1971 War: Remembering The First Air Combat To Liberate Bangladesh

This article has been narrated in the voice of Late Squadron Leader (then Flight Lieutenant) M. A. Ganapathy, with inputs from Wing Commander (then Flying Officer) Sunith F. Soares.

It was 22 Nov 1971. We had been on a detachment at Dumdum airport in Calcutta for months now. Our task was the Air Defence of the city of Calcutta and I found the job boring. Who was going to attack a city? Why? What tactical or strategic advantage would they achieve by harming civilians?

Twitter | @IAF_MCC

The Pakistani rulers had already sullied their image internationally by killing and raping their own people in East Pakistan. General Yahya Khan, the powerful President of Pakistan, was a hard drinking womaniser, but even he was not stupid enough to attack a city and get negative media attention.

So, here we were sitting at Dumdum, with no hope of any action unless the war, which Yahya had been repeatedly threatening, did actually happen.

I was ready and itching to go into battle with my Gnat, but I saw little hope sitting here at a civilian airfield.

In 1965 war, there had absolutely been no action on the Eastern Front with East Pakistan, and we worried about meeting the same fate this time too.

I came on ORP duty at 1300, with Flight Lieutenant Roy Andrew Massey, Flying Officer Donald ¡®Don¡¯ Lazarus, and Flying Officer SF ¡®Su¡¯ Soares. Roy and I were two aircraft leaders, and the two Flying Officers were the wingmen for today.

The morning shift pilots, which included our Commanding Officer, had ¡®scrambled¡¯ twice to intercept some PAF fighters over Boyra, but without luck.

We went and inspected our Gnats for complete readiness, adjusted the ejection seat straps and, after a chat with the technical crew, settled into the tent that served as our office cum lounge.

Flying Officer KB Bagchi, the Fighter Controller, tested the communications and then called on the dedicated land line.¡°Flight Lieutenant Ganapathy,¡± I said, picking up the receiver.

¡°Good afternoon, ¡®Gana¡¯ sir, Bagchi here.¡±

¡°Hello, KB. Any action?¡±

¡°No sir. Two scrambles already today, but the Sabres got away before we could reach them.¡±

¡°Put us on ¡®Standby 2¡¯ if you like.¡±

Normally, we were on ¡®Standby 5¡¯, meaning, on a call from the fighter controller, we would run to the aircraft, start the engine and take off within 5 minutes.

But, if there was any unusual enemy activity on the other side, the controller could upgrade us to a higher state of readiness, ¡®Standby 2¡¯, where we would strap up into our Gnats to get airborne within 2 minutes. But given the blistering sun and the high temperatures on the concrete tarmac even in the so-called winter, that wasn¡¯t something the pilots or technicians liked.

¡°I will, sir.¡±

I knew there seemed little hope this afternoon, since there had been two ¡®sweeps¡¯ by PAF already, but we were willing to fry in the sun to get some action.

For some time, we heard the news on radio, and after a chat with the others, I turned the pedestal fan towards me and lay down in the ¡®camp bed¡¯ that had a cloth sack on a metal frame, to write a letter home.

Don and Su were playing scrabble, and Roy was busy reading, when the siren sounded, and Bagchi¡¯s voice echoed over the PA system.

¡°Scramble, Scramble, Scramble!¡±

We sprinted to our Gnats, even as the fighter controller shouted detailed orders on the PA system.

Facebook

¡°Cocktail formation, heading Zero Three Zero, climb to One Thousand Feet and maintain max speed!¡±

The Gnat engine lights up fast like a cracker, so fast that by the time we wear the helmet and close the canopy, the plane is ready to take off.

Even before we entered the runway, Dumdum ATC called on the radio, ¡°Cocktail formation, cleared for take-off, all four aircraft.¡±

Luckily, there was no civilian aircraft landing, requiring the runway right then.

Nobody bothered to reply, concentrating on maintaining formation on the take-off roll.

