Operation Chengiz Khan
Encyclopedia
Operation Chengiz Khan was the code name assigned to the pre-emptive strike
s carried out by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) on the forward airbases and radar
installations of the Indian Air Force
(IAF) on the evening of 3 December 1971, and marked the formal initiation of hostilities of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
. Mounted in three waves between 17:39 and 23:00 hrs, the strikes were targeted against the Indian Airbases of Amritsar
, Ambala
, Agra
, Awantipur, Bikaner, Halwara
, Jodhpur
, Jaisalmer
, Pathankot
, Bhuj
, Srinagar
and Uttarlai as well as against air defence radars at Amritsar and Faridkot.
In an address to the nation on radio that same evening, the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
held the airstrikes as a declaration of war against India, and the Indian Air Force responded with initial airstrikes the same night, which were expanded to massive retaliatory airstrikes the next morning as anticipated by Pakistan Air Force
Statements released by both nations the next day confirmed the "existence of a state of war between the two countries", although neither government had formally issued a Declaration of War
.
(now Bangladesh
) declared independence from Pakistan
starting the Bangladesh Liberation War
following rising political discontent and cultural nationalism
in East Pakistan and the brutal suppressive force from West Pakistan in response (see Operation Searchlight
and 1971 Bangladesh atrocities
).
Pakistan came under increasing criticism from India
, the Soviet Union
, Japan
, and Europe as the plight of the refugees and their impact on the Indian economy were highlighted by Indira Gandhi
in the UN and on a number of global tours. However, the United States
and China
showed little interest in the crisis and actively opposed aid, intervention or support to the Mukti Bahini (possibly fearing advancement of Soviet influence deep into South Asia). India's aid to the Mukti Bahini continued unabated, and fighting between the Mukti Bahini and the Pakistani Forces grew increasingly vicious. On 9 August 1971, India signed a twenty-year co-operation treaty
with the Soviet Union which promised military support to either nation should she be attacked. This provided India cover against any possible Chinese or American intervention in aid of Pakistan if it went to war with India. To the Pakistani leadership, it became clear that armed Indian intervention and secession of East Pakistan was becoming inevitable.
in the East by the end of November, when Indian
and Mukti Bahini forces launched offensives on both the eastern and western borders of East Pakistan. Regular Indian army troops engaged and mauled Pakistani armour at Garibpur
while offensive manouvres were launched in Atgram
against Pakistani border posts and communications centres along the eastern border. The Mukti Bahini also launched an offensive on Jessore at this time. It was clear to Islamabad
by this time that open conflict was inevitable, and that East Pakistan was indefensible in the long run. Yahya Khan
chose at this point to try to protect Pakistan's integrity and to hold India by Ayub Khan's strategy - "The defence of East Pakistan lies in the West".
This policy made the assumptions that an open conflict with India would not last long due to international pressure, and since East Pakistan was undefendable, the war-effort should be concentrated on occupying as large an area of Indian territory as possible as a bargaining tool at the negotiating table. To this end, Gen. Tikka Khan
had proposed an offensive into India, and the PAF's overriding priority was to give maximum support to this offensive. The initial plans for the offensive called for at least a temporary cover of air dominance by the PAF under which Khan's troops could conduct a lightning campaign deep into Western India before digging in and consolidating their positions. In order to achieve air dominance, Pakistan decided to launch an offensive counter air
strike codenamed Operation Chengiz Khan on Indian airbases.
A second objective for the PAF was to conduct air interdiction
against the supply routes for the Indian troops opposing Khan's proposed offensive, but these were accorded as secondary targets to be engaged after the operation started.
against Egypt
ian and Arab air forces in Operation Focus
during the Six Day War.
The decision to hit India with a pre-emptive air-strike was taken on 30 November 1971 during a meeting between the Pakistani President Gen. Yahya Khan
, Chief of Staff Gen. Abdul Hamid Khan
, and Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan
.
