In all, during and after the 1971 war PAF claimed the destruction of 107 IAF aircraft. Of these 51 were shot down in air engagements, 5 destroyed on the ground and 28 downed by airfield ack ack. The basis of the awards was stringent: each claim had to be confirmed by either gun camera film or an identifiable wreckage or a reliable eyewitness. The renowned American test pilot Brigadier General Charles E Yeager who was at that time the US defence representative in Islamabad and who volunteered to join the PAF’s helicopter teams documenting downed IAF aircraft, says in his autobiography: “…the Pakistanis scored a three-to-one kill ratio, knocking out 102 Russian-made Indian jets and losing 34 airplanes of their own. I’m certain about the figures because I went our several times a day in a chopper and counted wrecks on Pakistani soil, documented them by serial numbers, identified the components such as engines, rocket pods, and new equipment on never airplanes like the soviet Su-7 fighter-bomber and the Mig-21J, their latest supersonic fighter.”

Of the 107 aircraft claimed, the wreckages of 31 were documented and photographed, the destruction of 21 was recorded on gun camera films and 27 were seen to go down by reliable eye witnesses (i.e. accompanying pilots and/or ground witness). Nine of the latter categories were also confirmed by radio transmissions of IAF aircraft and ground stations. Nothing can be said with certainty about the fate of IAF fighters damaged in air engagements, but post-war intelligence indicated that the IAF had lost a further 20 aircraft due to battle damage including a Mig-21 shot down by another who took it to be a PAF fighter.

The list given below is not complete; it is subject to change as and if new information becomes available.

PAF Air-to-Air Combat Kills/Claims in East Pakistan

Date	PAF Pilot	PAF Plane	Kills/Aircraft	Remarks
22-Nov-1971	Wng. Cdr. M. Afzal Chaudhry No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	1 x Folland Gnat	Over Chaugacha, East Pakistan. 3 PAF F-86Es Vs. 8 IAF Gnats.
03-Dec-1971 0730 hrs	Sqn. Ldr. Afzaal No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	1 x Hawker Hunter 1 x MiG-21FL	Over Kurmitola, East Pakistan.
03-Dec-1971 0730 hrs	Flt. Lt. Saeed No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	1 x Hawker Hunter	Over Kurmitola, East Pakistan. SD pilot was Sqn. Ldr. S.B. Samanta from No. 37 Squadron.
04-Dec-1971 1600 hrs	Sqn. Ldr. Dilawar Hussain No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	1 x Hawker Hunter	Over Narayanganj, East Pakistan. IAF pilot Flt. Lt. Lemontree taken POW.
04-Dec-1971	Flt. Lt. M. Shams-ul-Haq No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	1 x Su-7 Fitter 3 x Hawker Hunter	In a single day but in three separate sorties over Dhaka and Kurmitola, East Pakistan. The IAF Su-7 pilot was Sqn. Ldr. V. Bhutani from No. 221 Squadron, taken POW and one of the Hunter pilots was Sqn. Ldr. K.D. Mehta.
04-Dec-1971	Flg. Off. S. Shamshad Ahmad No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	1 x Hawker Hunter	Over Kurmitola, East Pakistan.
04-Dec-1971	Flt. Lt. Saeed Afzal Khan No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	1 x Hawker Hunter	Over East Pakistan. 2 PAF F-86s Vs. 8 IAF Hunters. SD IAF pilot was Flg. Off. S.G. Khonde from No. 37 Squadron.
04-Dec-1971	Sqn.Ldr. Javed Afzal Ahmad No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	2 x Hawker Hunter	During a single sortie over Dhaka, East Pakistan.
06-Dec-1971	Flg.Off. S. Shamshad Ahmad No. 14 Squadron	F-86E	1 x Hawker Hunter	Over Lakshman.
Total:			14 Air-to-Air Kills in East Pakistan

PAF Air-to-Air Combat Kills/Claims in West Pakistan

In the western theatre the PAF fought with 9 squadrons in 1965 and with 10-1/4 squadrons in the 71 war. Although the 71 conflict was shorter by third, the air operations in the two theatres were twice as intensive even without the massive finale that never materialised. The average rate of stories per day was 201 in 1971 versus 107 in 65. The PAF flew 46% more air support for the army and navy, and launched 34% more air defence stories than in 1965. Its day strikes against enemy airfields were two and a half times those in earlier war.

IAF Aircraft Destroyed on the Ground

The PAF did not claim any aircraft that may have been destroyed during strikes against enemy airfields unless clearly visible on gun camera films – only 5 were.

Pakistan Army Ground-to-Air Combat Kills in East & West Pakistan

Other then 28 aircraft claimed by airfield ack ack, I have tried to put together as much details as possible concerning the IAF aircraft shot down by small arms fire.