Thirty three years ago, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), trained to perfection by Air Marshal Asghar Khan, and led ably by commanders at every level, defeated the much larger Indian Air Force (IAF) in September 1965. Exercised in perfect harmony for years, the maintenance and flying crews had achieved exceptionally high rates of performance. The PAF had been optimized for low-level intercepts and air combat. PAF fighters such as the F-86 Sabres and F-104 Starfighters and bombers like the B-57 were also fully honed for the counter-attack, interdiction and ground attack roles.

Air Marshal Asghar Khan, having commanded the PAF for 8 years, retired on 23 July 1965, i.e. six weeks before the 1965 Indo-Pak War. He had prepared the PAF well for the 23 glorious days that began on 1 September 1965. His successor, Air Marshal Noor Khan, faced the challenge of his new command wisdom and the PAF won many laurels under his leadership. PAF won the battle of air superiority by 7 September 1965 i.e. within 48 hours of the Indian land offensive against Pakistan. The PAF's qualitative edge over the numerically superior IAF was fully established with the 4:0 score against IAF Vampire fighters on 1 September 1965 over Chamb-Jaurian, and in the first 24 hours of the air war, the IAF was dealt with three stunning blows from which it never recovered. During the lightning attack by PAF's No. 19 Squadron on Pathankot on the afternoon of 6 September 1965, all the Indian MiG-21s, IAF's latest fighters were destroyed. Wing Commander M.G. Tawwab (later Air Vice Marshal and Chief of the Air Staff of the Bangladesh Air Force) who was providing top cover with a flight of PAF F-86 Sabres, confirmed 14 fires emulating from the damaged aircraft on the ground. That the IAF did not fly the MiG-21s during the 1965 War, proved that it had none left to fly. The shock strike at IAF Station, Kalaikunda (West Bengal) by PAF's No. 14 Squadron on 7 September in which 16 IAF Canberra bombers and Hunters were destroyed and 8 damaged, and the crippling defeat by PAF over Sargodha on 7 September 1965, had shattered IAF morale beyond repair. During these three air operations, PAF pilots destroyed 35 IAF aircraft against their loss of only 2.

Air Marshal Asghar Khan was aware that American military assistance would be suspended as soon as Pakistan became involved in a war with India. He, therefore, ensured that maximum reserves of spares were created for the US-supplied F-86 Sabres and F-104 Starfighters and B-57 bombers. This helped in maintaining the surge rates of flying during the 1965 War. Air Marshal Asghar Khan had ensured the finest command leadership of the PAF combat squadrons, wings and operational bases. The inspiring leadership of key units especially of PAF Base, Sargodha (Air Commodore Zafar Masud) contributed to the very high motivation of maintenance and operational personnel throughout the war. It goes to the credit of Air Marshal Noor Khan that he kept all the commanders in place and infused a new spirit by his personal dash and dynamism.

Indian writers, Pushpindar Singh, Ravi Rikhye and Peter Steinemann in their book, The Psyche of the Pakistan Air Force, aptly state that:

"The 23-day conflict in September 1965 represented the zenith of the Pakistan Air Force and could justify claims to be its country's crowning glory. The PAF claims to have outfought its larger adversary. If we, as Indians, are to learn from the past, we should show no hesitancy in examining this. Because there are limits to what the morale of the IAF would have taken, and our statement is not intended to shock, it is crucial for the Indian Air Force to remember the lessons of 1965, if only to remind itself that brute force will not win an air war; if only to avoid complacency now that it (IAF) has far outstripped its adversary in equipment."

The PAF was in a high state of readiness well before the 1965 war was imposed on Pakistan. From 15 April 1965, all aircraft at PAF Bases were in full combat readiness and were being operated from wartime dispersals. Radar were moved to wartime locations, and Mobile Observer Units (MOUs) were deployed in concentric rings around VPs. A Sub-Control Centre (SCC) was created at Sargodha and was netted with the 100, 60 and 30 mile MOU reporting belts. Patrolling (CAPs) by F-86s and F-104s had been stepped up by Sargodha and Peshawar. On 1 September 1965, a MOU reported that an IAF Canberra and 5 IAF Vampire fighters were attacking Pakistan Army troops in the Chamb area. Two F-86s flown by Squadron Leader Sarfraz Rafiqui and Flight Lieutenant Imtiaz Bhatti were vectored and in a lightning air combat attack, shot down 4 IAF Vampire fighters. The entire IAF Vampire fighter fleet of 50 aircraft were immediately grounded by the IAF as a result of this incident. On 3 September 1965, an IAF Gnat fighter flown by Squadron Leader Brij Pal Singh Sikand on sighting a PAF F-104 Starfighter, panicked, landed at Pasrur Airfield and surrendered. It was flown out of there later by Flt. Lt. Saad Hatmi of the PAF (the aircraft is now on display at the PAF Museum). PAF F-104 Starfighters became a terror for the IAF pilots. Superior weaponry with the PAF had demoralized the IAF.