We raised our landing gear and flaps, and sped away on the North Easterly heading of 030 degrees as we climbed to 1000 feet, roaring at 500 Knots (900 kmph) over the towns and villages along the highway that led to Boyra.

All of us knew the area well, having to navigate depending solely on a gyroscopic compass and a map. But in a fighter cockpit, one never has the luxury of the time to stare at a map, certainly not while flying at low level, so we just memorised the terrain.

Staying below the enemy radar cover was important, to deny them any warning of our arrival. Also, that kept us below the horizon, hiding in the haze that foggy afternoon, making it easier for us to spot the enemy fighters above.

Within minutes, we were approaching the town of Boyra, with its prominent horseshoe bend in the river that also marked the border between India and East Pakistan.

¡°Intruders 2 o¡¯clock 4 miles,¡± Bagchi announced.

Don and I being on the right side of the four aircraft formation, were closer to the enemy, but young ¡®Su¡¯, famous for his ¡®spotting¡¯, which means being able to scan the sky and spot the other aircraft even while flying his own and maintaining formation with his leader, expectedly called out, ¡°Contact!¡±

He then started a commentary about the flight path of the enemy aircraft to help us locate him.

¡°What type?¡± Bagchi asked.

¡°Sabre.¡± Roy replied, turning towards that Sabre, which carried out a hard turn at close to 9G (nine times the force of gravity!) to avoid being shot.

Roy and Su zoomed up vertically to match the turn and as that Sabre rolled out to accelerate, they stayed in chase.

Su, the good wingman doing his job - Stick (with your leader), Scan (the sky) and Report (any unidentified aircraft) - announced, ¡°Another Sabre 7 o¡¯clock.¡±

Hearing that, we perched upward and turned to join the melee.

I remembered the intelligence reports stating that some PAF Sabres were now equipped with the American ¡®Sidewinder¡¯ missiles, capable of a longer range and easier shot than our guns.

I saw the first Sabre, with Roy and Su behind him, and another Sabre turning to get into a firing position astern of them.

¡°Contact!¡± I said, and turned to line up my gunsight on the second Sabre. I fired, and on seeing fire erupt from the Sabre¡¯s wing, announced the code word for a confirmed kill. ¡°Murder, murder!¡±

guardingindia

Suddenly, a third Sabre popped up from the haze below, barely 15 meters in front of Don, who got a quick shot at him despite the surprise.

Meanwhile, Roy stayed in chase and shot at the first Sabre that was diving and speeding away eastwards to Dhaka.

The whole action lasted less than three minutes. Two Sabres crashed right there. Their pilots ejected and were taken Prisoners of War. The third, shot by Roy, was damaged, but got away.

So, all three of them were destroyed or damaged, with no loss to us. That was a great first battle, even before the war was declared.

I could not resist doing a ¡®Victory Roll¡¯ over Dumdum airport before landing. All that a shocked ATC controller could blurt out was, ¡°Maintain discipline!¡±

I laughed and landed, followed by Don, Roy and Su.

Word had already reached our Squadron, and the technicians, forgetting rank and seniority, gleefully lifted us out of the cockpits!

One prepares and prays, but the opportunity presents itself rarely. And when it does, it lasts merely for moments, to be grabbed and savoured.

Flying Officer Bagchi was awarded a Vayu Sena Medal for the successful interception. The three of us, Roy Massey, Don Lazarus and I, got a Vir Chakra each, and our Commanding Officer got a Vishisht Seva Medal.

asianetnews

Su Soares, who spotted the enemy planes and guided us to remain safe and attack them, had no enemy left to shoot at, so got no official recognition, but will always remain a hero for us.

That day, four Sabres had got airborne from Dhaka for Boyra, but one had a radio problem and returned to base. He could have been Su¡¯s victim.

Or, maybe, that fourth Sabre could have shot me. Who knows?

As always, luck plays an important part, whether in life or indeed in death.

This is the second in a series covering the major air actions of the 1971 war on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary. Watch this space.