Muhammad Mahmood Alam - Misplaced Pages

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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	PAF Strike Force
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, Urdu: محمد محمود عالم) or shortly M. M. Alam is a retired Air Commodore of Pakistan Air Force. He is a recipient of the Pakistani military decoration, the Sitara-e-Jurrat ("The star of courage") and a bar to it for his actions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

Early life

He was born July 6, 1935 in Calcutta, British India. He is popularly known as "M.M. Alam" and nicknamed little dragon.

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 jet equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Pakistani sources claim that he downined nine Indian fighters six of them are Hunters of the Indian Air Force in air-to-air combats, 5 of them in less than a minute, as follows:

September 6, 1965, One Hawker Hunter
- Squadron Leader Ajit Kumar Rawlley, No 7 Squadron, Killed in action, near Tarn Taran.
September 7, 1965, Three Hawker Hunters (in one mission)
- Squadron Leader Onkar Nath Kacker, No 27 Sqn, POW
- Squadron Leader Suresh B Bhagwat Flying Officer
- Jagdev Singh Brar, No 7 Squadron, KIA, near Sangla Hill.
September 16, 1965, One Hawker Hunter
- Flying Officer Farokh Dara Bunsha, No 7 Squadron, KIA, near Amritsar.

The Pakistani army's figures have been disputed by Indian sources. The Indian sources attribute Alam with only five of these 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.

First Squadron Leader of Mirage

Alam was the first commanding officer of the first squadron of Dassault Mirage III fighters procured by the PAF in 1967. However he was not very popular with the top management of the PAF and was shortly removed from command, on the excuse that he was not "literate enough".

Inactive Service During Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, all personnel who were of Bengali origins or were born in Bengal were grounded to prevent any defections. Thus, Alam was posted on a staff job and did not fly in combat. In 1979 he went to Afghanistan to advise the Mujahedin.

Involvement in Soviet Afghan War

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

His 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."