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The tables below for Indian aircrafts loss are incomplete. Information on 1971 air war is hard to come by and is often inaccurate. It is a well known fact that Indians lost far more aircrafts as compared to Pakistan Air Force. Names of most of the Indian Indian pilots came from P. V. S. Jagan Mohan’s web site. I appologize to all those PAF pilots who certainly achieved air victory but their names are not listed below as no information was provided by Indians about their actual combat losses and there is no way for us to obtain names of Indian pilots involved. It is widely believed that Indians lost at least 100 aircrafts and several sources confirm this number.
Psyche of the Pakistan Air Force by Pushpinder Singh and Ravi Rikhye:
" The IAF suffered commensurately higher losses in the 1971 war because it mounted a very great number of attack sorties. To all causes and for all aircraft the losses totalled about 100, of which about 90 would have been combat types". (page 67)
General (Retd.) Chuck Yeager (USAF) , Book: Yeager, the Autobiography)
" The Pakistanis whipped their [Indians'] asses in the sky, but it was the other way around in the ground war. The air war lasted two weeks and the Pakistanis scored a three-to-one kill ratio, knocking out 102 Russian-made Indian jets and losing thirty-four airplanes of their own. I'm certain about the figures because I went out several times a day in a chopper and counted the wrecks below. I counted wrecks on Pakistani soil, documented them by serial number, identified the components such as engines, rocket pods, and new equipment on newer planes like the Soviet SU-7 fighter-bomber and the MiG-21 J, their latest supersonic fighter. The Pakistani army would cart off these items for me, and when the war ended, it took two big American Air Force cargo lifters to carry all those parts back to the States for analysis by our intelligence division."
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, former Army chief told Karan Thapar in ``face-to-face'' programme on BBC
Asked about setbacks during the 1971 war:
On the fifth day of the conflict he told Ms Gandhi that ``everything had gone wrong. The navy lost the khukri. The air force lost a lot of aircraft on the ground. My advances in Bangladesh were halted''.
She looked at me and smiled and said you can't win everyday, Sam. And then she turned around and said anyway we
will not tell anybody ... Let everybody know that nothing has happened''.
Asked to what extent did he win in Bangladesh, Manekshaw said:``Pakistan army in East Pakistan fought very gallantly.
But they had no chance. They were a 1,000 miles away from their base. And I had eight or nine months to make my
preparations. I had a superiority of almost 50 to one...''.
He said it was true that he had written a personal letter to Pakistani captain S.R. Malik for defending his garrison in
Kamalpur in Bangladesh ``stoutly'' despite ``hard'' Indian attempts to capture it. ``We did not succeed until about the third
attempt....'' The former chief said he had even recommended Captain Malik's name for a gallantry award to the Pakistani army chief.
PAF Air-Kills in East Pakistan
| Date |
PAF Pilot |
IAF Pilot |
PAF plane |
Plane/Pilot fate |
| Dec 4 |
F/L Saeed |
S/L S.B.Samanta |
F-86 14th Squadron |
Hunter (37th Squadron) |
| Dec 4 |
F/L Shams-ul-Haq |
S/L V. Bhutani |
F-86 14th Squadron |
