Muhammad Mahmood Alam

Muhammad Mahmood Alam محمد محمود عالم .
Only Song-Tribute to Ghazi Fighter Pilot M.M.Alam-Aye Sher-e-Bangal by Ahmed Rushdi
. . Muhammad Mahmood Alam محمد محمود عالم Muhammad Mahmood Alam in 2010 Nickname Little Dragon Born 6 July 1935 Calcutta, British India Died 18 March 2013 (aged 77) Karachi, Pakistan Allegiance Pakistan Service/branch Pakistan Air Force Years of service 1960-1982 Rank Air commodore (Brigadier-General) Unit No. 11 Squadron Arrows (1965)[1] No. 5 Squadron Falcons Battles/wars Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Soviet War in Afghanistan Awards Sitara-e-Jurat and Bar[2] Air commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam (Urdu: محمد محمود عالم‎, Bengali: মুহাম্মদ মাহমুদ আলম) (known as "M.M. Alam"; born Muhammad Mahmud Alam; 6 July 1935 – 18 March 2013) was[3] a Pakistani fighter pilot, North American F-86 Sabre Flying ace and one-star general who served with the Pakistan Air Force. Squadron Leader Muhammad Mahmud Alam, Commander of No 11 Squadron, was already a notable leader and highly experienced pilot in 1965, when he was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat ("The star of courage"), a Pakistani military decoration, for his actions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In earning his decorations, Alam downed five Indian aircraft in less than a minute — the first four within 30 seconds — establishing a world record. He also excelled in gunnery competition, a skill that without a doubt contributed greatly to his becoming the first and the only jet ace in one mission. Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Service with the Pakistan Air Force 2.1 Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 3 Death 4 Memorials 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links [edit]Early life Born July 6, 1935 to a well-educated family of Kolkata, British India, M.M. Alam completed his secondary education in 1951 from Government High School, Dacca, East Pakistan. He joined the PAF in 1952 and was granted commission on October 2, 1953.[4] Alam's brothers are M. Shahid Alam, an economist and a professor at Northeastern University,[5][6] and M. Sajjad Alam, a particle physicist at SUNY Albany.[7] His family moved to West Pakistan in around 1971, after the secession of East Pakistan. Being the eldest among 11 siblings in his family, M.M. Alam never married as he had to share the financial responsibilities of his younger sisters and brothers. Several of his younger brothers excelled in various academic and professional careers, owing their success to MM Alam’s hard work.[4] Contrary to later accusations that also embittered him towards the establishment, ethnically Bengali Alam remained loyal to Pakistan and not to the newly created Bangladesh.[8][6] [edit]Service with the Pakistan Air Force [edit]Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 M.M. Alam's F-86 in 1965 War Main article: Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Alam is well known for his actions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 when he was posted at Sargodha. During this war he was involved in various dogfights while flying his F-86 Sabre fighter. He downed nine Indian fighters in air-to-air combat, including six Hawker Hunter fighters.[1] In one mission on 7 September 1965, Alam downed five Indian aircraft in less than a minute, the first four within 30 seconds, establishing a world record, with total of 9 aircraft downed in the war.[1][2][9][10][11][12] Alam's confirmed kills are as follows: September 6, 1965, 1× Hawker Hunter[2] Squadron Leader Ajit Kumar Rawlley, No. 7 Sqn, KIA near Tarn Taran. September 7, 1965, 5× Hawker Hunters[2] Squadron Leader Onkar Nath Kacker, No. 27 Sqn, POW Squadron Leader A B Devayya, No. 7 Sqn also claimed by Flt Lt Amjad Hussain [13] Squadron Leader Suresh B Bhagwat, No. 7 Sqn Flight Lieutenant B Guha, No. 7 Sqn Flying Officer Jagdev Singh Brar, No. 7 Sqn, KIA, near Sangla Hill. September 16, 1965, 1× Hawker Hunter Flying Officer Farokh Dara Bunsha, No. 7 Sqn, KIA, near Amritsar. The Pakistan Air Force figures have been disputed by Indian sources which claim Alam made four kills, attributing one of the losses of Sqn Ldr Onkar Nath Kacker's aircraft to booster failure or some other cause including the possibility of ground fire.