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History


The story of air power in the sub-continent relates back to the Royal Air Force days.
The modest start came in 1914 when a small flying group initially called the Royal
Flying Corps (RFC) which was later named the RAF, was established at Sitapur in
India. A Central Flying School thus started functioning with a fleet of BE 2 aircraft.
After the partition of the sub-continent the Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) came
into existence at Peshawar on 15 August 1947. Air Vice Marshal A L A Perry Keene
was appointed as its first Air Commander. At the time of its formation, RPAF
comprised four stations; 16 fighters, 40 training / transport aircraft; two fighter
squadrons; one maintenance depot and a meagre ammunition depot. The manpower
comprised 220 officers and 2112 airmen. The pre Royal was deleted from the RPAF's
title on the republic day in 1956.

Organization
At the time of its formation RPAF was headed by an Air Commander. This
appointment was later changed to Commander in Chief. The rank of the C-in-C was
raised to an Air Marshal in 1958 and subsequently to an Air Chief Marshal in 1976
with the appointment redesignated as the Chief of the Air Staff. Air Marshal Asghar
Khan was the first Muslim Chief of the Air Staff and in the history of PAF. He
remained in the office from 1957 to 1965. In 1948, the Air Headquarters were shifted to
Karachi and then back to Peshawar in 1960. The Air Headquarters RPAF East
Pakistan were established in Dacca in 1949. In 1953, PAF Act replaced IAF Act which
was later brought in conformity with the Islamic conjuctions in 1984. In 1982, the PAF
was restructured and was divided into three regional commands namely Northern,
Central and Southern Air Commands with Air Officer Commanding Regional Air
Commands exercising administrative and operational authority over the PAF units
within their jurisdiction. In 1983, the Air Headquarters were again moved
transitionally to Chaklala with a plan to position at Islamabad before the turn of the
century.

Weapon Systems
At the time of its independence, the RPAF inherited 16 Tempest fighters, two HP-57
Halifax bombers, 20 Harvards, 10 Tigermoth trainers and eight Dakota transport
aircraft. the Hawker Fury fighters were inducted in 1949. No. 11 Squadron was the
first recipient of SuperMarine Attacker, the first jet fighter to be inducted in the PAF
in 1951.
Marconi Type 21 was the first radar to be inducted in the PAF in 1954. This was
followed by the induction of FPS-6 and 20 radars in 1959 and Condor High Powered
radar in 1968. AR-1 was the first low level radar system to be installed in the PAF in
1969.
Modernization of the PAF started with the induction of F-86 Sabres in 1956 which
resulted in the phasing out of Tempests and Attacker aircraft.
In 1961, No 9 Squadron was the recipient of F104 Star Fighters- the first mach 2
aircraft to arrive in the subcontinent.The last of the piston-engine, Fury fighters were
phased out from the PAF on 22 April 1963. With the successful induction of T-37,
T-33, F-86, B-57, C-130 and F-104 aircraft, the PAF had come of age and was, in
Quaid's Words, second to none.
After the 1965 Indo-Pak war, PAF inducted French built mirages, the Chinese F-6
Farmers and the B-56 Bomber aircraft. The B-56s were phased out in 1969, the F-104s
in 1972, Sabres in 1980 and the B-57s in 1986. The Harvards were phased out in 1976
after the induction of MFI-17 Mashshak in 1974. The FT-5 advanced jet trainer was
inducted in 1975. American F-16 Fighting Falcon and Chinese A-5III were inducted in
1983. Chinese F-7P is the latest induction in the fighter category dating back to 1988.
The Pakistan Air Defence System 1977 commonly known as PADS-77, was an
introduction to modern radars which included American origin TPS-43G and German
MPDR-45, 60 and 90 radars linked through the command and control centres to
provided low level and high level coverage along the entire length of the country.
French built Crotale-2000 was the first surface to air missile system to be
commissioned in the PAF in 1976 .

Bases and Squadron
The RPAF took a meagre start with two fighter bomber, one transport and one
training squadron and seven bases. Soon after its formation, expansion work started
and new bases were commissioned and new fighter and training squadrons were
raised. The first new base to be commissioned was PAF Mauripur, later renamed as
PAF Base Masroor. Within three years of its formation, three squadrons were added
to PAF inventory. Before the 1965 war, PAF had a total of 17 flying squadrons with
adequate number of bases to house these squadrons.
After the 1965 war, the extension of the infrastructure included increasing the number
of bases and raising of another three squadrons. The newly commissioned bases
provided the much needed dispersal and freedom of operations during the 1971 war.
In the recent years, most of the squadrons have been re-equipped with newer aircraft
while maintaining the number of squadrons. At present, PAF has a network of its
operational, training, technical and supporting bases along the entire length of the
country with adequate number of squadrons and supporting units to effectively
defend the skies against any aggression.

Officers Training
Soon after independence, the Royal Flying School was established at Risalpur which
was raised to the status of Flying College by Quaid-e-Azam during his historical visit
of the school on 13 April, 1948. The Flying Instructors School and Ground
Instructors School was commissioned in 1952. In 1967, President M Ayub Khan
raised the level of the college to PAF Academy. To overcome the shortage of
technical officers and meet the requirements of new weapon systems inducted in the
PAF, College of Aeronautical Engineering was established at Korangi Creek in 1965.
In 1966, with an aim of combining all the officers training institutions, the college was
shifted to PAF Academy Risalpur.
In order to provide middle level staff training, the Junior Command and Staff School
was established in 1957. The Air War College, originated as PAF Staff College in 1959
was aimed at providing command and staff training to the rapidly growing officers of
all branches of the PAF. In order to provide advanced training to fighter pilots and
Air Defence Weapon Controllers, the Combat Commander’s School was established
in 1976.

Airmen Training
Soon after independence, a Recruits Training Centre was established at Drigh Road.
The next year, the School of Apprentices was commissioned to train apprentices.
Later the school was renamed as School of Electronics. The other institutions
established for the training of the airmen include School of Aeronautics,
Administrative Trades Training School and the Junior Commissioned Officers
Academy .



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