PAF on the Offensive - 1971 War

[karan.1970]

1.Defend Airbases enough to keep operational strength as intact as possible.

Airbases were relatively intact in the west prior to ceasefire.

2. Provide any possible CAS for ground operations.

CAS provided in the shakargarh sector, South.. was effective enough to stop Indian offensive in those areas.
The Longewalla offensive was launched without consultation with the PAF, even after being informed that the PAF could not provide the Army any effective support in that sector.

3. Preserve strength to provide CAS to counter offensive(which never materialized).

That PAF still had most of its combat strength intact to support the offensive under Tikka Khan

And this is exactly what I was trying to say.. PAF held back and only fought where the chances of a2a losses were low and ended up with unused strength and unsupported army in most places. So tactically, selection of battles to minimize (only Air force) losses worked for PAF but not the over all military.. Which in my view seems like a not so sound strategy..

I found below pretty interesting..
Air aspect of the Liberation War 1971  Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury (Retd)

 

[shuntmaster]

And this is exactly what I was trying to say.. PAF held back and only fought where the chances of a2a losses were low and ended up with unused strength and unsupported army in most places. So tactically, selection of battles to minimize (only Air force) losses worked for PAF but not the over all military.. Which in my view seems like a not so sound strategy..

Its like the saying: "Ships are most safe in the ports, but thats not what they are built for".
What is the use of having something and not use it effectively for the fear of incurring loss or damage? PAF in 1971 seemed to more interested in self-preservation than in defending the nation.

 

[Veritas]

Please keep the "we won 71" argument off this thread.
You may gloat somewhere else, this thread is about individual performances and not the overall result.

How come stating a fact become anathema in forum? Or may be it is just Indians won it.

Congrats, for all you victories Pakistan.

 

[SQ8]

And this is exactly what I was trying to say.. PAF held back and only fought where the chances of a2a losses were low and ended up with unused strength and unsupported army in most places. So tactically, selection of battles to minimize (only Air force) losses worked for PAF but not the over all military.. Which in my view seems like a not so sound strategy..

I found below pretty interesting..
Air aspect of the Liberation War 1971* Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury (Retd)

It worked out as planned, it was not the ideal result SINCE the PAF had been instructed to HOLD BACK.. while the ARMY launched it offensive.

Moreover..

The PAF only had only useful operational airfield that was not supposed to last even for 24 hours as per PAF calculations...
It lasted till the surrender.

Nothing short of brilliant.

 

[karan.1970]

It worked out as planned, it was not the ideal result SINCE the PAF had been instructed to HOLD BACK.. while the ARMY launched it offensive.

Moreover..

The PAF only had only useful operational airfield that was not supposed to last even for 24 hours as per PAF calculations...
It lasted till the surrender.

Nothing short of brilliant.

So as I said before, I am not belittling the tactical victories, but questioning the over all air force strategy since that didnt work very well..They held back for an offensive that never came. Which means that they had planes secured away in safe hangers while Army was taking more than required casualties since there was low or no air cover..

 

[SQ8]

So as I said before, I am not belittling the tactical victories, but questioning the over all air force strategy since that didnt work very well..They held back for an offensive that never came. Which means that they had planes secured away in safe hangers while Army was taking more than required casualties since there was low or no air cover..

Adequate air cover was provided throughout the theaters except the longewalla battle... in which the Army was informed by the PAF beforehand that it could not provide cover in that sector.
So it still puts the army at fault.. not the airforce.

 

[happycanuck]

Let us move on for peaceful co-existance once Pakistan gets over the Kashmir Dream.

 

[Cool_Soldier]

There was significant difference in number of man and equipment between Indian and Pakistani forces.But despite of these major gaps All forces done very well.PAF shot down enemy's Planes more than expectation.

 

[PakShaheen79]

To Indian members;

Separation of Bangladesh was result of political turmoil than any military victory of India which simply walked in when Pakistani forces were bogged downed in 9 month long bloody civil war. Also, PAF's strike on IAF bases on 3rd Dec. 1971 were carried out only after it was established that Indian army was actively helping Mukti-Bihini from its soil.

But politically, India was involved in secession of East Pakistan for many year at that time.

"Indian intelligence agencies were involved in erstwhile East Pakistan ... its operatives were in touch with Shiekh Mujib as the possible 'Father' of a new nation-Bangladesh, who went to Agartala in 1965. The famous Aragartala case was unearthed in 1967."
Source:- "Inside RAW: The Story of India's Secret Service", By Asoka Raina

But here I wouldn't blame India or RAW, as they did what they were supposed to do. I blame Ayub Khan for releasing Mujib in that case in 1967 when ISI had given proofs of his collusion with Indians in their nefarious designs against Pakistan. So, please stop this mantra of refugees from East Pakistan coming to India to deter Indian economy. This is comical considering that an influx of 4 million Afghani refugees couldn't dent Pakistan's pale economy how on earth few thousand or few hundred thousand refugees were wrecking havoc on Indian economy?

 

[Asian.Century]

American flying ace believes Pakistan won 1971 war
By News Desk
Published: September 9, 2016
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Chuck Yeager. PHOTO: TWITTER

American flying ace Chuck Yeager believes Pakistan emerged victorious in the 1971 war, since it remained a sovereign nation and was not annexed.

“You touched no nerve-you don’t have that power. Pakistan won. They are a sovereign nation. India did not annex them,” Yeager, who is 93, wrote in a Twitter exchange with noted Indian journalist Shekhar Gupta.

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Yeager’s post was in response to Shekhar Gupta teasing him about his role in helping the Pakistani Air Force in 1971. Yeager then said, having seen the war from up close as US adviser to the Pakistan Air Force, East Pakistan — now Bangladesh — fell in three days, and Pakistan stopped India from annexing that part by opening up the western front.

To this, Yeager replied, “Not because he shot an unguarded parked airplane – one that had been used to help his countrymen. But in spite of it.”



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Yeager is a celebrated US air force pilot who first earned acclaim for shooting down 13 German planes during World War II, and then for breaking the sound barrier as a test pilot in 1947. His tryst with fame formed the anchor for The right stuff, a 1983 film that covers 15 years of American airpower, based on a book by the same name by Tom Wolfe. Yeager continued in the US air force till his retirement in 1975, four years after he was sent, he said in his book Yeager, to advise the Pakistan Air Force months before the 1971 war.

He retired as a brigadier general, and has written about his plane being “totaled” in a raid by Indian Air Force. In his own words, “I had it parked at the Islamabad airport, and I remember sitting on my front porch on the second day of the war, thinking that maybe I ought to move that airplane down to the Iranian border, out of range of the Indian bombers, when the damned air-raid siren went off, and a couple of Indian jets came streaking in overhead.” He continued, “A moment later, I saw a column of black smoke rising from the air field. My Beech Queen was totaled. It was the Indian way of giving Uncle Sam the finger.”

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In 2007, Admiral Prakash, the pilot who attacked the aircraft, wrote about it saying it was an afterthought; “Pulling out of the second dive, through a gap in the fog I caught a glimpse of a row of small transport aircraft lined up on the secondary runway,” he said. “The sight was too tempting. Putting all thought of the Hercules out of my mind, and ignoring the multiple arcs of tracer fire, I swung around in a tight high-G turn and emptied my guns on whatever was visible of the light aircraft,” he added.

This article originally appeared on Hindustan Times.

Source: https://defence.pk/threads/american-flying-ace-believes-pakistan-won-1971-war.448592/#ixzz4JnUC1g3g