Pathankot airstrike

The Pathankot airstrike was a key aerial operation of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It took place on the evening of September 6th, 1965 when the No. 19 Squadron of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) attacked and destroyed the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot. It is the PAF's most successful air raid to date, as well as one of the most successful post-WW2 air raids.

Pathankot airstrike
Part of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and Indo-Pakistani Air War of 1965
Pakistani F-86 Sabre team of the No.19 Squadron (picture taken after Pathankot strike)
Date 6 September 1965 Location Pathankot, Punjab, India Result Decisive Pakistani victory, Destruction of Pathankot airbase
Belligerents
Pakistan	India
Commanders and leaders
Air Marshall Malik Nur Khan Squadron Leader Sajad Haider Wing Commander Muhammad Ghulam Tawab	Air Marshall Subramaniam Raghavendran
Units involved
Pakistan Air Force (No. 19 Squadron)	Indian Air Force (No. 220 Squadron)
Strength
8 F-86 Sabres	unknown, planes remained grounded
Casualties and losses
none	13 aircraft destroyed (7 MiG-21, 5 Mysteres, 1 C-119)

Background

On 6 September 1965, India invaded Pakistan, with a large offensive directed towards Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city and the provincial capital of Punjab. This was done in order to alleviate the pressure in Kashmir, where Pakistan's Operation Grand Slam had inflicted heavy defeats on the Indian Army. Pakistan was forced to abandon the operation in Kashmir and counter the Indians in Punjab. Aerial operations by both sides became more common following this, with the most significant one being the PAF attack on Pathankot on the evening of 6 September.

Planning

The attack on Pathankot was part of a larger, three-pronged aerial operation planned by the PAF, with the other two targets being at Halwara and Adampur. While the Pathankot mission was a great success, the other two attacks could not meet their objectives. The Adampur strike, led by the legendary fighter pilot M. M. Alam, turned around before it could reach the base while the attack on Halwara, led by S. A. Rafiqui was intercepted by IAF aircraft. In the resulting dogfight, the IAF lost 4 aircraft (2 Hawker Hunters and 2 De Havilland Vampires) while the PAF only lost 2 F-86 Sabres, however the attack on the airbase was prevented.

According to Squadron Leader Sajad Haider, who led the raid on Pathankot, the attack was risky as the target was 257 miles away while the operational range of the F-86 was only 180 miles. He also said that the decision to strike Pathankot came as a surprise, as they had been preparing for a strike on Ambala. He stated in an interview that:

Squadron leader Sajad Haider briefing his junior pilots about the mission shortly before take-off

"It was around 12 o’clock when our Station Commander came rushing inside our bunker. He handed me a Flash Top Secret signal.  It read something like: “No.19 Squadron to strike IAF airfield at Pathankot with 8 aircraft. Guns only. Destroy aircraft on the ground. Light anti-aircraft.” I looked back in surprise and bit of consternation at the Commanding Officer and asked, “But Sir, our target assigned by Air Marshal Asghar Khan earlier in June was Ambala, and you know we have been training day and night for 2 months for Ambala as target. Where on earth is Pathankot?” He said it was east of Shakargarh. Not being sure about the location and layout I asked the Commanding Officer to kindly get us a photo of the airfield in order to brief the formation. To arrive precisely at the altered target, we needed to carry out thorough planning. A lot of calculation had to be done to reach the target and a photograph of the airfield layout for allocation of precise targets to each formation member was imperative. We could not loiter around looking for the airfield and then deciding who targets what. In highly defended target systems with anti-aircraft weapons and enemy interceptors in combat air patrol, attackers are extremely vulnerable, as the tragedy at Halwara proved the point. No photo of the airfield was made available. Thus my briefing for the strike was simple, but ad hoc as we had to figure it all out once we arrived at the target."

Attack on Pathankot Airbase

Smoke rising from Pathankot airbase following the PAF raid (picture captured by a Pakistani recon aircraft)

The attack was launched on the evening of 6 September 1965. A formation of 8 F-86 Sabres of the PAF's 19th Squadron (nicknamed Sherdils which translates to Lionhearts), led by Squadron Leader Sajad Haider and wing commander M. G. Tawab, took off from Peshawar towards Pathankot. The formation reached the target airfield at 5:30 in the afternoon and unleashed heavy fire upon the base. The attack proved to be a resounding success. The airbase was severely damaged and inoperable for the remainder of the war, and over a dozen IAF aircraft were destroyed, including several state-of-the-art MiG-21 fighter aircraft, freshly acquired by India from the Soviet Union.

None of the Pakistani aircraft involved in the airstrike were shot down despite heavy anti-aircraft fire by the Indians. All 8 F-86 Sabres returned home safely. According to Sajad Haider, the true credit for the successes at Pathankot and another PAF strike at Wagah should go to the younger pilots, stating that "even at our firing range in peace time in Peshawar, such accuracy was rare."

The PAF faced almost no air-to-air resistance from the IAF during the mission, as most of the aircraft in Pathankot remained grounded throughout the strike. According to IAF Air Marshal Raghavendran, the pilots failed to scramble their aircraft in time, and instead had to hide in nearby trenches to dodge fire from the Sabres. He provides an account of the attack:

"There was pandemonium. Bullets were flying all around. We all rushed to the nearest trench and dived in, not sitting and crouching as we should have been but piling ourselves flat on top of each other!! We could hear and see the Pakistani Sabres going round and round, as though in range practice, and picking off all the possible aircraft, including the MiG-21s, in spite of the anti-aircraft guns blazing away."

Casualties & Losses

The mission was a great success for the PAF, and an equally devastating loss for the IAF. Pathankot airfield was rendered inoperable for the remainder of the war. 13 Indian aircraft were destroyed, which included 7 MiG-21, 5 Mysteres and 1 C-119 transport aircraft. The loss of the MiG-21 jets was particularly noteworthy, as they were the most advanced fighter jet in service with the IAF, and had been freshly acquired by the IAF from the Soviet Union.

The PAF experienced zero casualties during the raid; all 8 of the Sabres returned home safely despite heavy anti-air fire from the Indians.

Gallantry Awards

Sitara-e-Jurat (Star of Courage), Pakistan's third highest military honor, was awarded to Squadron Leader Sajad Haider and Wing Commander Muhammad Ghulam Tawab for their leadership and acts of gallantry during the Pathankot mission.