The No. 14 Squadron, nicknamed Tail Choppers, is an
air superiority squadron of the Pakistan Air Force's
Central Air Command
''Nigrahya Rasava shastrava''
, colors =
, colors_label =
, battles = 1962 Sino-Indian War, East Pakistan Operations 1971, Operation Meghdoot, Orissa Super-Cyclone Relief, 1999
, anniversaries =
, commander1 = Air Marshal Amar Preet Si ...
. It is one of PAF's most decorated squadrons which earned its nickname after a daring
strike mission on the
Kalaikunda Air Force Station
Kalaikunda Air Force Station
is an Indian Air Force Base in Kharagpur, located in the West Midnapur district of the state of West Bengal. It was the home of No. 18 Squadron IAF, the Flying Bullets. The squadron flew the Indian license-buil ...
during the
1965 War
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...
. Currently, the Squadron is deployed at
PAF Base Rafiqui and operates the
PAC JF-17 Thunder
The CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder ( ur , جے ایف-17 گرج), or FC-1 ''Xiaolong'' (), is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China and the Pakistan Aeronautic ...
multirole aircraft.
History
The No. 14 Squadron was the PAF's first
fighter-bomber squadron, which was raised on 1 November 1948, at
RPAF Base Peshawar and operated the
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...
fighters which were inherited from the
RIAF
The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire.
The Indian Air Force was offi ...
but were later re-equipped with newly acquired
Hawker Fury
The Hawker Fury is a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was a fast, agile aircraft, and the first interceptor in RAF service capable of speed higher than 200 mph (321 kmh). It was the fighter co ...
fighter-bombers after being number-plated for some months.
In 1956, the squadron was transferred to
PAF Base Mauripur
PAF Base Masroor is the largest airbase operated by the Pakistan Air Force. It is located in the Mauripur area of Karachi, in the Sindh province.
The base was originally known as RPAF Station Mauripur and after 1956, as PAF Station Mauripur.
...
and re-equipped with
F-86 Sabres
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing S ...
. They participated extensively in various inter-squadron competitions and
exercises
Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness.
It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic s ...
.
North Waziristan operations
After the
independence of Pakistan, several armed militant groups in the
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...
which were previously engaged in an armed conflict with the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
turned against Pakistan. This time backed by the
Kingdom of Afghanistan
The Kingdom of Afghanistan ( ps, , Dǝ Afġānistān wākmanān; prs, پادشاهی افغانستان, Pādešāhī-ye Afġānistān) was a constitutional monarchy in Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of A ...
, the armed groups started a
rebellion against the
Dominion of Pakistan
Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of ...
. Resultantly, the No. 14 squadron was deployed at
Miranshah
Mīrānshāh (Pashto and ur, ) or Mīrāmshāh () is a small town that is the administrative headquarters of North Waziristan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Miranshah lies on the banks of the Tochi River in a wide valley surr ...
airfield at
North Waziristan
North Waziristan District ( ps, شمالي وزیرستان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanis ...
for counter insurgency operations during which it bombed several rebel targets. In 1953–54, the Squadron also launched a bombing operation on
Faqir of Ipi
Haji Mirzali Khan Wazir ( oru, حاجي میرزاعلي خان وزیر), commonly known as the Faqir of Ipi (), was a Ormur tribal chief and freedom fighter from North Waziristan in today's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
After performing his '' ...
's strongholds at
Gurwek
Gūrwēk ( ur, , ps, ګوروېک) is a town in North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, on the border with Afghanistan. Gurwek is located about southwest of Miramshah, the capital of North Waziristan.
Gurwek is ...
.
1965 Indo-Pakistani war
During the 1965 war, the No. 14 Squadron was deployed at
Tejgaon Air Base and initially operated 12
North American F-86F Sabres but one was lost to a
bird strike
A bird strike—sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)—is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a moving vehicle, usually an aircraft. The term ...
on 4 September so it operated 11 units throughout the war. The Squadron didn't participate in any offensive operations during the
rise in hostilities over the disputed
Indian Administered Kashmir region but it had been on high alert since the
Rann of Kutch conflict before
the invasion. In retaliation for the Indian invasion, the
PAF launched an aggressive airstrike campaign on several
IAF bases.
Airstrikes on Kalaikunda Airbase
The No. 14 Squadron was
ordered to launch airstrikes on the
Kalaikunda Air Force Station
Kalaikunda Air Force Station
is an Indian Air Force Base in Kharagpur, located in the West Midnapur district of the state of West Bengal. It was the home of No. 18 Squadron IAF, the Flying Bullets. The squadron flew the Indian license-buil ...
. Thus on the morning of 7 September 1965, under the command of
Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...
Shabbir, the squadron's F-86 Sabres took off from
Tejgaon with two 200-gallon and two 120-gallon
drop tanks
In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern ...
while armed with nothing more than
50 cal gun ammunition. The squadron's strike team eventually reached the enemy base without being intercepted by enemy fighters and started
strafing
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...
the
Canberra bombers and
Hawker Hunter fighters parked on the tarmac. The No. 14 Squadron's pilots managed to destroy 10 out of the 14 Canberra bombers along with two other types at the IAF base after which they safely returned to base at 07:44am.
Some hours later at 10:30am, the squadron received an
order to execute another airstrike on the same base to ensure the complete destruction of Kalaikunda. Thus, a formation of four
Sabres
A sabre is a type of sword.
