PAF Squadron History

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No. 19 Squadron

No 19 Air Superiority Squadron was raised on 1st February 1958 at Mauripur with twelve F-86F aircraft. It started its operational training for its assigned role of day air defence and close support under its first commander Squadron Leader Amanullah Khan. The Squadron achieved first position among F-86 squadrons in the Perry-Keene armament competition held in February 1962. Also in 1962, a flight of 4 Sabres was sent to Dhaka on a trial assignment. By October the Squadron move had been completed with another's flight of 4 aircraft followed by a pair while 2 aircraft were sent by ship. At Dhaka the Squadron became deeply involved in tackling the teething problems in the exciting new environment. The move had generated great enthusiasm among the masses at Dhaka who thronged the air base at Tejgaon to see the shiny fighter planes. The Squadron was originally planned to be moved back to West Pakistan before the monsoon storms but the squadron commander, Squadron Leader Wiqar Azim represented to the C-in-C, who was passing through Dhaka in a B-57 on his way to a SEATO meeting in Bangkok, that the squadron should stay on through the monsoon weather and establish the precautionary measures and systems which would enable Tejgaon to become a permanent operational air base. The C-in-C agreed and 19 Squadron continued its stay in Dhaka. It was thus also able to stage the first jet aircraft fly past over Dhaka during the Pakistan Day ceremonies on 23rd March 1963. In October 1963, the squadron moved to Peshawar from where it saw action in the September 1965 war with India. On 6th September it carried out some of the first close air support missions on the Wagah front and helped avert an Indian army offensive across the BRB canal. Late that evening, 19 Squadron struck Pathankot airfield as part of the PAF's counter air offensive. By the end of the war the squadron had flown 706 hours in 554 sorties without losing a single aircraft or pilot. It had destroyed 14 enemy aircraft, 74 tanks, 140 vehicles and 16 guns, and damaged 16 aircraft, 68 tanks, 128 vehicles and 27 guns. For this outstanding performance the officer commanding, Squadron Leader S S Haider was awarded the Sitara-i-Juraat. In June 1967, the squadron was moved to PAF Base, Masroor where, just before the 1971 war some F-86E aircraft were inducted into the unit. The day air defence of the southern sector with a mixture of Fs and Es was successful as was close air support in the Rajasthan sector inspite of communication difficulties with the forward air controllers. Overall, in its limited operations the squadron destroyed 2 Indian Air Force Hunters, one Mi-4 helicopter and damaged one Hunter. In addition, 8 enemy tanks and several vehicles were destroyed while 2 trains were set ablaze during close support missions. The Squadron suffered only one casualty when Flying Officer Naseem Nisar Ali was shot down by an Indian Air Force Hunter. On 10th November 1972, the Squadron was converted into Fighter Leaders School. In 1977 it was reequipped with F-6 aircraft and designated as No 19 Air Superiority Squadron; the unit was assigned the role of day interceptor and close support and was moved to PAF Base, Sargodha. A year later, the Squadron demonstrated its proficiency on the new type of aircraft by winning the armament competition trophy for 1978. The squadron also had the honour of representing the PAF in an Iran-Pakistan armament competition held at Vahdati air base in Iran in September 78. In 1979 it displayed outstanding professionalism in exercise Jetstream and won the Professionals Trophy.

 

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Pilots of No. 18 Squadron with their Officer Commanding - 1990

 

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No 19 Squadron was formed in Mauripur, near Karachi, on 21 February 1958 with 12 F-86 Sabres. The squadron later moved to Peshawar from where it took part in the 1965 war with India under the command of Squadron Leader Syed Sajjad Haider, popularly known as 'Nosey' Haider. Throughout the war the squadron flew a total of 706 hours in 544 sorties without losing a single aircraft, and succeeded in destroying 14 Indian AF aircraft, 74 tanks, 140 vehicles and 16 artillery guns. As a result of this impressive record, Squadron Leader Haider was awarded Sitara-e-Jurat along with five other pilots.

The squadron also represented the PAF in an Iran-Pakistan armament competition held at Vahdati AB in Iran in September 1978, in which the PAF pilots came on top showing their superior skills.

The squadron participated in the exercise High Mark-89 from Risalwala. That was the last exercise in which F-6 aircraft were used by the unit. The squadron had stood down at PAF Masroor in late 1989, causing its F-6s into storage and the crews to No. 2 Squadron. The squadron was re-equipped with F-7P aircraft at Rafiqui by July 1990, under the command of Wing Commander Gulrez, thus becoming the fourth squadron to do so. It received its first eight F-7Ps by the end of February 1991. After the re-equipment, the squadron carried out Exercise Flat Out on 17 and 19 March 1991. It also participated in Exercise Tornado-VII on 9 and 10 June 1991.

