Islamabad
The greatest fighter pilot in the history of Pakistan, inspiration for youth and a hero of our nation, flying tiger MM Alam’s historical contribution of shooting down five Indian war planes in less than a minute remains unbeaten and unforgettable. The 7th September belonged to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) ace Muhammad Mahmood Alam (commonly known as M.M.Alam) who shot down five of the Indian Air Force Hawker Hunter Mk. 56 fighters in less than a minute.
He is one of the few aviators who became a hero in a few seconds and not only won international acclaim but also was deservedly bestowed with Sitara e Jurrat (SJ) for his dexterity and eagle eyes action, reports aired by electronic channels reported. Alam was the eldest son of 11 siblings who was born in Calcutta on July 6 1935. He was brought up in Bengal, India but after Indo-Pak separation in 1947 his family migrated to the then called East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Alam was granted commission in PAF (then RPAF) on October 2 1953.
Alam is considered a national hero for Pakistan, most significantly, for his remarkable show of brilliance in the 1965 Pak-India war when he was posted at Sargodha. During this war, he was involved in various dogfights while flying his F-86 Sabre fighter. He downed as many as nine Indian aircraft including six Hawker Hunters in the aerial fighting, and damaged two others. In one mission on 7 September 1965, Alam downed five Indian aircraft in less than a minute, the last four within 30 seconds, establishing a world record, with total of nine aircraft downed in the war.—APP
