by D. Vogt

Created on: March 07, 2010

The Pakistan Air Force has been that country's military air arm since national independence was achieved through the partition of India in 1947. From a small fleet of old British equipment, the air force has evolved to its current mix of American, French and Chinese modern jet aircraft. This eclectic mix of equipment reflects the country's complicated history of foreign policy and military aid alliances.

- Independence -

In 1947, newly independent Pakistan organized its military including an air arm, the Royal Pakistani Air Force, staffed by several thousand uniformed personnel and a mix of predominantly British-made aircraft made available as World War II surplus. For the first decade of its operations, these aircraft - Typhoon fighters and a pair of Halifax bombers, used by Commonwealth forces in the Second World War - formed the backbone of its operations, including during a war with India over Kashmir fought during the same year as the nation's creation.

Later, Pakistan became a republic, and therefore removed references to British royalty from the branches of its military. It also began to purchase somewhat newer British aircraft better suited to operations in mixed mountainous and desert regions, such as the Sea Fury. During the 1950s, perennially short of funds, the air force acquired a number of Supermarine Attacker jet fighters, and then an order of American F-86 Sabre jet fighters, which became the mainstay of the force for the years to come.

- Wars of the 1960s and 1970s -

The Pakistan Air Force played an important role in several wars during the 1960s and 1970s, both the conflicts between India and Pakistan but also conflicts elsewhere in the Middle East, such as the 1967 and 1973 wars with Israel. In 1959, for the first time, a Pakistani aircraft fired on and shot down an Indian Air Force plane when F-86 Sabre jet fighters intercepted an Indian Canberra bomber which had been converted into a reconnaissance aircraft and had entered Pakistan on an intelligence mission. Both Indian pilots survived by ejecting.

In the next major war between India and Pakistan, in 1965, the PAF entered at a distinct disadvantage, significantly outnumbered. Nevertheless, it acquitted itself well. Prior to the conflict, a newly purchased American F-104 Starfighter had forced an Indian Ouragan fighter to surrender and land in Pakistan. During the war itself, both sides produced the exaggerated "kill" numbers characteristic of aerial combat since World War II (India,

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