By this time the first four FT-7s ordered were operating with No. 20 Squadron. No. 19 Squadron was due for nine of the twin-seat trainers, with three in March, three in April and the remaining three in June. Following final delivery of the FT-7s, No. 19 Squadron took on the role of operational conversion unit (OCU) from No. 20 Squadron, and the number plate from No. 25 'Eagles' OCU at PAF Mianwali, to become the primary front line introduction unit to the PAF.

The first four FT-7 aircraft were ferried from Hotian, China and were inducted in the squadron on 7 August 1991. The squadron was tasked to conduct the first Operational Conversion Course on F-7P aircraft. Ten student pilots reported to the squadron for No. 1 OCC, which commenced on 3 September 1991. The squadron was tasked to participate in Exercise Condor-II on 9 December 1991.

DACT was conducted with A-5s in April 1992, and Exercise King Cobra-II on 6 June 1992. Air Vice Marshal Shafique Haider and Air Vice Marshal Aliuddin visited the squadron and flew two sorties each on FT-7. An army exercise named Flash Point was carried out between 8-13 December 1992. The squadron was deployed at Chaklala from 25 January 1993 to 4 February 1993.

The squadron had its first major accident on 31 August 1994, when a student pilot, Flying Officer Imran Yousaf, crashed while trying to land an F-7P aircraft after it lost its canopy. He was fatally injured.

On the night of 13 October 1997, all the aircraft in the squadron were damaged by a hailstorm which had struck Mianwali. The year 1998 remained uneventful, and the squadron continued to perform the role of an Operational Conversion Unit. The squadron had successfully graduated a total of 176 pilots till the graduation of 13 OCC.

 

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Pilots of No. 18 Squadron with their Officer Commanding Wg Cdr Khalid S Haroon - 1982

 

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No. 20 Squadron

No 20 Squadron was raised initially as a flight at PAF Base, Masroor in March 1956. The unit was upgraded to squadron status within a year of its formation. Its first CO being Flight Lieutenant Zulfiqar A Khan. The squadron was number-plated in June 1972 and was reactivated in June 1977. Initially the squadron was equipped with RT-33 photo recce aircraft and its role was day photographic survey and reconnaissance. In June 1977, the squadron was reequipped with French-built Mirage-III RP aircraft and was assigned the role of tactical attack and reconnaissance during both day and night. In May 1986, the unit went through another reequipment, this time with Chinese built F-6 aircraft, and was assigned the role of air superiority. One of the earliest tasks of the Squadron was to conduct a photographic survey of the northern areas with its RT-33s. These missions were undertaken over difficult and uncharted terrain, and often in marginal weather conditions. For his personal contribution as well as for the performance of the unit, the squadron commander, Flight Lieutenant M Anwar Saeed was awarded Tamgha-i-Basalat. In 1963 the squadron made a major contribution towards an amicable demarcation of the border between Pakistan and China by providing detailed and accurate photographic data. Despite its magnitude the task was completed in one month and in recognition of the unit's excellent performance the officer commanding Squadron Leader A Sattar Chaudhry was awarded Sitara-i-Basalat. In 1964, No 20 Squadron undertook a task of immense national importance when it photographed the major river basins of the country to facilitate the work of the World Bank's Indus Basin Project. The unit can justly be proud of its contribution towards the siting of Mangla and Tarbela dams, the two largest the country. The squadron flew 24 tactical reconnaissance missions during the 1965 war. In spite of the great disadvantage of operating a slow and unarmed aircraft, the pilots of 20 Squadron operated well inside enemy territory and photographed vital targets both for the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Army. For this courageous performance the squadron commander, Squadron Leader Mir Mubariz Ahmed was awarded Tamgha-i-Basalat. In 1971 a detachment of the squadron was deployed in East Pakistan also to provide photographic intelligence to the army. No. 20 Tactical Attack and Reconnaissance Squadron was presented with the squadron colour by Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan on 6th April 1978.