The objectives of the strike were:
To achieve surprise, the decision was made to strike on a Friday, the day of the jumu'ah
(Muslim
Sabbath), at 17:45 hrs when shifts in IAF control centers were changing. Emulating its operations' experience in battle against the Indian Air Force during the Indo-Pakistani Conflict of 1965, the decision was made to hit the Indian bases in a two wave dusk
strike followed by a number of night-interdiction
missions through the night. The plans for the strike also anticipated the Indians to securing their aircraft in blast pen
s. Also, anticipating difficulty in target acquisition for camouflaged targets such as fuel tanks, ammunition dumps and command centers, the primary objectives set for the Operation were the runways and air defense radars.
' outposts by regular troops of the Indian army
, which the Indian Air Force was providing support to. The Indians would later deny any engagement on the Western Front. However, the Indian air defence radars failed to detect the approaching formations. The first indications for the Indians of the impending assault was the roar of the strike aircraft over their airfields, while in Delhi
, the air-raid sirens were the first indications for newsmen, gathered for the daily brief of the East-Pakistan situation, that something was going on.
The first two waves deployed 32 aircraft. Of these, 24 were F-86F Sabres equipped with bombs, 8 Mirage III
s armed with bombs, and 4 F-104s armed with cannons. The raids were limited to one pass at a relatively high level with the pilots ordered not to operate below 300m AGL as defence against ground fire
.
All the Pakistani aircraft deployed in this first wave were recovered safely. However, the orders to make relatively high level passes also compromised the effectiveness of these strikes, with the result that IAF ground personnel were able to complete the repair to whatever damage was caused within the same night, hindered only by the follow-up waves.
Within forty-five minutes of these strikes, Pakistani troops had shelled India's western frontier and were reported to have crossed the border at Punch in the state of Jammu.
, Agra
and Halwara
around 18:00 hrs and continued in single or two ship formations through the evening until at least 22:30 hrs. These strikes involved fifteen B-57 Canberra
s, four T-33
s, and one C-130. The B-57s flew seven single ship sorties. These cause significant damage, especially in in Uttarlai and Halwara and impeded IAF's preparation for retaliation.
The later flights were not expected to achieve any significant objectives which they miraculously did, and also aided to hamper any counter-air strike by the IAF. The pilots were all qualified for night flying and were to continue flying such raids for the rest of the war, gaining the nickname "Uttarlai Night Mail".
addressed the nation on radio shortly after midnight informing about the Pakistani attack, the Indian Air Force
struck back. By 21:00hrs, the Canberra
s of the No.35 Squadron and No.106 Squadron, as well as No.5 and No.16 squadron were armed and ready for their foray deep into Pakistan. These flew against eight Western Pakistani airfields of Murid, Mianwali, Sargodha, Chander, Risalewala, Rafiqui, and Masroor. In total, 23 combat sortie
s were launched that night, inflicting heavy damage to Sargodha and Masroor. The PAF units stationed on these airfields had to operate from taxiways for the following two days.
Through the night The IAF also struck the main East Pakistani airfields of Tejgaon, and later Kurmitolla. At the same time, the IAF was deploying additional aircraft to its forward airfields for the strikes that were to follow the next morning. Within two days, the Indian Air Force was to achieve complete air supremacy in the East Pakistan
.
On the other hand IAF Canberras which raided PAF's airfields were "bombed up" by PAF fighters ready in anticipation of the counter attack.
Just as importantly, only a limited section of the PAF's strike capability was employed during Operation Chengiz Khan. Also, compared to the Israeli Air Force's
preparation for airstrikes against Egyptian
s (the Israeli pilots had flown against replicas of the most important Arab airfields) and the use of specific armament
s, the PAF had been limited by servicability before the USA supplied spare parts in March of the year and training was limited if any. Constraints of the fledgling Pakistani economy also meant the development of its military could not be supported. The Pakistani Air Force thus lacked ammunition for effective runway denial. East Pakistan
i personnel of the PAF who defected may have revealed some of the plans, and it appears that IAF was expecting a pre-emptive strike against its forward airfields. A large-scale offensive was therefore doomed to fail, likely to cause heavy losses and bring the PAF in a position where it could never seriously challenge IAF operations.
