 lies in field close to Jangshahi village near Badin shortly after being forced down by a 9 Squadron Starfighter during the Rann of Kutch border skirmish. Although the jet was initially preserved as a war trophy by Pakistan, it was later disposed of and scrapped
 
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Lockheed F-014A Starfighter 56-803 drags its brake chute as it rolls outs at Sargodha following a dissimilar air combat training mission in early 1964
 
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Seen here posing with F-104A 56- 803, Sqn Ldr Jamal was the first Pakistani Starfighter pilot to successfully use the type in the role for which it had been originally designed when he shot down an IAF Canberra on the night of September 21, 1965
 
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Indian Air Force Gnat F.1 IE-1083 sits on the disused airfield at Pasrur shortly after being forced down by 9 Squadron’s Flt Lt Hakimullah Khan Durrani on September 3, 1965. Today, the jet is displayed as part of the Pakistan Air Force Museum’s collection
 
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A four-ship of Pakistani F-104A Starfighters flying over the Karakoram mountain range during a high-level formation exercise – circa mid-19 60s
 
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Pakistan was another early customer for the Starfighter, receiving its first F-104A in 1961 – the start of a mixed fleet of 12 Alpha models and two Bravos. Seven Starfighters are preserved in Pakistan, including F-104A 56-0879 at Masroor Air Base.
Peter Foster
 

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