In mid-1987, the PAF decided to induct the Chinese F-7P aircraft into its fleet, to replace the veteran F-6s. Seven pilots proceeded to China for initial conversion on F-7P aircraft, on 8 Mat 1988. On 20 June 1988, Wing Commander Ghazanfar took-off in the first F-7P aircraft and was followed by Squadron Leader Asif in the second aircraft. Following the ferry of F-7P aircraft from China to Pakistan, 20 Squadron became the first squadron to operate these aircraft. On 12 August 1988, seven pilots along with ground crew and the Project Zodiac team, proceeded to Hotian in order to ferry an additional ten F-7P aircraft. The ferry was completed on 16 August 1988. On 31 August 1988, the DCAS (M) visited the squadron and inspected the maintenance facilities for F-7P aircraft. During the rest of the year, the squadron flew many mutual air combat missions and later, it flew missions against other aircraft like the A-5, the Mirage, and the F-16s, in order to develop tactics in dissimilar air combat. On 7 February 1989, the squadron participated in the first operational exercise viz. Hit Hard-X. The CAS visited the squadron during the annual inspection if the Base on 14 February 1989. During the same month, the squadron took over the role of converting pilots on the F-7P aircraft. On 23 March 1989, four F-7P aircraft flew in the fly-past for the first time in the history of the PAF. In August 1989, four FT-7s were ferried from Hotian to Peshawar. On 18 August 1989, twelve fresh graduates of 1 FCU reported to the squadron for the first OCC on F-7P. The squadron participated in the Air Force Defence Day celebrations for the first time on 7 September 1989. No. 1 OCC graduated on 11 October 1989. The CAS visited the squadron on 3 November 1989 and flew its aircraft. During Exercise High Mark-89, the pilots of 18 Squadron as well as ten of its aircraft took part in the exercise as part of 20 Squadron. On 7 February 1990, the re-equipment ceremony of the squadron took place. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan was the chief guest on this occasion. Twenty-four aircraft led by Group Captain Toor took part in the Pakistan Day fly-past in 23 March 1990. Twenty F-7Ps were ferried from Hotian to Peshawar and then to Raifiqui on 19 April 1990. In August 1991, three officers from Sri Lankan Air Force were attached to the squadron for conversion on F-7P. On 15 October 1991, the Chief of Air Staff of the Royal Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Harding, flew an FT-7 aircraft with Officer Commanding 20 Squadron, Wing Commander Adeeb. During the rest of the period, the squadron participated in a number of routine exercises, including DACT camps held from time to time, High Mark exercises, Saffron Bandit, air-to-air firings, air defence exercises, and the armament competition, etc. When PAF decided to induct F-7Ps of Hand Shake-IV in June 1993, most of the pilots detailed to ferry them were from this squadron. On 14 July 1996, AVTR modification was started on all the aircraft of the squadron. A number of VIPs also visited the squadron during this period.

 

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No. 22 Squadron Commanders

Rank Name Date Wg Cdr Ikramullah Bhatti Feb-1989 Khalid Cheema Feb-1991 Inamullah Ahsan Feb-1993 Mohammed Sultan Jul-1994 Nadeem Hanif Jun-1995 Khalid Bannuri Nov-1996 M Laeeque Khan Jun-1998 Rashid Kamal Jan-2000 Pirzada Jul-2001 Asim Anwar Feb-2003 Usaid ur Rehman Jun-2004 Syed Fayyaz Ahmed Apr-2006

 

