AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 155 of 167 To us in the squadron this incident was an exhibition of the highest caliber of professionalism displayed by both the pilots: the leader’s commitment to his Wingman, and the Wingman’s implicit faith in his leader, which saved both, the aircraft and their lives. Our intensive (and extensive) training continued and more youngsters were posted at the base. We reached a stage where four-aircraft formation flying, regular tactical flying, and high level combat exercises continued day and night. We eagerly waited for the phase to fire our weapons on ground targets and that too happened soon. To begin with we started firing only the rockets. Then came the front guns firing on canvas targets and continued further with bombing. The most interesting part was the air to ground rocket firing, where we carried four rockets each and fired one at a time. We soon mastered it and got direct hits. We youngsters were thrilled, and began betting as to who would take four rockets and return after four direct hits. Such banter kept the morale of the pilots high, while the Su-7 aircrafts continued to roar in the skies over the airbase. Around this time, political tension was building between West and East Pakistan, where Bengali soldiers and officers were reportedly ill-treated. In June 1971 our squadron was moved from Ambala to Halwara Air Force Station, further west, where we continued with more rigorous flying training. D-day dawned on third December 1971 when West Pakistan, in a bid to distract India’s attention from East Pakistan, attacked our major airbases in Srinagar, Pathankot, Adampur, Ambala and Halwara. We retaliated. It was my first attack mission. My friend and course-mate Gangoli was the leader and I was his Wingman. Our target was a train loaded with armoured tanks in enemy territory. We took off early in the morning, crossed the border and spotted the train at Bahawalpur. Attacking these tanks was not easy, but not impossible. We had to somehow damage the tanks. We carried out two attacks each causing enough damage, and returned to base safely. This pattern followed for the next two weeks, and we relentlessly attacked various targets in West Pakistan. The opponents were unable to cause much damage to us, or prevent our attacks. On the sixteenth of December, ceasefire was declared and the nation celebrated ‘Victory Day’! An undeniable aspect of this victory was the outstanding service rendered by Su-7, which proved its worth in difficult air-to-ground attacks. On this memorable occasion - the Golden Jubilee of a great victory - I fondly recall the many hours of camaraderie I have shared with that giant! This Russian aircraft, though phased out from service now, memorably ruled the skies in the 1971 conflict. I salute the Su-7!