Su-7 (221 squadron) |
| Dec 4 |
F/L Saeed Afzal |
F/O S.G. Khonde |
F-86 14th Squadron |
Hunter (37th Squadron) |
| Dec 4 |
F/L Shams-ul-Haq |
S/L K.D. Mehra |
F-86 14th Squadron |
Hunter |
| Dec 4 |
F/L Dilawer |
F/L K. C. Lemontree |
F-86 14th Squadron |
Hunter, POW |
PAF Air-Kills in West Pakistan
| Date |
PAF Pilot |
IAF Pilot |
PAF plane |
Plane/Squadron |
| Dec 04 |
F/L Naeem Atta |
F/L L.M.Sasoon and F/L R.M. Advani |
Mirage III |
Canberra (JBCU) |
| Dec 04 |
F/L Qazi Javed |
F/O Chati (POW) |
F-6 |
Hunter (A-479) (27 Squadron) |
| Dec 04 |
F/L Javed Latif |
F/L H.V. Singh |
F-6 |
Su-7 (222 Squadron) |
| Dec 04 |
F/L Salim Bag Mirza |
F/L K.P. Muralidharan |
F-86 |
Hunter (A-462) (20 Squadron) |
| Dec 04 |
F/L Mujahid |
F/O S. Tyagi |
F-86 |
Hunter (A-490) (27 Squadron) |
| Dec 05 |
F/L Safdar |
S/L J.M. Mistry |
Mirage III |
Hunter(A1014) (20 Squadron) |
| Dec 05 |
S/L S. Saad Hatmi |
F/L G.S. Rai (Killed) |
F-6 |
Hunter (A482) (27 Squadron) |
| Dec 05 |
F/L Qazi |
F/O K.L Malkani (Killed) |
F-6 |
Hunter (A488) (27 Squadron) |
| Dec 07 |
F/L Atiq Sufi / F/L Musharaf Mir |
S/L Jiwa Singh |
F-6 |
Su-7 (26 Squadron) |
| Dec 08 |
W/C Hashmi |
F/L R.G Kadam |
F-6 |
Su-7 (TACDE) |
| Dec 10 |
W/C Arif Iqbal |
L/C Ashok Roy (Pilot), Lt H S Sirohi (Obs), O Vijayan |
F-104 |
Alize (310 Squadron) |
| Dec 11 |
S/L Cecil Chaudhery |
F/L K.K. Mohan |
F-86 |
Su-7 (26 Squadron) |
| Dec 11 |
Unknown Pilot |
F/L R D Naithani (Pilot) F/L G Theophilus (Nav) F/L Manohar Purohit (Nav) |
Mirage III |
Canberra (5 Bomber Squadron) |
| Dec 11 |
W/C Arif Iqbal / S/L Amanullah |
S/L Mickey Jatar (Killed) |
F-104 |
HF-24 (while taking off from the runway) (10 Squadron) |
| Dec 14 |
F/L Salim Beg Mirza |
F/O N.S. Sekhon |
F-86 |
Gnat (18 Squadron) |
| Dec 14 |
S/L Salim Gauhar |
Capt P.K. Gaur |
F-86 |
Auster (660 Squadron) |
| Dec 17 |
F/L Maqsood Amir |
F/L Tejwant Singh |
F-86 |
Mig-21 (29 Squadron) |
PAF Air-Combat Losses in East Pakistan
| Date |
PAF Pilot |
Pilot Fate |
Aircraft Involved |
| Nov 22 |
F/L Parvez Mehdi Qureshi |
POW |
Sabre vs. Gnat |
| Nov 22 |
F/O Khalil Ahmed |
POW |
Sabre vs. Gnat |
| Dec 04 |
W/C S M Ahmed |
Killed by Terrorists |
Sabre vs. Hunter |
| Dec 04 |
F/L Saeed Afzal Khan |
Killed by Terrorists |
Sabre vs. Hunter |
| Dec 04 |
F/O Sajjad Noor |
Pilot rescued |
Sabre vs. Hunter |
PAF Air Combat Losses in West Pakistan
| Date |
PAF Pilot |
Aircraft / Pilot Fate |
Aircraft Involved |
| Dec 10 |
S/L Aslam Choudhry |
F-86 . Pilot killed in action. |
S/L R N Bharadwaj In Hunter. |
| Dec 12 |
W/C M E Middlecoat |
F-104. Pilot Killed in action. |
F/L B B Soni in Mig-21. |
| Dec 13 |
F/O N N A Baig |
F-86. Pilot Killed in action. |
S/L F J Mehta in Hunter |
| Dec 17 |
F/L Samad Ali Changezi |
F-104. Pilot Killed in action. |
F/L A K Dutta in Mig-21. |
Total PAF losses in Air to Air Combat: 09
Total IAF losses in Air to Air Combat (at least): 22
IAF losses due to Ground fire in East Pakistan
| Date |
IAF Pilot |
Pilot Fate |
Aircraft involved |
| Dec 04 |
S/L S K Gupta |
Ejected |
Hunter |
| Dec 04 |
F/L A R Da Costa |
Killed |
Hunter |
| Dec 10 |
S/L R C Sachdeva |
Killed |
Hunter |
| Dec 13 |
S/L P.S.Gill |
Ejected |
Mig-21 |
| Dec 15 |
F/O B R E Wilson(Pilot) Flt Lt R B Mehta (Nav) |
Killed |
Canberra |
| Unknown |
F/L Dixon 2 |
Killed |
Hunter |
IAF losses due to Ground fire in West Pakistan
| Date |
IAF Pilot |
Pilot Fate |
Aircraft Involved |
| Dec 04 |
F/L M S Grewa |
POW |
