THIS refers to the article, 'The right stuff' (Sept 14), by Ahmad Faruqi. The piece was based on an interview of Air Commodore (r) Sajad Haider.
While discussing the role of the Pakistan Air Force in the 1965 war with India, the writer has praised the performance of the service, yet he has also made some omissions and errors, perhaps partly attributable to his interviewee, which contradict his eulogy and portray a tarnished image of the valiant PAF pilots.
For instance, at one place he notes that one of our US-built F-104, having a top speed of Mach 2 (twice that of sound), was shot down by a measly French subsonic Mystere IV fighter over Sargodha.
That may be true, but as far as I can remember, our subsonic F-86 Sabre jets had not only shot down several of the IAF's MiG 21 fighters having a Mach 2 performance, but even managed to force one or two to land in our territory. As you can see, this effectively reverses the distorted image otherwise conveyed by the article.
Similarly, at another point it is claimed that two of our very best pilots, Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Rafiqui and Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain, were shot down over the Indian airbase of Halwara by relatively junior Indian pilots flying Hawker Hunter Mk. 56.
The actual account of this battle is summarised here in laymen's words, based on the wellversion of Air Commodore (r) M. Kaiser Tufail from the website www.defence.com.
On Sept 6, 1965 a formation of three F-86 aircraft took off from Sargodha for a raid on the Halwara airfield in India. It was led by Sq Ldr Rafiqui, with Flt Lt Cecil Chaudhry as No. 2 and Flt Lt Yunus as No. 3.
At Halwara, four Hunters were detected on a patrol, so Rafiqui changed his plan and decided to go after them. He quickly targeted the plane being flown by IAF's Flg. Off Pingale, who was forced to eject.
Meanwhile, Yunus started chasing another Hunter and Rafiqui manoeuvred behind the third one.
Unfortunately, at that instant his guns got jammed, so he called Cecil over the radio and told him to take charge while he would clover him as a wingman.
It is obvious that Rafiqui was totally vulnerable and unable to protect himself, but he showed tremendous courage and didn't abandon his colleagues, even though that resulted in his martyrdom.
It may also be noted that the article quotes Air Cdre Haider at one place as saying that the F-86 is inferior in power and speed to the Hunter.
While Air Cdr Tufail's account makes no mention of it, but I recall from another story published in a Dawn supplement many years ago that Yunus was running low on fuel and vas unable to maize it back, with Flt Lt Cecil Chaudhry the only one who was able to return safely.
Having two other confirmed kills to his credit and in recognition of his chivalry and supreme sacrifice, Rafiqui was awarded a Sitara-i-Jurat along with Cecil and Yunus, as well as the higher one of Hilal-i-Jurat. The PAF base, Rafiqui (Shorkot) was also named after him. It would have been much better if Mr Faruqui had conducted proper research before lifting his pen on a matter that impinges greatly on the image of the PAF.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
