No. 16 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)
Encyclopedia
No. 16 Squadron, named the Black Panthers, is a Pakistan Air Force (PAF)
fighter squadron.
, commanded by Squadron Leader Imam-ul-Haq Khan and assigned the role of Tactical Attack. Temporarily disbanded in 1963, the unit was re-established on 13 April 1970 at PAF Base Masroor flying the F-86F Sabre and commanded by Wing Commander Sharbat Ali Changazi. In February 1971 the unit was assigned the role of training senior pilots in advanced tactics as the Fighter Leaders School. Although the squadron was not employed in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, its pilots were transferred to PAF Base Peshawar where they flew with the No. 26 Squadron
. Wing Commander Changazi lead several strike missions into Indian territory and shot down an Indian Air Force Hawker Hunter
. Squadron Leader Cecil Chaudhry, attached to the No. 18 Squadron, was shot down by ground fire but ejected safely and later shot down an Indian Sukhoi Su-7
.
In October 1972 the squadron was disbanded until 1982 when it was re-established at PAF Base Rafiqui and equipped with the Shenyang F-6. It was decided that the Panthers would be the first squadron to be re-equipped with the Nanchang A-5C attack fighter and personnel were sent to China to be trained on the type. The first batch of A-5s was delivered to PAF Base Rafiqui on 12 February 1983, a re-equipment ceremony was held on 21 March 1983, the squadron was assigned the role of tactical attack and Wing Commander Hamid Saeed Khan was put in command. A Pakistan Day fly-past performance on 23 March 1983 earned the squadron a "Best Fly-Past" award. The Panthers also converted pilots of the No. 7 Bandits
and No. 26 Black Spiders
squadrons to fly the Nanchang A-5C. In November 1985 the unit began practicing with live 750 lb bombs and extensive Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) with the PAF's F-16 squadrons.
In 1988 more DACT sorties were flown against the Chengdu F-7P. Five A-5C were added to the squadron's fleet in May 1989 and in mid-1990 Wing Commander Zafar carried out evaluations of the upgraded A-5M and A-5F attack fighters in China. In 1991 three Shenyang FT-6 dual seat fighters, with Martin-Baker ejection seats installed, were inducted for training purposes. In November 1991 the unit was temporarily transferred to Multan and, while deployed there, flew 115 sorties with 100% serviceability and reliability rates. In 1997 was again temporarily transferred to PAF Base Mihas and Murid during runway re-carpeting at the unit's parent airbase. A deployment to PAF Base Chaklala
for ADA (Air Defence Alert) duties was also carried out. In 1998 an A-5's canopy jettisoned during an Exercise Wide Awake sortie but the aircraft was landed safely.
! style="text-align: middle; background: white;" colspan="4" | No. 16 Squadron
Black Panthers
|-
! style="text-align: left; background: lavender;" width="160" | Role
! style="text-align: left; background: lavender;" width=" " | Operational
! style="text-align: left; background: lavender;" width="180" | Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: lavender;" width=" " | Notes
|-valign="top"
|
| 1957—1963
1971—1972
| F-86F Sabre
|
|-
|
| 1982—1983
1991— ----
| Shenyang F-6
Shenyang FT-6
|
|-
| Tactical Attack
| 1983—2011
| Nanchang A-5C
| The PAF's first A-5C squadron.
|-
| Multi-role
| 2011—Present
| JF-17 Thunder
Block 1
| The PAF's second JF-17 squadron, A-5C retirement and JF-17 re-equipment ceremony held in April 2011.
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
fighter squadron.
History
The squadron was established in 1957, equipped with the F-86F SabreF-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
, commanded by Squadron Leader Imam-ul-Haq Khan and assigned the role of Tactical Attack. Temporarily disbanded in 1963, the unit was re-established on 13 April 1970 at PAF Base Masroor flying the F-86F Sabre and commanded by Wing Commander Sharbat Ali Changazi. In February 1971 the unit was assigned the role of training senior pilots in advanced tactics as the Fighter Leaders School. Although the squadron was not employed in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, its pilots were transferred to PAF Base Peshawar where they flew with the No. 26 Squadron
No. 26 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)
No. 26 Squadron, named the Black Spiders, is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron.-History:The squadron was established at PAF Base Masroor on 30 August 1967, equipped with the F-86 Sabre, commanded by Wing Commander Rehmat Khan and assigned the role of operational training of pilots on the F-86....
. Wing Commander Changazi lead several strike missions into Indian territory and shot down an Indian Air Force Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
. Squadron Leader Cecil Chaudhry, attached to the No. 18 Squadron, was shot down by ground fire but ejected safely and later shot down an Indian Sukhoi Su-7
Sukhoi Su-7
The Sukhoi Su-7 was a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the other hand, soon-introduced Su-7B series became the main Soviet fighter-bomber and...
.
