The Battle of Boyra, on 22 November 1971, was a Ground and aerial battle that was fought between the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

The Pakistani Army was engaged in combat against the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

(Bengali Guerrilla fighters) and a Division size detachment of the Indian Army in the

Battle of Garibpur The Battle of Garibpur was a battle that was fought by the Pakistan Army against the Indian Army on 20–21 November 1971. This battle was fought 12 days before India officially joined the war against Pakistan. The battle started after an Indian ...

as part of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Pakistani ground forces requested air cover and close air support from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The PAF aircraft, while providing support to the Pakistani ground units. A detachment of four Folland Gnats was moved to Dum Dum (Kolkata Airport) from its parent base at Kalaikunda, near Kharagpur, over 100 km to the Southwest, to intercept the Pakistan Air Force aircraft. The Detachment was commanded by Flt Lt Roy Andrew Massey. This battle is significant as it was the first engagement between the Air Forces of India and Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. It is seen as a culmination of the

in which the Mitro Bahini (The alliance of Mukti Bahini and

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

was named as Mitro Bahini meaning Allied Forces in Bengali) at

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

strength successfully invaded and captured area along the Garibpur. Both sides suffered casualties during the battle. This battle also took place before the formal start of

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 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 Decem ...

Background

After months of internal tensions in

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 ...

(current day

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

) leading up to the 1971 Bangladesh genocide, and a clampdown on Bengali nationalists, many independence fighters had organised themselves into a guerilla army. Called the

, these rebels were aided by India in their struggle through supply of constant arms training as well as serving indian army officer who fought along side Mukti bahini. After initial success over Pakistani troops there had been some relative calm in the region and further Indian assistance was sought to turn the tide. Economically burdened by close to 10 Million Bangladeshi refugees, India thus started to involve itself deeper into the conflict brewing in the east and stationed its troops near the border. The Boyra Salient located inside the North West part of East Pakistan consisting of Garibpur village was at an important crossroads for both nations. Its control was thus vital as it included a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...

from India. On 21 November, the 14

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

– supported by

PT-76 The PT-76 is a Soviet Union, Soviet amphibious vehicle, amphibious light tank that was introduced in the early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armed forces. It was widely exported ...

tanks from

45 Cavalry 45 Cavalry is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. The regiment distinguished itself in operations during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War winning one Maha Vir Chakra. Raising The first 45th Cavalry was formed in August 191 ...

and

moved in to capture the areas around Garibpur inside the Pakistani territory. The move was supposed to be a surprise, but following a skirmish with patrol troops of both armies the previous day, Pakistan was alerted to this impending attack. Pakistan immediately retaliated with its infantry battalion supported by 3rd Independent Armoured Squadron, equipped with M24 Chaffee light tanks was launched.The Battle of Garibpur: Veterans Recall The Prelude to 1971 War
/ref> Retaining the Infantry and the Recoilless rifles in a defensive position, the tanks were sent forward to ambush the oncoming Pakistani charge. In the next couple of hours Indian troops resisted the Pakistani attack who couldn't pinpoint the source of attacks due to poor visibility on account of fog. Undeterred, Pakistan tanks and infantry were thrown into an offensive against Indian defensive positions in a

Frontal Assault The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, full-force attack on the front line of an enemy force, rather than to the flanks or rear of the enemy. It allows for a quick and decisive victory, but at the cost of subjecting the attackers to ...

. The resulting battle is now famous as the

. As Pakistani troops were unable to dislodge entrenched enemy, the Mitro Bahini and the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, 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 ...

called in close air support. The Pakistani Air Force Contingent in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

responded by launching several sorties of

Canadair Sabre The Canadair Sabre is a jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) unti ...

Mk6s beginning on the morning of 22 November 1971. This set the stage for the Battle of Boyra.

Units Involved

The PAF unit involved was No 14. Squadron Tail-choppers, which had on strength 16

Mk6s. These were the Canadair built versions of the

F-86 Sabre 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 Sov ...

which were upgraded with

AIM-9 Sidewinder 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 prove ...

missiles and powered by the more powerful

Avro Canada Orenda The Avro Canada TR5 Orenda was the first production jet engine from Avro Canada's Gas Turbine Division. Similar to other early jet engines in design, like the Rolls-Royce Avon or General Electric J47, the Orenda nevertheless outperformed its r ...

engine. These Sabres were

smuggle Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

d into Pakistan through a

clandestine Clandestine may refer to: * Secrecy, the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups, perhaps while sharing it with other individuals * Clandestine operation, a secret intelligence or military activity Music and entertainme ...

deal organized between Germany and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

This Squadron was commanded by Flight Lieutenant

Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi Air Chief Marshal Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi ( ur, ; born 1 October 1943) best known as PQ Mehdi, is a retired four-star air officer and a former fighter pilot who served as the eighth Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Pakistan Air Force, appoint ...

who later rose to become the CAS a role in which he was famous for his forthright and straight-faced dealings where he looked after the interests of the PAF The reason why the relatively junior Flight Lieutenant Qureshi was appointed to command a squadron (usually commanded by a

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 ...

) is unknown. But as it was common for

Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of ...

in the Pakistani Armed Forces to defect and join the Mukti Bahini or to be grounded or removed from positions of authority during the 71' war due to suspected loyalty, it is a likely possibility that this was the reason. The Indian Air Force unit involved was

No. 22 Squadron IAF No. 22 Squadron (''Swifts'') was a Close Air Support, CAS unit based out of Hasimara AFS. Along with No. 222 Squadron IAF Tiger Sharks, No. 22 Squadron forms a part of the 16 Wing of the IAF. The squadron operated MiG-27 till December 2017 and ...

Swifts which was equipped with the diminutive

Folland Gnat The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it wa ...

