Pakistani attackers shot down over Punjab : Indo-Pak War 1965

This painting depicts a classic encounter between fighters of Indian Air Force (IAF) and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) over Indian sky on 06 September 1965. Three Sabre jets of PAF had come to attack IAF airfield of Halwara (near Ludhiana). Defending the airbase were four Hunter fighters of IAF.  Initially Pakistani raiders were able to successfully attack our ground installations but as they proceeded with their attack on the airfield, two of our Hunters pounced on them. In the air combat that followed at extreme low levels between the opposing forces, Flight Lieutenant DN Rathore of IAF shot down the lead Sabre jet and Flying Officer VK Neb shot down the second Sabre. Paki pilot who was shot down by Rathore was Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui. Pakistan decorated Rafiqui with their highest gallantry award and named one of its main airbase after him.  Rathore  was  decorated with a Vir Chakras after the war and later rose to become an Air Marshal. Neb fought again in 1971 and shot down another Pakistani Sabre and was awarded with a bar to his Vir Chakra earned in 1965 war. 

Mystere Vs Starfighter : A story of incredible heroism of an IAF pilot over Sargodha in Indo- Pak war 1965

In this painting I tried to recreate unmatched gallantry of a  young Indian pilot who unfortunately did not return from a raid over Sargodha, Pakistan,  on 7^th  September 1965.

Squadron Leader A.B.Devayya  was  part of a large formation of Mysteres of No. 1 Squadron,  attacking Sargodha at the crack of dawn. Owing to the extreme range of the target, only a single pass attack was possible.  It was suicidal to even undertake such a mission as minor navigational error could result in entire formation running out of fuel in the enemy territory. Also, for most pilots it was their first mission deep inside enemy territory. 

Defending the PAF airbase were few US made F-86 Sabres and F-104 Starfighters, both aircraft far superior to subsonic Mysteres that IAF had acquired from France in mid fifties.

Mysteres reached their target on time and as they pulled up for attack all hell turned loose with heavy anti aircraft fire opening up. Each pilot now concentrated to deliver his weapon accurately on the intended target.   Lady luck seemed to favour them and they came out of the attack almost unscathed. As every member ducked to ultra low levels at full speed in the homebound course, Devayya joined in after his attack as the last aircraft in the trail.    

 Flight Lieutenant Amjad Hussain, the lone PAF pilot flying a Starfighter was vectored by the radar to intercept the Mysteres  as they were getting away.  He positioned behind the last Mystere for a missile attack which happened to be Devayya .  What happened subsequently can only be pieced together by some contradictory accounts available from Pakistani source. None of the members of Devayya’s formation was aware of this attack developing on their tails.   

From the accounts published in  books and articles in Pakistan, IAF  could reconstruct  what now can be termed as an incredible act of heroism by an airman who decided to stand up and fight when this  should have been the last option to exercise for a pilot who had barely enough fuel to land back home and was hundreds of miles inside the enemy territory.

It is now believed beyond doubt that Devayya after being shot at and his aircraft damaged by the lethal cannon fired from the Starfighter, turned around to challenge his adversary in a ‘fight to finish’ like a true gladiator. In the classic air battle that followed between the vintage Mystere and the state of the art, supersonic Starfighter, Devayya managed to turn the tables in his favour and hunter became the hunted.  Devayya’s bullets tore into the Starfighter causing a control failure, forcing Amjad Hussein to eject from his aircraft. Amjad barely survived the ejection at low level. He was awarded the “Sitara-i-Jur’at”, Star of Courage, the third highest military award in Pakistan soon after the war. Devayya was put on the list of “Missing believed Killed” after the war. What lead to his actual death still remains a mystery. It was revealed much later by Pakistan that Devayya’s body was found almost intact by villagers not very far from Sargodha and buried.  It is quite possible that Devayya’s Mystere finally went out of control forcing him to abandon it at low level. Unfortunately, ejection seat fitted in a Mystere was not designed for safe operation at low levels.