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No. 23 Squadron

Raised on 16th March 1961, No 23 Squadron was initially located at Kohat and equipped with Fury aircraft. Its early primary role was close support for the army with the additional responsibility of carrying out anti-locust operations when required. In May 1961, the squadron participated in operations in the Dir / Bajaur area. From 21st to 24th and on 31st May 1961, it was called upon to provide close support and to destroy specified targets in the Bajaur valley. A total of 23 sorties were flown for this purpose and 60 lb. rockets and 20 mm ammunition were used. The Squadron participated in exercise 'Hastings' with 5 sorties on 16 and 17th November 1961. A total of 28 missions of anti-locust measures were flown from 21st to 30th November 1961; 4 aircraft and pilots operated from PAF Drigh Road for this purpose. On 23rd March 1963, 2 Furies carried out a fly past over Miranshah fort in connection with the Republic Day parade by Tochi Scouts. Consequent upon the phasing out of Fury aircraft, the squadron was number-plated on 4th March 1964. The unit was reactivated at Sargodha on 8th February 1966 with the newly inducted Chinese-built F-6 aircraft. It was also assigned the task of converting pilots of other squadrons on the F-6s. Between June and September, No 23 Squadron converted 25 other pilots in addition to its own complement. A detachment comprising Squadron Leader Asghar A Randhawa, and Flight Lieutenants A. H. Malik and Khalid Iqbal took part in a fire power demonstration at Peshawar on 26th February 1967. The whole squadron moved to Shorkot on 16th September to activate PAF Rafiqui,where it stayed for two weeks. On 13th October 1971, the squadron moved to Risalewala and remained there for war operations till 27th December. During the war a total of 307 sorties were flown in which the squadron destroyed two Su-7s and damaged 1. On 8th December 1971, Flight Lieutenant Afzal Siddiqui was shot down by own ground fire; he was awarded Sitara-i-Basalat. posthumously. In June 1975, the squadron was redesignated as No. 23 Air Superiority Squadron. The unit moved to Nawabshah on 1st January for the activation of that forward base. The deployment lasted one week during which air combat training with similar and dissimilar types of aircraft was conducted. In February, the squadron proceeded to Masroor for an air to air firing camp. It was the first unit to evaluate and successfully use the new SM-7 series gunsight in air firing. While at Masroor the squadron also participated in low level air defence exercise 'Gold Coin II' on 27th and 28th February. In November 1976, a team of 5 pilots comprising Wing Commander Nasir A Butt, Squadron Leader C Q Akhtar, Flight Lieutenants Tahir Ahmed and Azmat Kazi and Flying Officer Shahid, together with 40 airmen, participated in the inter-squadron armament competition. The Squadron team scored the highest marks to win the Perry Keene trophy. Flight Lieutenant Azmat Kazi achieved the highest individual score. On 25th March 1978 the squadron was awarded a colour carrying its battle honours by the Chief of the Air Staff.

In January 1988, 23 squadron participated in air-to-air banner firing. It provided air defence of the western borders from PAF Base Samungli, during the Afghan conflict. A detachment of the squadron consisting of twelve pilots and ten aircraft, commenced air defence duties for Kahuta, at PAF Base Chaklala, with effect from 4 April 1988. In March 1989, the squadron participated in the Fire Power Demonstration held at the Sonmiani Range. The squadron was awarded Inter-Squadron Flight Safety Trophy for the year 1988. The squadron moved from Chander for participation in Exercise High Mark-89/Zarb-e-Momin. The activation for this exercise lasted for a month, from 22 November to 23 December 1989. A detachment of the squadron was attached to PAF Base Sargodha for flying duties between 19 February to March 1990. On 14 March 1990, the squadron moved to PAF Base Masroor for air-to-air firing and DACT Camp. Four officers and five aircraft went to PAF Base Peshawar to take part in the fly-past ceremony on 23 March 1991. The squadron shifted from its old underground building to its new premises in the Flying Wing Headquarters in the second quarter of 1991. In September 1991, the squadron moved to Mirpur Khas to participate in an air defence exercise. In November 1991, the squadron moved to PAF Base Farid, where it carried out another air defence exercise. The squadron had the honour of winning Sarfraz Rafiqui Flight Safety Trophy twice in a row for the years 1990 and 1991. During exercise High Mark-93, the squadron was deployed at PAF Base Risalewala. During 1995, it took part in Exercise Saffron Bandit as well as High Mark-95. In February 1997, the squadron moved to PAF Shahbaz for DACT with F-16s. The Governor of Balochistan visited the squadron on 12 August 1997. In May 1998, the squadron was deployed at PAF Base Sukkur. The activation of Sukkur continued for about a week, ending soon after Pakistan successfully conducted its nuclear tests. The squadron, under the command of Wing Commander G.M. Abbasi, and supported by Wing Commander Irfan Idrees, Squadron Leader Khan Maqbool, Flight Lieutenants Anwar Karim, S. Atta, Waqas Mohsin, Zeeshan Saeed, Aamir Shaukat, Ali Asher, Nadeem Afzal, and Nasir Jamal, had the honour of taking part in this operational commitment.

 

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Painting, commissioned by OC 17 Sqn "Tigers" of Pakistan Air Force, depicts an F-7PG strafing its target during Inter Sqn Armament Competition 2019. 17 squadron was declared the best in F-7 weapon system category.

11 x 16 inches (unframed) - watercolors

 

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"Circa 1960s No 5 Sqn "Falcons" at Sargodha"

Fourth from right Squadron Leadee Sarfaraz Rafiqui Hilal-e-Jurat Sitara-e-Jurat 6 September 1965 downed over Halwara AFB

Second from left Squadron Leader Muniruddin Ahmed Sitara-e-Jurat 11 September 1965 downed over Amritsar Radar Statio.

