A Hero’s Home
AFM’s Alan Warnes continues the series of articles from his recent visit to Pakistan with a visit to Islamabad’s local base.
KAMRA-MINHAS Air Base situated approximately 40 miles (65kms) south-west of Islamabad – is the closest fighter base to Pakistan’s capital and as such it has to remain at a high state of readiness.
The fighter base is home to the 33rd Tactical Wing which has under its control two operational fighter squadrons – 14 Sqn ‘Tail Choppers’ flying Chengdu F-7Ps and 25 Tactical Attack Sqn ‘Eagles’ flying Dassault Mirage 5EFs as well as a helicopter search- and- rescue unit – 87 Sqn operating Alouette IIIs.
On the other side of the runway is the massive Pakistan Aerospace Complex (Kamra) which is responsible for the depot level maintenance of many PAF aircraft.
Today, responsibility for the 33rd Tactical Wings falls on the shoulders of former F-6, F-7 and F-16 pilot, Air Commodore Jamshad Khan who has accumulated some 3,000 flying hours during his career and has been the Base Commander at Kamra-Minhas since July 2006. Ensuring the base is prepared for the responsibilities delegated to it by the PAF headquarters is the Base Commander’s task, as is ensuring his units are trained to the highest level, should the unthinkable ever happen and Pakistan goes to war.
Among the many achievements in his PAF career, Air Cdr Jamshad was the Officer Commanding of Minhas-based 14 Sqn during 1997-98 and was a key figure in the F-7 Grifo radar testing that took place at Chengdu, China during 1999.
One notable name in the list of Kamra-Minhas Base Commanders is Wg Cdr Kaleem Saadat who rose to become Air Chief Marshal, Commander in Chief of the PAF between 2003-06.
Sadly, a former Minhas Base Commander, Air Cdr Hameed Qadri, an F-16 ace, was killed on July 22, 2002, when an F-7P he was flying, crashed on the last day of his command. More than 16 years earlier, on May 17, 1986, Sqn Leader Hameed Qadri had become the first F-16 PAF pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, when he destroyed an Afghan Air Force Su-22, with an AIM-9L Sidewinder, after it had flown into Pakistan airspace.
Reporting directly to the Base Commander is Group Captain Mushtaq, the Officer Commanding (OC) Flying, another veteran pilot who achieved some 3,000 flying hours, mainly on F-6s and Mirages. He is responsible for all flying operations at the base, and flight safety is high among his priorities. A few weeks before the Editor visited, an F-7P crashed on approach to the base due to engine problems.
Fortunately, the pilot, Sqn Ldr Imran, received only minor injuries after he ejected, although he was still in a lot of discomfort when I met him. The Base Supervisors will take all accidents personally and will go through every detail to see whether it could have been avoided. He is also responsible for the scheduling of all flights from the base and supervises the flying activity for the day.
A Maintenance Squadron looks after the level 2 needs of all three types of aircraft, while the level 3 requirements see the based Mirages and F-7s being sent across to the other side of the runway to PAC.
Defending the base is an Army unit, the 17 Defense Security Group Company (DSGC) ‘Pasban’, which is responsible for protecting the base and other strategic locations. The author was privileged to share lunch with them along with the Base Commander during Pakistan's National Armed Forces Day on March 23.
Eagles
Having been formed at Mianwali on August 27, 1986, 25 Sqn ‘Eagles’ is one of the youngest squadrons in the PAF. The unit flew Shenyang F-6s until December 1995. On January 25, 1996 the squadron commenced operations at Minhas to evaluate the ex-Royal Australian Air Force Mirage IIIEAs that had been upgraded at PAC Kamra to the ROSE (Retrofit of Strike Element) – I variant.
These aircraft were eventually passed on to 7 Sqn at Masroor and the Combat Commanders Sqn at Sargodha-Mushaf.
In March 1997, the unit was re-designated the 25 Tactical Attack Squadron and by September 1998 had relinquished its ROSE I Mirages for the Mirage 5EF ROSE II jets. These ex-French Air Force Mirages were part of Pakistan’s Blue Flash 6 program that comprised some 39 aircraft and relies on a Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) system rather than radar.
Night attack is 25 Sqn’s main role. The current Officer Commanding is Wg Cdr Randawa.
