1965 war hero 'Professor' reveals top IAF officer a Pak mole who bled India

[Zarvan]

Wing Commander (Retd) JM Nath was Flight Commander of strategic Photo Reconnaissance Squadron No. 106.


As an air force pilot, he flew his English Electric Canberra plane into territories like Aksai Chin, Tibet as well as Lahore at the very peak of hostilities with Pakistan and China. He fired not a single bullet and yet he 'shot' these places in a way that the nation, twice over, conferred upon him the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), a distinction which is as rare as it gets. On Monday, he walked down the lawns of India Gate, where the government is celebrating efforts like his in the form of a commemorative exhibition and carnival titled Shauryanjali.

Wing Commander (Retd) JM Nath (87), a resident of Mumbai felt overwhelmed and said. "I am thankful for these efforts which are educating our people about a war which was long forgotten," he said.

Back then, as the Flight Commander of strategic Photo Reconnaissance Squadron No. 106, he had the unenviable task of flying unescorted on long missions into enemy territory during broad daylight to photograph enemy installations, armed forces formations and help prepare an informed response.



Recalling a sordid saga which the IAF had to take in its stride in the run up to the war, Nath said, "In the IAF there was a mole, that too at a very senior level in the form of an officer in Western Air Command who controlled all the flight movements of ours. He'd give Pakistanis all they wanted and that is how when our reconnaissance plane went over Pakistan on the morning of April 10, 1959, the pilot found the PAF Sabres actually waiting and obviously bombed him."

According to him, even before the war, reconnaissance flights over Pakistan had to be conducted. "The Pakistanis were creating some or the other trouble and the army had sensed something would come up so we were asked to help army prepare. Generally, our plane would fly at over 48,000ft, which was inaccessible to the Pakistani planes. However that day, at about 30,000ft the Sabres were waiting. When we found out, the said officer, a Group Captain was thrown out. This event helped us become tighter and more secretive. In fact, the then Air Chief, Marshal Arjan Singh gave me the code name 'Professor' and would directly assign to me missions."

"When Pakistan initiated trouble in J&K in August 1965 and followed it up with Operation Grand Slam, attacking Chamb-Jaurian sector in Jammu, we had to open a second front. But how do you decide where to do so? That is where I got involved in the '65 war," he said.

Recalling his days, "My task was to fly into Pakistan and shoot pictures to help army know what they were up against. One day, I was asked to fly to Pathankot and into Pakistan to take photos of Lahore, Icchogil canal and Sargoda to see how their army was deployed and find their weakest spot. Decision to hit Burkee came from that."

On that day, since the air war hadn't fully begun, the IAF positioned two MiG21s near Amritsar to help Nath in case the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) crossed over. However, in the Pakistani skies, he was on his own. And he did fare well.

"I would fly at tree top level and climb up to shoot and would remain so for about 5-10 minutes and again drop down to evade radar. So the window to hit me was quite small," he said. To his own surprise, he completed his task and was happily going back when he picked up four Pakistan Sabre fighter jets on his tail. "I did multiple manouvres and evaded them and reached Indian skies in a way that our MiGs thought I was an intruder and almost shot me!" he remarked.

Since Nath had actively participated in the 1962 war with China, he had some harsh words for the government of that day. "I flew over Aksai Chin and right up to the far east and could remain air borne for three, four hours. The Chinese saw me but could not do a thing. That is because they did not have an air force to speak of. We had asked our big bosses that India should step in with the air force to hit them but our politicians were scared that China would bomb Delhi! They never cleared us. They had no faith in armed forces," he added.

The octogenarian, an alumni of the Government College in Lahore and origin inhabitant of Layyah in Pakistan said what he did would be done and bettered if things came to such a pass. "We need to keep an eye over that country especially its army," he said.

Who is Wing Commander (R) JM Nath?

-> Twin Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) awardee for actions in 1962 and 1965 wars

-> Canberra plane pilot, was flight commander of 106 photo reconnaissance squadron

-> Flew unescorted in day light over enemy territory for images of installations, formations etc

-> Images he brought back were used by Army and IAF for planning attacks

-> One of the most decorated IAF officers of all times

-> Upon retirement, flew commercial flights

Writer is a senior special correspondent and can be followed on Twitter @JRPUR

1965 war hero 'Professor' reveals top IAF officer a Pak mole who bled India : Delhi, News - India Today