On the night of 5-6 September, the Indian Army at 0059 hours attacked on a wide front from Sialkot to Kasur. On the Lahore front, the No. 7 Indian Division attacked Burki-Harike Road, and the No. 15 Indian Division with 3 infantry Brigades, supported by an armoured brigade and a para-brigade crossed into Pakistan territory from Wagah Border. The Indian No. 4 Mountain Division attacked Kasur. Their mission was to capture Lahore, Pakistan's heart, within 24 hours. With the advantage of pre-emption and surprize, the enemy had reached Bheni bridge by 0430 hours. The Indian Army's master plan was to capture Batapur Bridge and then dash via Mahmood Booti Bypass to capture the Ravi Bridge on the other side of Lahore. India's General Chaudhry, the conqueror of Hyderabad Deccan and Goa, had ordered the capture of Lahore within a day. But the PAF and the courage of the officers and men of No. 10 Division of the Pakistan Army turned the tables on the Indian Army.

By 0900 hours on 6 September, the Indian tanks were only 500 yards from Batapur Bridge and were firing across the Bridge. Lt. Col. Tajammal Hussain Malik of the Pakistan Army, in command of the 3rd Baluch Regiment, on seeing an Indian tank column advancing towards the Bridge, positioned an RR behind a bullock cart (which had arrived by chance) and fired and destroyed the enemy leading tank. The enemy's covering tank fired on the bullock cart but the RR was saved. The RR fired on the second enemy tank and destroyed it too. This temporarily halted the enemy's advance. PAF air support at this crucial juncture turned the tables on the enemy, and has been described by Major-General Tajammal Hussain in his book, The Story of My Struggle, as Ababeels who destroyed Abrahs elephants and the entire heathen army who had come to destroy Baitullah during the time of Hazrat Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

The diary of Pakistan Army's 114 Brigade defending Wagah reported on 6 September that "(a) the enemy had achieved complete surprise on us. Our own troops were in position when the enemy attack started on Bheni, (b) the advanced positions of 114 Brigade were outflanked by the enemy. Answering a critical call for air support at Wagah, where a life and death struggle was being enacted, 6 Sabres arrived over the target at 0930 hours and destroyed the Indian armour, guns and bunkers". Similarly, the diary of the Pakistan Army's No. 10 Div. records that, "At this crucial juncture, appeared 6 PAF Sabres and for 15 to 20 minutes wrought havoc with the enemy armour and infantry trying to cross the BRB Canal". On 6 September, air support for 10 Division continued throughout the day as 18 more F-86 Sabres kept pounding guns, tanks, APCs which were trying to advance towards Lahore, Jassar and Kasur. Army-air cooperation had saved Lahore.

On the first day, of the 1965 War, the IAF did not fly a single sortie in support of the Indian Army. Emboldened by confusion in the IAF command, Air Marshal Noor Khan, C-in-C of the PAF, ordered, at 1100 hours on 6 September 1965, the destruction of four IAF fighter bases at Adampur, Halwara, Pathankot and Jamnagar and three key IAF radar stations at Amritsar, Ferozepur and Porbunder. The time over target (TOT) of the precisely coordinated air offensive was 1705 for the Sabres and night TOTs for B-57s.

The highly successful PAF attack on Pathankot was a textbook operation, with a lesson to prepare well and stick to the plan. The strikes on Halwara and Adampur were afflicted by problems. Out of 8, only 3 Sabres led by Squadron Leader M.M. Alam were intercepted by 4 Hunters. Before reaching Adampur, Alam shot down two hunters, while Flt. Lt. "Butch" and Flt. Lt. Hatmi claimed one Hunter each as damaged. Squadron Leader Sarfraz Rafiqui was to lead 8 Sabres, but led a flight of only 3 Sabres at the end on the attack on Halwara in fading light. This section of 3 Sabres was intercepted by 12 IAF Hunters. In the dogfight that took place, Flt. Lt. Cecil Choudhry (No. 2) saw the lead Hunter explode under Rafiqui's guns. Rafiqui positioned himself behind the 2 Hunters but experienced the ultimate tragedy of gun-jamming in air combat. At this stage, Flt. Lt. Younus had broken off in pursuit of the second Hunter. Not wishing to leave his wingman, Younus alone, Rafiqui refused to quit, and gave the lead to Flt. Lt. Cecil Choudhry. After Cecil shot down one Hunter, he saw another cartwheel into the ground, and went on to shoot down yet another Hunter, when he saw a Hunter and Sabre (Younus) in close combat. Younus shot this Hunter, but was shot down by two other Hunters. Cecil's repeated calls to his leader, Sarfraz Rafiqui, went unanswered. In this most daring air battle near IAF Halwara, 3 PAF Sabres took on 12 IAF Hunters and shot down 4 of them. The valiant air combat leadership of Sarfraz Rafiqui in a most formidable air battle had emblazoned the fighting spirit of the PAF fighter ever since. 6 September1995 rekindles in the rank and file of the PAF, the spirit of supreme sacrifice for Pakistan.