. This squadron was based in

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 ...

and tasked with the

Air Defence Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

of the Calcutta Sector. A detachment was stationed at Dum Dum Airfield in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. The unit was under the command of

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

BS Sikand (who later rose to the rank of Air Marshal). Although the Canadair Sabre Mk 6 was widely regarded as the best dogfighter of its era, tactics called for Gnats taking on the Sabres in the vertical arena, where the Sabres were at a disadvantage. Moreover, because the Gnat was lightweight and compact in shape, it was hard to see, especially at the low levels where most of the dogfights took place.

The battle

The PAF aircraft were providing support the Pakistan Army ground units close to the border area in Garibpur. The first of four Sabres were picked up in the

area on Indian

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

at 0811 hours. No.22 Squadron scrambled four Gnats from Dum Dum. A second raid by the Pakistanis followed at 1028 hours. An interception again could not be carried out in time and the Sabres were able to escape to safety. At around 1448 hours, the radar picked up the three Sabres as they pulled up in a north westerly direction to about

above ground level In aviation, atmospheric sciences and broadcasting, a height above ground level (AGL or HAGL) is a height measured with respect to the underlying ground surface. This is as opposed to height above mean sea level (AMSL or HAMSL), height above elli ...

. Within a minute, the ORP at Dum Dum was scrambled. Four Gnats took off by 1451 hours led by the formation leader Flt Lt Roy Andrew Massey. It was less than three minutes from the time the Sabres were detected by the radar.My Years with the Iaf, Air Chief Marshal Pc Lal The Fighter controller in the sector was Flying Officer KB Bagchi who vectored the gnats to the sabres and directed the interception. The Sabres already having carried out several attack runs in the eight minutes it took the Gnats to reach the Boyra Salient, were commencing to start another dive – they were at about altitude and diving down to in an attack run. The four Gnats separated into two sections and dived into the attack to bounce the Sabres. The first section of Gnats was of Massey and Fg Offr SF Soarez as his

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 ...

. The second section consisted of Flt Lt M A Ganapathy and Fg Offr D Lazarus. As the Gnats dived in, a section of two Sabres pulled out of the attack and placed themselves in an awkward position, just in front of Ganapathy and Lazarus. Both the pilots opened fire with 30mm Cannon fire, and both the Sabres were badly damaged. Ganapathy called out on the R/T the Brevity code "Murder Murder Murder". The Pakistani pilots

and Khaleel Ahmed ejected over Boyra and parachuted down safely but were taken POW. The wreckage of the abandoned Sabres fell near the village of

Bongaon Bangaon is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bangaon subdivision. Geography Location Bangaon is located at . It has an average elevation of 7 m ...

in India. Simultaneously Massey pulled up over Ganapathy and Lazarus to latch onto another Sabre. The Sabre pilot, Wg. Cdr Chaudhury – in a skillful

dogfighting 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 ...

move – broke into Massey's attack forcing him to take a high angle-off burst which missed his target. After maneuvering back into firing position and taking aim, Massey let off another burst at and hit him in the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

wing. By that time, Massey's starboard cannon had stopped firing, but the Sabre streaked back into Pakistani territory billowing smoke and fire. Massey realizing that he was well over East Pakistani airspace in his chase, turned around and regrouped with the rest of his formation which then proceeded back to base. Early on it was thought that the badly damaged Sabre must have crashed soon after but after the war reports confirmed that Massey's victim, Wg. Cdr Chaudhury, showing considerable courage, had managed to fly his badly damaged Sabre back to Tezgaon Airfield outside

. Chaudhury himself claimed to have shot down one of the Gnats, however Indian officials claimed that no aircraft were lost in the battle.

Aftermath

This action which took place in front of thousands of people became one of the most enduring moments of the Bangladesh Liberation War and made all four Indian Pilots instant celebrities in India and Bangladesh overnight. Their pictures,

Gun camera Gun cameras are cameras mounted on a gun, used to photograph or record from its perspective. They are typically used on the weapons of military aircraft and operate either when the gun is fired or at the operator's will. Gun cameras are used for ...

Images (see external images) of the flaming sabres and those of the PAF pow's being widely circulated by the media the world over. * The Indian pilots were each awarded the

Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...

. The Fighter Controller Fg Offr KB Bagchi was awarded

Vayusena Medal The Vayu Sena Medal is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same nu ...

. Wg. Cdr. Sikand was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM). * Roy Andrew Massey would later command No. 224 Squadron of the IAF which operated

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 ...

MF he died in a Mig-23 Crash due to

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 ...

in Nov 1983 almost exactly 12 years later. *Donald Lazarus went on to become the commanding officer of the No. 102 Squadron of the IAF- The Trisonics- which operated India's top secret

Mig-25 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by th ...

s Mach 3 Reconnaissance aircraft. He attained the final rank of Group Captain (colonel) He later gave up his career and opted for early retirement to answer the call of God and served as a Councillor and later director of Christian Mission Service (CMS), based in

Coonoor Coonoor, natively spelt as Kunnur (), is a Taluk and a municipality of the Nilgiris district in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494. Demographics According to 2011 census, Coonoor had a populatio ...

, which mainly cares for destitute and orphaned children. * MA Ganapathy died in service—beset with personal family problems, he committed suicide. *

would later go on to be the CAS of PAF a role in which he was famous for his forthright and straight-faced dealings he looked after the interests of the PAF. As CoAS of the PAF he prevented the PAF from getting drawn into the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

according to the wishes of Gen.

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

and thus prevented that conflict from escalating, which may have resulted in Nuclear War. * Tezgaon airfield was subjected to a severe Offensive campaign by the Indian Airforce and was rendered inoperable by the third day after the formal declaration of war on 3 December 1971.

Notes and references

Sources