[14][8] They also claim that gun camera footage of Alam's kills is yet to be made public and therefore some of the kills cannot be confirmed.[15] In 1967, Alam was transferred as the Squadron Commander of the first squadron of Dassault Mirage III fighters procured by the PAF. He was removed from staff college based on a false pretext in May 1969. In 1972, he commanded No. 26 Squadron for two months.[8] In 1971 war Pakistan Air Force grounded Alam and was not allowed to fly because of Alam's Bengali origins.[citation needed] In 1982, Alam retired as an Air commodore and took up residence in Karachi. Since retiring, Alam had become more deeply interested in religion.[15] [edit]Death The Air Force legend had been battling illness since December 2012, and was admitted to Pakistan Naval Station Shifa Hospital in Karachi.[16] After a protracted illness, M.M.Alam died in Karachi on 18 March, 2013, he was 77 then. M.M. Alam had been suffering from respiratory problems but his health had deteriorated lately due to his age. He had been under-treatment for about 18 months. M.M. Alam’s funeral prayer was offered at the PAF Base Masroor, where he served some finest years of his air force life, and was later laid to rest at the Shuhuda (Martyrs) graveyard at PAF Masroor Airbase. Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, air chief marshal (retd) Farooq Feroz Khan, Sindh corps commander Lt Gen Ijaz Chaudhry, Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) Director-General Maj Gen Rizwan Akhter, several war veterans of the 1965 war and a number of colleagues of MM Alam attended the funeral. One of the younger brothers of the deceased, Zubair Alam, was also present.[4] [edit]Memorials M.M. Alam Road in Lahore M. M. Alam Road, a major road in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan is named in honour of the flying ace of Pakistan Air Force, Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam, running from Main Market to Gulberg. The road runs parallel to famous Main Boulevard thus providing an alternate route and is a commercial hub with many restaurants, fashion boutiques, shopping malls, beauty saloons and décor stores. M.M. Alam road hosts a variety of flamboyant restaurants in modern Lahore.[17] [edit]See also Pakistan Air Force Sitara-e-Jurat Flying aces Aviators who became ace in a day [edit]References ^ a b c "EVENTS - M M ALAM'S F-86". Pakistan: Pakistan Air Force (official website). Retrieved 5 March 2010. ^ a b c d Citation of PAF Heros, PakDef.info ^ Dawn Newspaper, [1]; ^ a b c Iconic war veteran MM Alam passes away, The News International. Retrieved on 19 March, 2013. ^ Institute for Policy Research & Development, Advisory Board; Dr. M. Shahid Alam ^ a b Cihan Aksan, State of Nature, On Islam: An Interview with M. Shahid Alam ^ Department of Physics - University at Albany, M. Sajjad Alam ^ a b c Pakistan's Sabre Ace by Jon Guttman, Aviation History, Sept 1998. ^ Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail. "Alam’s Speed-shooting Classic". Defencejournal.com. Retrieved 2011-11-15. ^ Fricker, John. Battle for Pakistan: the air war of 1965. pp. 15–17. "before we had completed more than of about 270 degree of the turn, at around 12 degree per second, all four hunters had been shot down ... My fifth victim of this sortie started spewing smoke and then rolled on to his back at about 1000 feet." ^ Polmar, Norman; Bell, Dana (2003). One hundred years of world military aircraft. Naval Institute Press. p. 354. ISBN 978-1-59114-686-5. "Mohammed Mahmood Alam claimed five victories against Indian Air Force Hawker Hunters, four of them in less than one minute! Alam, who ended the conflict with 11 kills, became history's only jet "ace-in-a-day."" ^ O' Nordeen, Lon (1985). Air Warfare in the Missile Age. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 84–87. ISBN 978-0-87474-680-8. ^ Citation for Sqn Ldr Devaiyya. [2] ^ Singh, Pushpindar (1991). Fiza ya, Psyche of the Pakistan Air Force. Himalayan Books. ISBN 81-7002-038-7. ^ a b 30 SECONDS OVER SARGODHA - THE MAKING OF A MYTH: 1965 INDO-PAK AIR WAR, Chapter 5, Bharat Rakshak ^ M. M. Alam passes away in Karachi, Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved on 19 March, 2013. ^ Haq, Shahram. "Urban planning: MM Alam Road to be heart of new business district – The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 2012-01-20.

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