 

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No 16 Squadron.....
Once home of F-86F and Shenyang F-6

 

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No. 24 Squadron

No. 24 EW Squadron was formed in 1962 at PAF Base Peshawar. At that time, it had RB-57F aircraft on its inventory. The squadron was number plated in 1967 after the withdrawal of RB-57 by the USAF. The squadron was revived in 1987, following the induction of two Falcon DA-20 aircraft fitted with modern EW suite. The primary role of the squadron is to provide dedicated ESM and ECM (EW) support to the PAF during both peace and war. The squadron also conducts training of electronics and air defence officers, on the EW concepts, equipment and operational tactics. Most of the maintenance is done at the squadron level, which includes first and second line maintenance, and servicing the EW suite along with major and minor repairs. The data collected through the EW missions is analyzed by electronic warfare officers to evaluate enemy tactics and establish the enemy's electronic order of battle. The squadron participated in various PAF exercises in both ECM and early warning roles. The first major exercise in which the squadron took part was Zarb-e-Momin in 1989, during which twenty-one missions were flown. During exercises High Mark-89, 93, and 95, the squadron flew seventeen, fourteen, and sixty-five missions respectively. Communications and radar jamming was carried out successfully and spoofing was very effective. Also, friendly forces were provided with valuable and timely warning of intruding aircraft. In 1997, during exercise Saffron Bandit, thirty-five missions were flown. In this exercise, the squadron provided ECM training to the pilots and controllers, and almost the entire air force was exposed to the operations under degraded environments. Moreover, lectures covering the capabilities of the DA-20 were also delivered to the participating squadrons. The squadron participated in almost all air defence exercises conducted within the PAF during the last ten years, besides taking part in various joint exercises with the Army and the Navy. In the joint exercises, practice to operate in EW environment was given to the Army and the Navy, and the susceptibility of their equipment to jamming was analyzed. Some of the important exercises included Naval ECM Exercise in 1991, Exercise Skyguard in 1994, Jiddat in 1995, Sea Lion in 1996, and Sea Hawk and jamming of Army Fire Control Radar in 1997. In 1998, jamming was carried out against Sky Guard Radar and LAADS of the Army Air Defence System. The squadron also carried out ESM during Exercise Inspired Alter-94 and 95, and Sea Spark-95, to find out the capabilities of the radar and the tactics used by participating aircraft. The squadron flies extensively to ensure complete coverage on all the enemy exercises. The data collected during these exercises is analyzed to determine the enemy's operating tactics and deployment of assets. Besides, the assets of this squadron form an integral part of trans-frontier photo-recce missions that are carried out from time to time.

 

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No. 25 Squadron

No 25 Squadron was formed in January 1966 at PAF Base, Sargodha as a tactical fighter unit under the command of Wing Commander M G Tawab, who was later to become the Chief of Air Staff of the Bangladesh Air Force. Being one of the first two fighter squadrons to be equipped with F-6 aircraft the unit was assigned the additional task of converting pilots of other squadrons on the type as well. This task was accomplished speedily and safely and 25 Squadron can be justifiably proud of having converted a large number of the F-6 fighter pilots who later participated in the war of 1971.

In 1967, No. 25 Squadron pilots took part in the PAF's biggest ever fire power demonstration, staged in honour of the Shah of Iran. In 1968, the squadron presented a formation aerobatics demonstration for Marshal Grechko, defence minister of the USSR. Also in 1968 the unit, under the command of Squadron Leader Imtiaz A Bhatti, won the inter-squadron armament competition. In 1984 the squadron was awarded the best formation trophy in the Pakistan Day fly past.

In the 1971 war, the squadron operated from Sargodha as well as Mianwali, and flew 103 sorties in air defence and for close air support in the Shakargarh area. The squadron was credited with 2 enemy aircraft destroyed and 1 damaged. Flight Lieutenant Javed A Qazi was taking off when the airfield was attacked; he chased and shot down one of the attacking Hunters and was awarded Sitara-i-Juraat. During the operations, the squadron lost one aircraft due to enemy action and the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Shahid Raza was martyred.

In April 1976, the squadron was again assigned the role of training pilots on F-6 aircraft upto operational status. So far the unit has converted over 500 such pilots. In 1980 some FT-6 aircraft were also allotted to the squadron to facilitate its training program.

 

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11th squadron Mushaf air base

 

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First Batch of Star Fighter Pilots ( F-104 ) 1962 Sargodha.
No. 9 Air Superiority Squadron.

 

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Our Legendary Aviators of Squadron No.9 - Pakistan Air Force ; Cecil Chaudhry , Aliuddin