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LOW LEVEL AEROBATICS
BY “F.S.”
NOVEMBER 1949 –
PESHAWAR
Even as a young Flying
Officer, Fuad Shahid Hussain’s incredible mastery in low level aerobatics
became legendary in the PAF. Manoeuvring just a few feet above the ground in
a Hawker Fury, his propeller was kicking up dust on the runway, or just
missing the tree tops in a graceful 8-point roll, it all look like child’s
play. By the early 1950s he was a rapidly rising star – now known by
thousands throughout Pakistan as just “F.S.” – and a role model of every
fighter pilot in the air force. Tragically, “the prince of pilots” lost his
life to diabetes at the young age of 40, when he was an Air Commodore.
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)] |
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RED DRAGONS - 1951
The first formation aerobatics team, formed by No 9 Squadron
on its Furies, was called 'The Red Dragons'. The painting shows the team
performing officially for the first time in 1951 at Peshawar. The occasion
was the farewell ceremonies for the PAF's outgoing C-in-C, Air Vice-Marshal
R L R Atcherely. 'The Red Dragons' thus gained the honour of being the first
aerobatic team in the Indo-Pak subcontinent.
The Team: Squadron Leader Zafar Chaudhry
Flight Lieutenant Saeedullah Khan
Flying Officer T H Gotting
Flying Officer M Hayat Khan
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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RED DRAGONS - 1951
'The Red Dragons' climbing vertically during a display of
formation aerobatics in 1951. The aircraft nearest to the camera, marked 'Z'
is flown by Squadron Leader Zafar Chaudhry, who later later became the Chief
of the Air Staff.
[Picture Copyright: Air Marshal Z A Chaudhry (Retd.)]
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THE PAYBILLS -
PAF's FIRST JET AEROBATICS TEAM
In 1952, No 11 Squadron, Drigh Road (now Faisal) Air Base, formed an
aerobatics team with the curious name "The Paybills," that happened to be
the squadron's call sign. This was the PAF's first jet aerobatics team,
flying the squadron's Attackers. The painting shows the formation flying
over Manora. This team was led by F S Hussain, the renowned flyer and aerial
acrobat of his time.
The Team: Squadron Leader F S Hussain
Flight Lieutenant M Z Masud
Flying Officer A U Ahmed
Pilot Officer Jamal A Khan
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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Hawker Furies stream past Harvards forming national emblem - 22 Feb
1955.
[Picture Courtesy: DPR, PAF]
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PREPARING FOR A WORLD RECORD
FEBRUARY 1958 - MAURIPUR (MASROOR) AIR BASE
Cramped for space, the selected pilots from several F-86
squadrons gather at Mauripur Air Force base. They would practise for several
weeks under the leadership of Wing Commander M Zafar Masud for a grand air
display in which the world's first loop in a formation of sixteen jets would set
a record.
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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THE PAF "FALCONS"
MAKE HISTORY
2nd February 1958 was a significant day in the history of
aviation as well as that of the Pakistan Air Force. On that day, for the
first time a formation of 16 fighters (F-86 Sabres) performed a loop during
an air display at Masroor Air Base at Karachi. The team was led by the
renowned fighter pilot and wartime leader of the Air Force, Wing Commander M
Z Masud, who was later awarded Hilal-e-Jurat in the 1965 War.
The Team: Wing Commander M Z Masud
Squadron Leader Nazir Latif
Squadron Leader S U Khan
Squadron Leader Ghulam Haider
Squadron Leader S M Ahmad
Squadron Leader Aftab Ahmad
Squadron Leader M Sadruddin
Flight Lieutenant Sajjad Haider
Flight Lieutenant A U Ahmad
Flight Lieutenant Hamed Anwar
Flight Lieutenant Muniruddin Ahmad
Flight Lieutenant M Arshad
Flight Lieutenant Jamal A Khan
Flight Lieutenant A M K Lodhie
Flight Lieutenant Wiqar Azim
Flight Lieutenant M L Middlecoat
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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THE RAF "BLUE
DIAMONDS" AT FARNBOROUGH
SEPTEMBER 1961
In 1961, Flight Lieutenant Hameed Anwar, a young PAF Officer on exchange
posting with the British Royal Force, brought ditinction to his parent
Service by being selected as a member of the RAF's official display team.
Hameed, a veteran of the PAF's own formation aerobatics team, was eagerly
welcomed into the "Blue Diamonds". The painting shows the tem of sixteen
Hunters performing at the Farnborough Air Show.