Sabre, Sabres, saber, or SABRE may also refer to:
Weapons and weapon systems
* Sabre (fencing), a sporting sword
* Sabre (tank), a modern British armoured reconnaissance vehicle
* Chinese sabre or ''dao'', a variety ...
under the command of
Flight Lieutenant Haleem was
scrambled
Scrambled eggs is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs) stirred, whipped or beaten together while being gently heated, typically with salt, butter, oil and sometimes other ingredients.
Preparation
Only eggs are necessary to make scrambled ...
. Due to low visibility, the formation wasn't intercepted by enemy fighters on their way but upon reaching Kalaikunda, Indian
Anti-Aircraft Guns which were on alert started firing at them. As the Sabres started their
airstrikes, the formation was attacked by 9 Indian
Hawker Hunters
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Roy ...
. The formation then split into two groups, one of which continued the airstrikes while the other group, which consisted of
Flying Officer Afzal Khan (
Wingman
A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation.
According to t ...
) and Flight Lieutenant Tariq Habib (Leader), engaged the enemy Hunters. Tariq decided to
jettison their fuel tanks, but Afzal was shot down before he could do so while one of Tariq's 4 fuel tanks got stuck. Despite that, he engaged 3 Indian Hunters in a 10-minute
dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
during which his Sabre got severely damaged. He eventually managed to shake off the enemy fighters and made it back to
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...
though his
F-86 was
scrapped since it was beyond repair. In the second strike on Kalaikunda, the squadron managed to destroy 4 to 8 Indian
Canberra bombers.
Airstrikes on other IAF bases
On 10 September, four
Sabres
A sabre is a type of sword.
Sabre, Sabres, saber, or SABRE may also refer to:
Weapons and weapon systems
* Sabre (fencing), a sporting sword
* Sabre (tank), a modern British armoured reconnaissance vehicle
* Chinese sabre or ''dao'', a variety ...
from the No. 14 Squadron launched an airstrike on the IAF base of
Baghdogra, four days later on 14 September, the squadron struck the IAF bases of
Barrakpore and
Agartala but since the
IAF had retreated most of its aircraft from the eastern frontline, the squadron destroyed few aircraft in these strikes which included one
Canberra, two fighters, five
transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes:
* Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlines, intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service
* Cargo aircraft or freighters, fix ...
, and one
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
.
Pakistani civil conflict and subsequent Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
The No. 14 squadron carried out numerous CAS missions all around then
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...
during the civil uprising in 1971. After India intervened in the Conflict, the Squadron was the sole squadron of Pakistan defending East Pakistani airspace from the numerically superior Indian forces. It fought until the final days of the war until subsequently the Dhaka Airbase was destroyed by Indian Bombers and overrun by the invading Indian forces alongside Bengali rebels. By the end of the war, the squadron along with the Dhaka Airbase's
ack-ack guns had destroyed 23 IAF warplanes.
Aerial Engagements with Soviet & Afghan Jets
During the Soviet-Afghan war,
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
and
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
jets would bomb Afghan refugee camps and
Mujahideen camps in the then
North West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...
(presently
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
). Resultantly, the No. 14 Squadron, while operating the
F-16 Fighting Falcon, was deployed at
PAF Base Minhas
Minhas Airbase or Kamra Airbase is a PAF Airbase located at Kamra, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan. It was named in the honour of Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, who was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider for valor in the Indo-Pakistani War of 197 ...
at
Kamra from where they carried out
Combat Air Patrol
Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
missions on the
Western Borders where they would eventually
dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
with Soviet and Afghan jets.
On 16 April 1987, Squadron Leader Badar Islam from the Tail Choppers shot down an Afghan
Su-22
The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Its NATO reporting name is "Fitter". Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter ...
with an
AIM-9L
The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prov ...
Sidewinder. On 4 August 1987, Squadron Leader Athar Bukhari shot down a Soviet
Su-25 near
Miranshah
Mīrānshāh (Pashto and ur, ) or Mīrāmshāh () is a small town that is the administrative headquarters of North Waziristan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Miranshah lies on the banks of the Tochi River in a wide valley surr ...
, the Soviet pilot,
Colonel Alexander Rutskoy, safely ejected and was arrested by
Pakistani authorities. He was later handed back to the Soviets on 16 August 1988.
Later, on 12 September 1988,
Flight Lieutenant Khalid shot down two
Mig-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generati ...
. The squadron scored its last kill on 3 November 1988, when Flight Lieutenant Khalid Mehmood shot down an Afghan
Su-22
The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Its NATO reporting name is "Fitter". Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter ...
.
War on Terror
During
Operation Black Thunderstorm
Operation Black Thunderstorm was an aggressive military operation that commenced on April 26, 2009 conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan after the m ...
, an
F-7P of the Tail Choppers performed a
Sonic boom
A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to ...
over the Peochar valley before Pakistani forces were inserted into the area. This was to create fear amongst the militants occupying the area.
Aircraft flown
See also
*
List of Pakistan Air Force squadrons
*
No. 9 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)
No. 9 Squadron, named the ''Griffins'', is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron assigned to the No. 38 Multi-Role Wing of the PAF Central Air Command. The squadron is stationed at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha. It was the PAF's first fighter squ ...
*
No. 16 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)
*
No. 26 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)
Notes
References
{{Pakistan Air Force squadrons
Pakistan Air Force squadrons