Devayya’s act of gallantry would have gone unknown and unrecognised by his countrymen had it not been for the Pakistani account that acknowledged the extreme courage of this young Indian pilot.  Some 23 years later Devayya was decorated by Indian Government with a Maha Vir Chakra posthumously, country’s second highest gallantry award.

Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail , a retired officer of PAF in his book, “Great Air Battles of Pakistan Air Force”, had summarised the encounter between Devayya and Amjad Hussain as below :-

  

For many decades the famous dogfight has confounded historians and air enthusiasts alike. The respective Air Forces cited both pilots for courage as well as their shooting skills. Flt Lt Amjad Hussain was awarded the Sitara-i-Jur’at soon after the war. Sqn Ldr Ajjamada Bopayya Devayya was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra in April 1988, after a passage of 23 years. ......... it can be said that the medals are testimony to the dogged determination of two air knights, who gave their best in this truly classic duel.

John Fricker, an American defence analyst, in his book on air operations in Indo – Pak war of 1965,    also mentions that, “.....  shooting down in air combat of a Lockheed Starfighter of the PAF by and obsolescent Dassault Mystere IVA...is among the most creditable and least published achievements by IAF during the 1965 war..”

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Pakistani Raider Shot Down Over Saurashtra Coast : Indo –Pak War 1971

On 12 December 1971 two US made supersonic Starfighters of Pakistan Air Force came to attack a vital Indian Air Force base located at Jamnagar, Gujarat at low levels. As they crossed the Indian coast line our early warning system picked them up. Two MiG-21 fighters on operational readiness platform were launched to intercept the raiders. As the Pakistani bandits approached over Jamnagar town they were spotted by the MiGs and immediately positioned behind for a classic intercept. Realising the threat from the MiGs, Pakistani fighters turned homeward, descended to 100 feet and accelerated to near supersonic speed. MiGs gave chase and closed in for a kill over the sea off Saurashtra coast. One Pakistani jet was shot down that went up in flames and crashed into the sea below. Its pilot was seen ejecting falling slowly under a bright orange canopy into the Gulf of Kutch. Second Pakistani jet managed to escape.

This painting is the artist’s impression of the shooting down of the Starfighter by IAF pilot, Flight Lieutenant BB Soni. He was awarded with a Vir Chakra by Government of India for his galantry and valour in face of enemy. 

Attack on Government House, Dacca - 1971 Indo-Pakistan conflict

  On 16 December 2012 “Victory Day” was celebrated by two countries...India and Bangladesh. On this very day in 1971, General Niazi, the Supreme Commander of the Pakistan Military in East Pakistan surrendered to the Indian Defence Forces along with 93,000 troops. Unfortunately the decisive role IAF played in this unprecedented victory is not known to many.

Two days before this surrender, four MiG-21s airborne from Guwahati attacked  the Government House at Dacca, then official residence of AM Malik, Head of the East Pakistan Government. Inside the building East Pakistan’s Cabinet had begun an emergency meeting to discuss the political measures to avoid the looming surrender of their army at Dacca.  Exactly 55 minutes after the meeting began, 128 rockets fired by the MiG Formation hit the Government House with deadly precision. It turned out to be the last-ever meeting of the Cabinet. AM Malik,  survived the attack along with his Cabinet – but resigned on the spot. According to an UN official who happened to be with Governor at that time, Mr. Malik said a small prayer, and then produced a small paper on which he wrote down his resignation with trembling hands. . It seems the rocket attack had proved to be the proverbial last straw on the camel's back.   Among the burning ruins; the nervous system, as it were, of decision-making had been instantly destroyed. 

Air Chief Marshal PC Lal in his brief to the press had later stated that after the surrender,  Niazi was asked as to why he packed off so quickly with 93000 troops after having made a very definite statement on the 13th evening about defending Dacca for months. He was unable to speak at that time, possibly for emotion or the lack of ability to speak. But he turned around and pointed to the Wings of our Air Force Officers.