Yet to prove the positive results of PAF's attack, the following narration comes from an Indian Mig-21 pilot taken prisoner after being shot down over Pakistan. Flight Lieutenant Harish Sinhji, who belonged to a Sirsa-based squadron, stated:
“After one of PAF’s night bombing strikes on our airfield, we were all grounded for six hours. The runway had been cratered in many places. The following morning our CO, Wing Commander V B Sawardekar, took us all to the runway to show us the Pakistani pilot’s bombing accuracy. Pointing to the craters on our runway he said ‘this is the kind of bombing accuracy the IAF pilots should achieve against Pakistani targets.’’
Pre-Emptive Strike
Pre-Emptive Strike is the first release by Five Finger Death Punch on July 10, 2007. It was only released as a digital download to the American iTunes Music Store. The live version of "The Devil's Own" was recorded at a performance in Las Vegas, Nevada....
s carried out by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) on the forward airbases and radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
installations of the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
(IAF) on the evening of 3 December 1971, and marked the formal initiation of hostilities of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
. Mounted in three waves between 17:39 and 23:00 hrs, the strikes were targeted against the Indian Airbases of Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, Ambala
Ambala
Ambala is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border of the states of Haryana and Punjab in India. Politically; Ambala has two sub-areas: Ambala Cantt and Ambala City, approximately 3 kilometers apart from each other...
, Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
, Awantipur, Bikaner, Halwara
Halwara
Halwara is a township in Punjab state in India. Located in the Ludhiana District close to Village Toosa , Halwara lies on the Mullanpur-Raikot road...
, Jodhpur
Jodhpur
Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
, Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer
Jaysalmer , nicknamed "The Golden City", is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital Jaipur. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain...
, Pathankot
Pathankot
Pathankot became 22nd district on 28th July 2011 and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Punjab. It was a part of the Nurpur princely state ruled by the Rajputs prior to 1849 AD. It is a meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir...
, Bhuj
Bhuj
Bhuj is a city and a municipality in Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat, India.-History:It was established by Rao Hamirji in 1510 and was made the state capital by Rao Khengarji I in 1549. Its foundation stone as state capital laid formally on Vikram Samvat 1604 Maagha 5th...
, Srinagar
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
and Uttarlai as well as against air defence radars at Amritsar and Faridkot.
In an address to the nation on radio that same evening, the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
held the airstrikes as a declaration of war against India, and the Indian Air Force responded with initial airstrikes the same night, which were expanded to massive retaliatory airstrikes the next morning as anticipated by Pakistan Air Force
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...
Statements released by both nations the next day confirmed the "existence of a state of war between the two countries", although neither government had formally issued a Declaration of War
Declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government in order to create a state of war between two or more states.The legality of who is competent to declare war varies...
.
Background
In March 1971, East PakistanEast Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
(now Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) declared independence from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
starting the Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
following rising political discontent and cultural nationalism
Cultural nationalism
Cultural nationalism is a form of nationalism in which the nation is defined by a shared culture. It is an intermediate position between ethnic nationalism on one hand and liberal nationalism on the other....
in East Pakistan and the brutal suppressive force from West Pakistan in response (see Operation Searchlight
Operation Searchlight
Operation Searchlight was a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in the erstwhile East Pakistan in March 1971. Ordered by the central government in West Pakistan, this was seen as the sequel to "Operation Blitz" which had been...
and 1971 Bangladesh atrocities
1971 Bangladesh atrocities
Beginning with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971 and continuing throughout the Bangladesh Liberation War, there were widespread violations of human rights in East Pakistan perpetrated by the Pakistan Army, with support from local political and religious militias, especially...
).