7 September 1965 is fondly remembered as Yaum-e-Fiza'ya (PAF Day) because on this day the IAF was defeated in the battle for air superiority. Indian authors in their book, Fiza'ya, state that:

"On September 7, 1965, when the Indo-Pak air war was a week old, the IAF made a major effort against Sargodha base complex, flying 33 sorties starting at 0550 at the crack of dawn to 1540 hrs in six waves. Sargodha was important because it was the hub of the PAF effort during the war. Upto 80 aircraft were located there, including six fighter squadrons, being over 50% of the PAF combat strength. It had to be taken out at all costs. It may certainly be admitted that IAF failed in this respect. Use of good camouflage, inadequate training and bad luck for the Indians resulted in attacks on fields empty of aircraft, and very little was achieved in the end. Pakistan claimed to have downed eleven IAF aircraft i.e. six Hunters and five Mysteres which would give a loss rate of 30 percent…The claim of shooting down five Hunters within 30 seconds by Squadron Leader M.M. Alam OC No. 11 Squadron (F-86F), if true, would be a feat unprecedented in the annals of jet air warfare, probably in the history of all air warfare. A Luftwaffe pilot in WWII downed five Soviet aircraft in a single sortie, but no one (except M.M. Alam) could claim five in the space of less than a minute."

Sargodha, under the command of Group Captain Zafar Masud, was fully prepared to meet the challenge of IAF's retaliatory attacks on 7 September. After the first IAF strike, two F-86 Sabre sections led by Sqn. Ldr. M.M. Alam and Flt. Lt. Imtiaz Bhatti and an F-104 were launched for airfield patrol. At 0615, 4 IAF Hunters, after delivering their weapons aimlessly headed east. Alam with his number 2 Flying Officer Masood Akhtar sighted 2 Hunters and shot one of them down after a chase but immediately he sighted another 5 Hunters. Alam shot down four of them. All this took place in the span of 30 seconds. This brisk air battle demoralized the IAF beyond recovery. The IAF War Diary gives the following composition of the 33 air strikes against Sargodha:

1. 0538 hrs - seven Mysteres attack Sargodha, and one is lost.
2. 0538 hrs - eight Mysteres attack Sargodha - No loss - PAF claimed 4 shot down.
3. 0547 hrs - five Hunters attack Sargodha - IAF accepts one lost. PAF no claims.
4. 0605 hrs - five Hunters attack Sargodha, PAF claimed five shot down. IAF accepts two Hunters lost.
5. 0945 hrs - six Mysteres attack Sargodha - no loss, no claims.
6. 1549 hrs - two Mysteres attack Sargodha. One shot down by Flt. Lt. Malik.

In the 33 IAF attacks on Sargodha, only 1 Sabre was destroyed on the ORP, while the enemy lost 6 Mysteres and 6 Hunters. The IAF was defeated in the battle for Sargodha and lost the battle for air superiority and the urge to fight the PAF in the air. This enabled the PAF to five enhanced air support to the Pakistan Army.

In East Pakistan, the IAF attacked several abandoned airfields on the morning of 7 September, but failed to locate Dhaka. The counterattack on IAF Kalaikunda was launched by the PAF at 0635 hours. Led by Squadron Leader Shabbir H. Syed, 5 F-86s carried out three attacks each and destroyed 16 Canberras and Hunters lined up on the tarmac. Another 8 aircraft and several installations were damaged. This daring attack was followed by another 4 F-86 raid led by Flt Lt. Haleem. Only 1 Canberra was destroyed. With Kalaikunda air defences alerted, in the ensuing air battle, Flying Officer Afzal Khan was shot down by a Hunter. Afzal was also in the first mission. After the Kalaikunda destruction, the IAF was defeated and failed to appear over the East Pakistan skies. The book, The Story of the Pakistan Air Force, states that, "In West Pakistan, the PAF cut off the head of the Indian Air Force, and in their two sorties on 7 September 1965, the pilots of No. 14 Squadron did an equally good job with the tail". No wonder No. 14 Squadron, my old squadron (now equipped with F-16s) became famous as the "Tail Choppers". In 1965, the PAF completely outperformed the IAF. The IAF was defeated in all departments: man to man, machine to machine and mission to mission. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's wish of PAF becoming "second to none" had come true.