Muhammad Mahmood Alam: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 19:05, 5 March 2010

Muhammad Mahmood Alam khan
File:MM Alam.jpgM.M. Alam in 1965, Sitara-e-Jurat
Nickname(s)	Little Dragon
Allegiance	Pakistan
Service / branch	Pakistan Air Force
Years of service	1960-1982
Rank	Air Commodore
Unit	No. 11 Squadron (1965)
Battles / wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Soviet War in Afghanistan
Awards	Sitara-e-Jurat and Bar

Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam (Template:Lang-bn, Template:Lang-ur) is a retired fighter pilot who served with the Pakistan Air Force. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurrat ("The star of courage"), a Pakistani military decoration, for his actions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

Early life

Alam was a Bengali born on 6 July 1935 in Calcutta, India. His family migrated to East Pakistan with the onset of the Partition of India. In 1971, he fought against Pakistan and joined the newly formed state of Bangladesh. He is popularly known as "M.M. Alam" and was nicknamed little dragon.

Service with the Pakistan Air Force

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

Alam is well-known for his actions during the Indo-Pakistan 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. Pakistani sources claim that he downed nine Indian fighters, six of them Hawker Hunter fighters of the Indian Air Force, in air-to-air combat. It is also claimed that, in one mission, 5 Indian fighters were downed in less than a hour by Alam, who explains his score with a special aiming and firing technique he developed. Alam's confirmed kills are as follows:

6 September 1965, 1× Hawker Hunter
- Squadron Leader Ajit Kumar Rawlley, No. 7 Sqn, KIA near Tarn Taran.
7 September 1965, 3× Hawker Hunters
- Squadron Leader Onkar Nath Kacker, No. 27 Sqn, POW
- Squadron Leader Suresh B Bhagwat
- 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. The Indian sources attribute Alam with five kills, attributing one of the "kills" claimed by PAF, Sqn Ldr Onkar Nath Kacker's aircraft loss, to booster failure. In addition, they also claim that Alam never saw his missile hit Kacker's aircraft. secondly the gun camera film of the aircraft is yet to be made public & PAF Authorities have confirmed recovering debris to 2 Hunter aircraft with the bodies of both Indian pilots from the scene of action. They had reported one body was a hindu & another Sikh.

Transfer to Mirage III squadron

Alam was the commanding officer of the first squadron of Dassault Mirage III fighters procured by the PAF in 1967. However, his unpopularity with the top management of the PAF lead to removal of his command on the excuse that he was "not literate enough"..

Service during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, all Pakistan Air Force pilots of Bengali origin or born in Bengal were grounded to reduce risk of Pakistani aircraft being defected to India. Thus, Alam was posted to a staff position and did not fly in combat. In 1979 he went to Afghanistan to advise the Mujahedin.

Retirement

M.M. Alam retired in 1982 as an Air Commodore and currently resides in Karachi. One of the roads of Gulberg in Lahore is named after him as M. M. Alam road.

Family

Alam's brother M. Shahid Alam is an economist and a professor at Northeastern University, Boston. His brother M. Sajjad Alam is a particle physicist at SUNY Albany and is credited for discovering over a dozen particles.

Citation

"On 6th September, 1965, during an aerial combat over enemy territory, Squadron Leader Mohammad Mahmood Alam flying as pilot of an F-86 Sabre Jet, shot down two enemy Hunter aircraft and damaged three others. For the exceptional flying skill and valor displayed by Squadron Leader Mohammad Mahmood Alam in operations, he was awarded Sitara-i-Juraat. On 7th September, 1965, in a number of interception missions flown by Squadron Leader Mohammad Mahmood Alam against enemy aircraft attacking Pakistan Air Force Station, Sargodha, Squadron Leader Alam destroyed five more enemy Hunter aircraft in less than a minute, which remains a record until today. Overall, he had nine kills and two damages to his credit. For the exceptional flying skill and valour shown by him in pressing home his attacks in aerial combats with the enemy, Squadron Leader Mohammad Mahmood Alam is awarded a bar to his Sitara-i-Juraat."