.........This painting on the Governors’ House in Dhaka is a tribute to all those brave airmen who brought glory to the nation with their valour and grit and to remind us each day of the IAF motto...  Touch the Sky with Glory!!

(Today this a sprawling colonial era building in the middle of Dhaka is the official residence of President of Bangladesh and known as Bongabhabon !!)

This is first of my painting on aviation art and it recreates an all important photo reconnaissance mission flown by Flying Utpal Barbora in the build up phase of 1965 Indo-Pakistan conflict. The photographic evidence brought by this mission was able to prove to the world for the first time use of American weapons by Pakistanis against Indian forces, the same weapons that were given as aid to Pakistan by their American bosses to fight the Communists. Flying Officer Utpal Barbora was awarded a Vir Chakra for going beyond call of duty to fly this mission by putting his life in peril. 

On 26 April 1965, while on an armament training detachment at Jamnagar, Gujarat, Flying Officer Utpal Barbora got chance to fly his first operational mission in war. His task was to fly a FR mission over Pakistani army that had mounted an attack against one of our company positions in Biar Bet area of Kutch. The task was to collect evidence of the presence of Pakistani armour in this area and use of tanks by Pakistani forces that were supplied by America with strict riders not to use them against India. Such evidence was of vital importance since Pakistan had denied use of American tanks in battle. Before him other aircraft like Canberra that had dedicated photo role had flown over the target area with no result. 

When Flying Officer Barbara escorted by another Vampire from the same squadron arrived over the target area, he saw the entire area below him covered in a dense layer of dust and smoke. He immediately realised that cameras fitted in his aircraft would not be able to see anything through the haze layer if flown at medium levels, as was instructed during pre flight briefing. Descending through the haze was too risky as flying at ultra low levels at high speeds required ground to be in perfect contact. There was also danger of being caught in the crossfire of the artillery duel between the Pakistani forces and our troops at low levels.   

  

Fully aware of the risks, Flying Officer Barbara decided to descend to low level. Soon the ground was whizzing past as he descended lower and lower in search of enemy.  As he descended to almost 100 feet above ground level all of a sudden something that resembled an enemy tank went past him bellowing dust and smoke.  On pressed a little lower he spotted almost 15 Pakistani tanks that appeared to be advancing towards Indian positions.

 Flying Officer Barbara realised that he found what he and the whole nation was looking for and that is irrefutable evidence of Pakistani forces using American arms against India. He made a single level pass over the tanks with all cameras on. He was not too sure of resolution of photos taken at such low light conditions.  Throwing all caution to wind, Flying Officer Barbara made repeated passes over the tanks. For enemy soldiers on ground the entire hell broke loose and they were seen running helter-skelter for cover in all directions. As a disciplined soldier he held back his urge and temptation to fire on enemy. His objective achieved, Flying Officer Barbara returned to his base at safe and sound.

Analysis of the photographs confirmed that Pakistan had used foreign tanks inside Indian Territory despite the assurance given to the international communities. This refutable proof forced the Pakistani forces to withdraw from inside Indian Territory.

In this very dangerous and sensitive mission Flying Officer Utpal Barbara displayed courage, determination and professional skill of a high order in the best traditions of the Air Force and he was awarded the gallantry award of Vir Chakra by the grateful nation. 

This is a site on the main road between Lower and Upper Shillong.During months of autumn,  lines of Cherry Blossoms on one side of road and thick Pine trees on the opposite side turns the area into a blazing spectacle of colours that is very difficult to miss as one travels to Cherrapunjie, the abode of clouds. I was struck by sheer beauty of this site as I was driving back to Guwahati from Eastern Air Command Headquarters of Air Force at Upper Shillong and fortunately had my camera to click this magnificent scenery lying unfolded in front of me. Later I painted the scene in both water and oil colours. The painting above is in oil made for a friend, Sisir Barua, who bought this painting and now framed and displayed in his drawing room. 

This is my painting of an urban scene showing steps leading to famous Kamakhya Mandir located in the outskirts of Guwahati city.