Su-7 |
| Dec 04 |
F/L P V Apte |
Killed |
HF-24 |
| Dec 04 |
F/L J L Bhargava |
Unknown |
HF-24 |
| Dec 05 |
F/L A V Pethia |
POW |
Mystere |
| Dec 05 |
S/L D S Jafa |
Unknown |
Su-7 |
| Dec 05 |
F/L Harish Singhji |
Unknown |
Mig-21 |
| Dec 05 |
F/L V V Tambey |
Unknown |
Su-7 |
| Dec 05 |
F/L S K Goswami (Pilot) F/L S C Mahajan (Nav) |
Unknown |
Canberra |
| Dec 05 |
F/L S C Sandal (Pt) F/L K S Nanda (Nav) |
Unknown |
Canberra |
| Dec 06 |
F/O K C Kuruvilla |
Unknown |
Su-7 |
| Dec 07 |
F/O H N D Mulla Feroze |
Unknown |
HF-24 |
| Dec 08 |
S/L Denzil Keelor |
Unknown |
Mig-21 |
| Dec 08 |
W/C B A Coelho |
Unknown |
Hunter |
| Dec 09 |
F/L N Shanker |
Unknown |
Su-7 |
| Dec 09 |
S/L A V Kamat |
Unknown |
HF-24 |
| Dec 10 |
S/L Jain |
Killed |
Hunter |
| Dec 10 |
F/L Parulkar |
Unknown |
Su-7 |
| Dec 10 |
F/L S K Chibber |
Unknown |
Su-7 |
| Dec 13 |
S/L J D Kumar |
Unknown |
Mystere |
| Dec 13 |
W/C H S Gill |
Unknown |
Mig-21 |
| Dec 16 |
F/L T S Danadoss |
Unknown |
Su-7 |
| unknown |
S/L Anukul |
Unknown |
Mystere |
| unknown |
F/L Das |
Unknown |
Mystere |
IAF Aircrafts Destroyed on Ground
1 Vampire on Dec 15 (Pakistan claimed far more Indian aircrafts destroyed on ground and this is confirmed by Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, former Indian Army chief).
| Date |
IAF Pilot |
Pilot Fate |
Aircraft Involved |
| Dec 06 |
F/L V K Wahi |
Unknown |
Su-7 |
| Dec 07 |
F/O M M Singh |
Unknown |
Gnat |
| Dec 12 |
F/O P K Sahu |
Unknown |
Mig-21 |
| Unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
Mig-21 |
| Unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
Mi-4 |
IAF Aircrafts Lost in accidents
| Date |
IAF Pilot |
Pilot Fate |
Aircraft Involved |
| Dec 17 |
F/L J D'Souza , and Five Crew memebers. |
Killed |
Dakota |
| Unknown |
S/L Rao |
Ejected |
Mig-21 |
| Dec 11 |
S/L K L Bajaj |
Killed |
Alloutte |
| Dec 11 |
F/L A B Dhavle |
Killed |
Mig-21 |
PAF losses in East Pakistan Due to Enemy Ground Fire
None: Pakistan Air Force disabled 11 remaining F-86s and 2-3 T-33s by perforating aircraft engines with the gun fire and cutting electric wiring at several places to prevent them from falling into enemy hands after runway was cratered beyond repair.
PAF losses in West Pakistan Due to Enemy Ground Fire
| Date |
PAF Pilot |
Pilot Fate |
Aircraft Involved |
| Dec 05 |
S/L Khusro,
S/L Peter Chisty |
Killed |
B-57 |
| Dec 05 |
S/L Ishfaq Hameed,
F/L Zulfiqar Ahmed |
Killed |
B-57 |
| Dec 05 |
F/L Javed Iqbal,
F/L G M Malik |
Killed |
B-57 |
| Dec 06 |
S/L Amjad Hussain |
POW |
F-104 |
| Dec 07 |
F/L Wajid Ali Khan |
POW |
F-6 |
| Dec 08 |
F/L Fazal Elahi |
Killed |
F-86 |
| Dec 12 |
F/L Ejazuddin |
Unknown |
F-6 |
| Dec 17 |
F/O Shahid Raza |
Killed |
F-6 |
PAF Aircrafts Destroyed on Gound
1 RB-57 Destroyed at Masroor on Dec 06.
5 Sabers destroyed at Murid on Dec 08.
PAF aircrafts lost to friendly fire or in accidents
| Date |
PAF Pilot |
Pilot Fate |
Aircraft Involved |
| Dec 04 |
F/L Nayyar Iqbal |
Killed |
F-86 |
| Dec 07 |
F/O Hamid Khawaja |
Unknown |
F-86 |
| Dec 07 |
S/L Cecil Chaudhry |
Ejected |
F-86 (Friendly fire) |
| Dec 08 |
F/O Afzal Jamal Siddiqui |
Killed |
F-6 (Friendly fire) |
Total PAF losses to all causes: 40 (including 13-14 aircrafts destroyed by the personnels of Pakistan Air Force in East Pakistan after runway was cratered beyond repair).
Total IAF losses to all causes (at least): 61
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