Flight Lieutenant Vijay Vasant Tambay was an officer of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

whose aircraft was shot down on 5 December 1971 over West Pakistan while on a

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

against the Pakistani airbase of Rafiqui, during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Officially recorded by the

as killed in action, Flt Lt Tambay is believed to have been one of the five pilots reported by

Pakistan Observer The ''Pakistan Observer'' is one of the oldest and widely read English-language daily newspapers of Pakistan. It is published in six cities – Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, and Muzaffarabad. The newspaper was founded in 1988 b ...

to have been captured alive on 5 December 1971. However, although a number of reports from eyewitnesses have subsequently suggested that Flt Lt Tambay was indeed captured alive, he was not repatriated at the end of the war, while the Pakistan Government denies having in their possession any Indian Prisoners of War from the

1971 war The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

,. making him one of The missing 54 Indian defence personnel from the war who are believed to be in Pakistani custody.

References

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The Shorkot Road Raid
Bharat-rakshak.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tambay, Vijay Vasant Indian Air Force officers Indian aviators Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Indian military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Possibly living people Indian prisoners of war Aviators killed by being shot down Indian military personnel killed in action 1943 births

See also

References

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