In October 1972 the squadron was disbanded until 1982 when it was re-established at PAF Base Rafiqui and equipped with the Shenyang F-6. It was decided that the Panthers would be the first squadron to be re-equipped with the Nanchang A-5C attack fighter and personnel were sent to China to be trained on the type. The first batch of A-5s was delivered to PAF Base Rafiqui on 12 February 1983, a re-equipment ceremony was held on 21 March 1983, the squadron was assigned the role of tactical attack and Wing Commander Hamid Saeed Khan was put in command. A Pakistan Day fly-past performance on 23 March 1983 earned the squadron a "Best Fly-Past" award. The Panthers also converted pilots of the No. 7 Bandits
No. 7 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)
No. 7 Squadron, named the Bandits, is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron.-History:The squadron was established as No. 7 Light Bomber squadron in June 1960, equipped with the Martin B-57 Canberra light bomber, commanded by Squadron Leader Ayaz A. Khan and assigned the airfield strike and deep...
and No. 26 Black Spiders
No. 26 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)
No. 26 Squadron, named the Black Spiders, is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron.-History:The squadron was established at PAF Base Masroor on 30 August 1967, equipped with the F-86 Sabre, commanded by Wing Commander Rehmat Khan and assigned the role of operational training of pilots on the F-86....
squadrons to fly the Nanchang A-5C. In November 1985 the unit began practicing with live 750 lb bombs and extensive Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) with the PAF's F-16 squadrons.
In 1988 more DACT sorties were flown against the Chengdu F-7P. Five A-5C were added to the squadron's fleet in May 1989 and in mid-1990 Wing Commander Zafar carried out evaluations of the upgraded A-5M and A-5F attack fighters in China. In 1991 three Shenyang FT-6 dual seat fighters, with Martin-Baker ejection seats installed, were inducted for training purposes. In November 1991 the unit was temporarily transferred to Multan and, while deployed there, flew 115 sorties with 100% serviceability and reliability rates. In 1997 was again temporarily transferred to PAF Base Mihas and Murid during runway re-carpeting at the unit's parent airbase. A deployment to PAF Base Chaklala
PAF Base Chaklala
PAF Base Chaklala is an active Pakistan Air Force airbase located in Chaklala Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. It also forms part of Islamabad International Airport.-History:The base was originally operated by the Royal Air Force as R.A.F...
for ADA (Air Defence Alert) duties was also carried out. In 1998 an A-5's canopy jettisoned during an Exercise Wide Awake sortie but the aircraft was landed safely.
! style="text-align: middle; background: white;" colspan="4" | No. 16 Squadron
Black Panthers
|-
! style="text-align: left; background: lavender;" width="160" | Role
! style="text-align: left; background: lavender;" width=" " | Operational
! style="text-align: left; background: lavender;" width="180" | Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: lavender;" width=" " | Notes
|-valign="top"
|
| 1957—1963
1971—1972
| F-86F Sabre
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
|
|-
|
| 1982—1983
1991— ----
| Shenyang F-6
Shenyang FT-6
|
|-
| Tactical Attack
| 1983—2011
| Nanchang A-5C
| The PAF's first A-5C squadron.
|-
| Multi-role
Multirole combat aircraft
A multirole combat aircraft is an aircraft designed to act in at least two different roles in combat. The primary role is usually a fighter—hence, it is as often called a multirole fighter—while the secondary role is usually air-to-surface attack. More roles are added, such as air reconnaissance,...
| 2011—Present
| JF-17 Thunder
JF-17 Thunder
The PAC JF-17 Thunder , or CAC FC-1 Xiaolong , is a light-weight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Industries Corporation of China, the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex...
Block 1
| The PAF's second JF-17 squadron, A-5C retirement and JF-17 re-equipment ceremony held in April 2011.
Regular
- Exercise Flat Out
- 1988
- 1989
- 1991
- 1992 ×3
- 1996 ×3
- 1998
- Exercise Wide Awake
- 1988 - ×2
- 1989 - ×3
- 1991
- 1992 - ×4
- 1996 - ×3
- 1998
- DACT Camps (Dissimilar Air Combat Training)
- 1985 - extensive training sorties flown against the F-16.
- 1988 - 1v1 sorties evaluating F-7P against A-5C.
- 1992
- 1993
- 1998 - ×2, PAF Base Minhas
Annual and others
- Jetstream 1983
- High Mark 85
- High Mark 86 - offensive sorties flown. Also participated in a live armament exercise at Thal Range.
- Long Shadow 88 - February 1988.
- Shako 88
- High Mark 89 - deployed to PAF Base Farid.
- High Mark 93 - October
- High Mark 95
- Saffron Bandit 95
- Hit Hard-VI - April 88
- Hit Hard-VII - June 88
- Hit Hard-VIII - August 88
- Fake-XIV (1988)
- Hit Hard (1989)
- Tondo-II, Tondo-III, Tondo-IV (1989)
- Combat VI (91)
- Sore Eyes-III (91)
- Condor-II (91)
- King Cobra 92 - 100% mission success rate achieved.
- Fire Fox 97 - March, an Air Defence exercise during which low level sorties were flown to train interceptor pilots.
- Zarb-e-Aahen 98
- Saffron Bandit 98 - PAF Base Sargodha
- Armament exercises
- December 1988 - Matra Durandal firing, Somniani Range.
- 1996 - Air-to-air firing, PAF Base Masroor.
- Awards
- ACES 97 (Air Combat Evaluations) - received ACES Trophy for best performing tactical attack squadron.
- Inter-Squadron Dive Bombing Competition - No. 16 and 26 squadrons competed, No. 16 won.