Tail Choppers
No 14 Sqn was formed on November 1, 1948 and named the Shaheens (Martyrs) but ever since the 1965 India-Pakistan War the unit has become more commonly as the ‘Tail Choppers’. The name was derived from the unit’s attack on Kalaikunda Air Force Station in India on September 7, 1965, when several 14 Sqn F-86 Sabres operating from Dacca and Jessore struck several Canberras lined up on the ramp. During the strafing/bombing runs the tails of the aircraft were all chopped off and the name ‘Tail Choppers’ was born. The war, which lasted for 17 days, between September 6 and 23, 1965, also saw 14 Sqn attack Bagdogra on September 10 and Barrackpur four days later.
During the 1971 war with India, the ‘Tail Choppers’ found themselves trying to defend their Dacca air base in eastern Pakistan (now Bangladesh) against overriding odds. It stood ground against attacks from ten IAF squadrons of MiG-21s, Su-7s, Gnats and Hunters for 15 days after the base’s runway was put out of action, but finally succumbed to the far superior numbers. The traditions of the PAF, just like any air force, are built on such heroism.
In July 1972 the squadron was reformed with F-6s that flew with the unit until September 1986 when it took delivery of the F-16A/B. No 14 Sqn was one of three operational squadrons to fly the F-16 (the other two are 9 and 11 Sqn at Sargodha-Mushaf).
During the seven years the ‘Tail Choppers’ flew F-16s there were some remarkable times owing to Afghan Air Force fighters violating Pakistani airspace.
This included three 14 Sqn pilots shooting down two Su-22 Fitters and a Su-25 Frogfoot. The Su-25 pilot was Colonel Alexander Rutskoi, who went on to become the Russian Deputy President while one of the Su-22s was flown by Lt Abdul Hashmi of the 2 Fighter Sqn at Bagram.
Sanctions imposed on Pakistan in 1989 due to nuclear testing started to have a detrimental effect on F-16 serviceability by 1993, which led to 14 Sqn relinquishing their F-16s and the PAF consolidating the F-16 fleet at Sargodha with 9 and 11 Sqn.
This led to the unit re-equipping with the F-7P on October 2, 1993.
Along with the co-located 25 Sqn and 11 Sqn’s F-16s from Sargodha, the unit was deployed to a forward operating base during 1999, when India and Pakistan were on the brink of war owing to the Kargil conflict in the Himalayas.
In 2002, when Pakistan and India were once again close to conflict, 14 Sqn and 25 Sqn found themselves on a war footing. During Operation Sentinel, the name the PAF gave to this tense period, the two squadrons were deployed to their forward operating base between December 2001 and November 2002.
Over 130 F-7Ps have been delivered to the FAP and 14 Sqn is one of five units flying the Chinese built air defense fighter today – their aircraft are from the Handshake 2 and 4 batch that were ordered in 1989 and 1993 respectively. The aircraft’s main weapon is the AIM-9L Sidewinder and the unit makes regular deployments to Skardu in the Himalayas where operations can often occur in the snow. At the time of the author’s visit, the Officer Commanding of 14 Sqn was Wg Cdr Mohammed Asif who had flown F-7Ps for most of his career. In June he was promoted to Group Captain and posted to the PAF Air Warfare Centre at Faisal. While his flying days are behind him he looks forward to taking over a Wing one day and perhaps getting back into the cockpit of a fighter again.
No 14 Sqn F-16 kills.
Date……………. Pilot………………….. Missile…… Aircraft….. Location
Apr 16,1987.. F/L Badr-ul-Islam.. AIM-9L….. Su-22……… Miranshah
Aug 4, 1988… S/L Athar Bukhari.. AIM-9L….. Su-25……… Parachinar
Nov 3, 1988.. F/L Khalid Mahmood. AIM-9L.. Su-22…….. Parachinar
Minhas – Bravery
On the morning of Friday, August 20 – during the 1971 India-Pakistan War – trainee Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, 20, was in the front seat of jet trainer, taxiing out for take-off. An instructor pilot from the same unit forced his way into the rear cockpit, seized control of the aircraft and once it had taken off headed the aircraft towards India.
With just 40 miles of Pakistan territory remaining, Minhas had only one course open to him to prevent his aircraft from entering India. Without hesitation and living up to the highest traditions of the Pakistan Air Force, Rashid Minhas tried to regain control of his aircraft, but finding this impossible in the face of the superior skill and experience of his instructor, forced the aircraft to crash at a point 32 miles from the Indian border. In doing so, Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas deliberately made the supreme sacrifice for the honor of Pakistan and the service to which he belonged. For this act of heroism above and beyond the call of duty, the President of Pakistan awarded Nishan-i-Haider to Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas.
AFM