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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"THE HASHEMITE
DIAMOND" OVER JORDAN
JUNE 1964 - JERASH
The Hashemite Diamond was the national air display team of Jordan between
1964-1965. It was the largest formation aerobatic team in the Middle East at
the time and became well-known in the region for its impressive
performances. The team was formed, trained and led by Flight Lieutenant
Hameed Anwar of the PAF. The painting shows the Diamond over the historic
Jerash ruins north of Amman.
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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SABRES NINE - 1964
A striking deature of this 1964 aerobatics team of the PAF
was that five out of these nine pilots were awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat
during the 1965 War. Of these pilots, Rafiqui, Munir and Yunus attained
Shahadat and M M Alam became an ace. The leader, Wing Comander Anwar Shamim,
later became the Chief of the Air Staff.
The Team: Wing Commander M Anwar Shamim
Squadron Leader M Arshad
Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Rafiqui
Squadron Leader Mukhtar Ali
Squadron Leader Muniruddin Ahmad
Squadron Leader M M Alam
Flight Lieutenant M M Khalid
Flight Lieutenant Yusaf A Khan
Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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WORLD'S FIRST
BOMBER FORMATION LOOP
27 OCTOBER 1964 - PESHAWAR AIR BASE
The first ever formation aerobatics on bombers were performed at Peshawar
during an air display on 27 October 1964 - at which Air Marshal Omar Dani,
C-in-C of the Indonesian Air Force, was the Chief Guest. The 4 B-57s were
led by Wing Commander Nazir Latif with Squadron Leader Altaf Sheikh and
Flight Lieutenants Abdul Basit and Shams as team members. The team executed
loops, rolls and wing overs, the first two manoeuvres being unheard of in
such a heavy class of aircraft as the B-57, which was not really designed to
perform aerobatics even singly. Their precise but apparently effortless
station-keeping throughout the demonstration effectively concealed the
intense concentration, and physical exertion that all four pilots went
through.
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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THE RED DRAGONS -
1967
An aerobatic team of red Sabres, call sign "Red Dragons", (the second team
to carry this name) pulls up over Jamrud Fort for its last display at Jamrud
range. The Chief Guest on this occasion was H M Raza Shah Pehlavi, the
Shahinshah of Iran. This display was held on 9 March 1967. Apart from
carrying out standard aerobatics, and many formation changes, this team
performed most of the stunt manoeuvres for which the world's leading
aerobatics teams were known at the time.
The Team: Wing Commander Wiqar Azim
Squadron Leader Shabbir H Syed
Flight Lieutenant M Akbar
Flight Lieutenant Farooq F Khan
Flight Lieutenant Cecil Chaudhry
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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THE RATTLERS - 1969
The aerobatic team of black F-6s (call sign "The Rattlers"), perform over
Sargodha. The team gave its last performance on 14 March 1969 when Marshal
Grechko the Soviet Defence Minister visited Sargodha. Specialising in high
speed aerobatics, this team was primarily formed for honing the skills of
young pilots at Sargodha Air Base.
The Team: Wing Commander Nazir Latif
Flight Lieutenant Atiq Sufi
Flight Lieutenant A H Malik
Flight Lieutenant S Masood Hatif
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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THE TIGERS OVER
SARGODHA AIR BASE - 11 FEB 1980
The second formation aerobatic team on the F-6 (MiG-19)
fighters of the PAF was called "The Tigers". Like its predecessors "The
Rattlers" (1969), the second team was also formed at Sargodha Airbase. The
F-6 was a high energy fighter of its time on which formation aerobatic
displays were especially demanding because the F-6 needed skillful piloting
during low airspeed manoeuvres.
The Team: Squadron Leader Hasnat Ahmed (Lead)
Squadron Leader Imtiaz Ali Khan (Right Wing)
Squadron Leader Tahir Ahmed (Left Wing)
Flight Lieutenant Nazar Hussain (Slot)
Flight Lieutenant Abdul Razzaq (Reserve)
[Painting by Gp Capt S M A Hussaini (R)]
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Members of "The Tigers" photographed at Sargodha.
From L to R: Flight Lieutenant Nazar Hussain,
Squadron Leader Tahir Ahmed, Squadron Leader Hasnat Ahmed, Squadron Leader Imtiaz Ali
Khan and Flight Lieutenant Abdul Razzaq.
[Picture Copyright: Fahd Hasnat]
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