naval station A Naval Station was a geographic command responsible for conducting all naval operations within its defined area. It may consist of flotillas, or squadrons, or individual ships under command.
The British Royal Navy for command purposes was separ ...
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
,
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. Established in 1975 with the cooperation of the
Pakistan Air Force
, "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional)
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = ...
, the PNS ''Mehran'' serves in the capacity as the headquarter of the Naval Aviation Branch of the
Pakistan Navy
ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...
, and grown to its present inventory of 41 multi role aircraft. The latest addition in the Air Arm is the
ATR-72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed by ...
.
From its inception, being a cost-effective solution, Naval Air Arm has depended upon Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Army to meet the training requirement of air and ground crew. In April 1988, the Naval Aviation Training School (NATS) was established to impart conversion training to aircrew of the Pakistan Naval Air Arm. The school is also geared to train surface fleet officers and men to meet the various requirements of ship borne flight operations. Lately the school has also started to conduct Air Navigators Course, that had previously been conducted in Transport Conversion School of PAF.
History
Commissioning Orders for PNS Mehran were received in the office of the Commander Pakistan Fleet on 13 September 1975. Three 'D' Class houses from PNS Karsa were taken over on 18 September and thereafter the MES put in their efforts to prepare the place and surroundings for housing and commissioning of PNS Mehran. The work was completed 25 September, a day before PNS Mehran was formally commissioned on 26 September 1975.
PNS Mehran was commissioned by the Vice Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral L N Mungavan. On the first day strength of PNS Mehran was eight officers, four sailors and no aircraft. Although Sea King helicopters had been handed over to Pakistan Navy, they were still in the United Kingdom. The first commanding officer was then Captain Syed Fazl Rab PN (P No 456). PNS Mehran, since its inceptions, is efficiently supporting day and night operational activities of all the squadrons. Despite facing acute shortage in every sphere, the base has accomplished every task assigned.
A
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...
helicopter was the first machine to fly from this Base.
Breguet Atlantic Breguet or Bréguet may refer to:
* Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer
**Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker
**Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work
* Bréguet ...
Fokker F-27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...
Friendship aircraft. The 1990s saw an expansion in PN aviation with P3Cs and LYNX joining in.
the new millennium also saw an increased focus towards strengthening of this force and ex USN P3Cs, Harbin Z9EC,
Hawker 850XP
The Hawker 800 is a mid-size twinjet corporate aircraft. It is a development of the British Aerospace BAe 125, and was assembled by Hawker Beechcraft.
Development
In April 1981, the British Aerospace board sanctioned the programme to improve t ...
and ATR-72 were included in the fleet.
22 May 2011 attack
On 22 May 2011,
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...
claimed that its force of 8–20 armed men had attacked the base. Aircraft stationed in the base were destroyed using rocket propelled grenades out of the Pakistan Navy's five,
P-3C Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. however Pakistani naval officials believe the attacks are linked to two other attacks that took place on 26 and 28 April respectively, not bin Laden's death.Navy base attack: Attack linked with bus bombings, not Osama – The Express Tribune /ref> Eyewitnesses have claimed that the attackers were dressed in naval uniforms and were aware of the security protocol at the base and behaved like soldiers. This contradicts the claim by Pakistan's Interior Minister,
Rehman Malik
Abdul Rehman Malik NI ( Punjabi, Urdu: رحمان ملک; born 12 December 1951 – 23 February 2022) was a Pakistani politician and a Federal Investigation Agency officer, having served as the Interior Minister from being appointed on 25 Marc ...
who had claimed that the attackers had cut through barbed wire at a place on the perimeter where they could not be detected by security cameras, and that they were wearing black.
Operations
The Naval Air Arm at PNS Mehran is headed by Commander Naval Aviation (COMNAV). Under COMNAV, there are four Head of Departments (HODs) namely Commander Air (Cdr Air), Commander Air Engineering Department (Cdr AED), Commanding Officer MEHRAN (CO MEH) and Officer Commanding Naval Aviation Training School (OC NATS).
There are six squadrons under Cdr Air namely 28 Squadron (
P-3C Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.
). All the operational/flying activities of the naval base are controlled by Cdr Air through the Officer Commanding (OC) of each Squadron. Cdr Air is further assisted by staff working directly under him.
Cdr AED is responsible for the maintenance and technical efficiency of all the aircraft.
CO MEHRAN is responsible for providing all logistics and administrative support to aviation units under COMNAV. Under him is the typical infrastructure of a naval unit which includes EXO, Supply Officer, Gunnery Officer, Communication Officer etc.
OC NATS is responsible for all sort of aviation related training of the Naval Air Arm. He is assisted by Training Cdr, Chief Flying Instructor (CFI) Rotary Wing, CFI Fixed wing and Chief Navigator Instructor (CNI). CFIs and CNI are further assisted by Instructor Pilots and Instructor Navigators under them.
Staff Officer (Operations) and Staff Maintenance Officer are responsible for advising and assisting COMNAV on matters related to Operations and Maintenance respectively.
A Base Flight Safety Officer is responsible for ensuring that safe flying practices are being followed by the squadrons. Quality Assurance Officer ensures that required quality standards are being maintained by the maintainers and technical departments.
Air Engineering Department
The Air Engineering Department (AED) was established in the mid-1970s at PNS Mehran with the assistance of the
Pakistani Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...
and the
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
. The AED initially began with limited first line maintenance of aircraft backed by rudimentary workshop facilities. Progressively, the scope of the Air Engineering Department expanded with the corresponding increase in aircraft inventory and their growing technical obligations. The AED, with a workforce of 1,500 service personnel and 300 civilian technicians, is capable of undertaking overhaul and rebuild of
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...
,
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...
and
Alouette III
Alouette or alouettes may refer to:
Music and literature
* "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song
* Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar''
Aerospace
* SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...
aircraft.
Functions of AED
The functions of the AED encompass diverse maintenance activities that range in sophistication and depth. The repair and maintenance work varies from basic inspections to complete stripping and rebuilding of aircraft. The AED performs the following functions.
* Provide technical advice and assistance to squadrons;
* Extend Second & Third Level maintenance support to squadrons;
* Undertake complete stripping, inspection, refurbishment and rebuild of rotary and fixed wing aircraft;
* Conduct Third and Fourth level maintenance on aircraft equipment;
* Design and embody aircraft and equipment modification;
* Undertake aircraft structural repairs; and
* Conduct and monitor training of air and ground crew.
Organisation
The organisation is headed by the Commander Air Engineering Department. The Commander AED is assisted by seven Group Officers to perform the functions efficiently.