AFVOA Newsletter of Year 2021

Section 5 – War Diary CV 2 No. 01 / 2021 Page 57 of 123 the IFF antenna, damaging it. The spare generator set of the radar was also damaged but the damage were soon repaired and the radar was back in operation after a short interval. The second raid of the day was by four Sabres with four more as top cover. It was but another failed attempt by PAF. Having tried all the weapons in its inventory, and having failed, PAF decided to next use the Sabre’s 0.5in machine guns against the radar installation, for optimum accuracy and adequate striking power for the next attack on September 11. The four Sabres plus a top cover of two F-104s were to be led by OC 33 Wing Commander Anwar Shamim (who went on become Chief of Air Staff of PAF) with Flight Lieutenant Bhatti as his No 3 and F/L Cecil Chaudhary as No 4. Squadron Leader Munir who had earlier carried out the raids against the radar was the No 2. The four Sabres set off at low level at 0800 hours on the half hour flight to Amritsar. On reaching the target area, Bhatti and Choudhry began climbing to about 7,000 feet as top cover, while the two F-104s, orbited even higher. The alert anti-aircraft gunners had already picked up the PAF aircraft and started the engagement. As the second pair of Sabres, piloted by Shamim and Munir, started their climb, the anti-aircraft gunners found their mark, hitting Munir’s Sabre. The aircraft having taken a direct hit, exploded and fell down as a ball of fire. Munir had no chance to eject and went down with the Sabre, the wreckage falling on the eastern outskirts of Amritsar town. Wing Commander Shamim meanwhile, completed his strafing attack, firing long bursts into the radar aerials with his .5 inch machine guns. In spite of the loss of the F-86 Sabre, this was the most successful of all PAF attacks as the radar was off the air for some time but even then the post-strike assessment was that damage caused was indecisive. September 12 saw the PAF Sabres returning for another round but they failed to locate the radar and returned without any success. The next round was by the B-57 Martin bombers which came in on September 12. Four B-57s escorted by four F-86 and two F- 104s attacked the Amritsar radar at dusk. Though all four managed to deliver their bomb load and return back without any loss that was the only success they could achieve — that they suffered no loss, as the radar remained unharmed. After this raid, Pakistan Air Force never made any serious attempt to try and neutralise the Amritsar radar, though it continued with sporadic raids all through the war, with the