Pakistan came under increasing criticism from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and Europe as the plight of the refugees and their impact on the Indian economy were highlighted by Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
in the UN and on a number of global tours. However, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
showed little interest in the crisis and actively opposed aid, intervention or support to the Mukti Bahini (possibly fearing advancement of Soviet influence deep into South Asia). India's aid to the Mukti Bahini continued unabated, and fighting between the Mukti Bahini and the Pakistani Forces grew increasingly vicious. On 9 August 1971, India signed a twenty-year co-operation treaty
Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation
The Indo–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation was a treaty signed between India and the Soviet Union in August 1971 that specified mutual strategic cooperation...
with the Soviet Union which promised military support to either nation should she be attacked. This provided India cover against any possible Chinese or American intervention in aid of Pakistan if it went to war with India. To the Pakistani leadership, it became clear that armed Indian intervention and secession of East Pakistan was becoming inevitable.
The strategy of pre-emption
By October 1971, the Mukti Bahini had started launching massive raids deep into East Pakistan with active support of the Indian Army troops. The situation had detoriorated to a state of active undeclared warUndeclared war
An undeclared war is a conflict that is fought between two or more nations without a formal declaration of war being issued.Since United Nations action in Korea, a number of democratic governments have pursued usually limited warfare by characterizing them as something else, such as a "military...
in the East by the end of November, when Indian
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
and Mukti Bahini forces launched offensives on both the eastern and western borders of East Pakistan. Regular Indian army troops engaged and mauled Pakistani armour at Garibpur
Battle of Garibpur
The Battle of Garibpur fought on 20–21 November 1971 was one of the first engagements of between Indian and Pakistani troops during the Bangladesh Liberation War prior to the initiation of hostilities on 3 December 1971...
while offensive manouvres were launched in Atgram
Battle of Atgram
The Battle of Atgram Complex, fought on 21 November 1971 between the 5 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army and the 31 Punjabs of the Pakistan Army, was one of the first engagements between the two opposing forces that preceded the formal initiation of hostilities of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and...
against Pakistani border posts and communications centres along the eastern border. The Mukti Bahini also launched an offensive on Jessore at this time. It was clear to Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
by this time that open conflict was inevitable, and that East Pakistan was indefensible in the long run. Yahya Khan
Yahya Khan
General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan...
chose at this point to try to protect Pakistan's integrity and to hold India by Ayub Khan's strategy - "The defence of East Pakistan lies in the West".
This policy made the assumptions that an open conflict with India would not last long due to international pressure, and since East Pakistan was undefendable, the war-effort should be concentrated on occupying as large an area of Indian territory as possible as a bargaining tool at the negotiating table. To this end, Gen. Tikka Khan
Tikka Khan
General Tikka Khan, HJ, HQA, SPk, was a senior four-star general in the Pakistan Army who served as the first Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 3 March 1972 to 1 March 1976. Before his four-star assignment, Khan was a Martial Law Administrator of erstwhile East-Pakistan...
had proposed an offensive into India, and the PAF's overriding priority was to give maximum support to this offensive. The initial plans for the offensive called for at least a temporary cover of air dominance by the PAF under which Khan's troops could conduct a lightning campaign deep into Western India before digging in and consolidating their positions. In order to achieve air dominance, Pakistan decided to launch an offensive counter air
Offensive counter air
Offensive Counter-Air is a military term for the suppression of an enemy's military air power by destroying or disabling the aircraft—preferably on the ground. This includes disablement achieved by damaging the infrastructure or logistics.Operations include attacks on air bases...
strike codenamed Operation Chengiz Khan on Indian airbases.
A second objective for the PAF was to conduct air interdiction
Air interdiction
Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. It differs from close air support because it does not directly support ground operations and is not closely coordinated with ground units...
against the supply routes for the Indian troops opposing Khan's proposed offensive, but these were accorded as secondary targets to be engaged after the operation started.
Operation Chengiz Khan
The PAF's strikes were based on the same strategy of pre-emptive neutralization of enemy air capability used by the Israeli Air ForceIsraeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
against Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian and Arab air forces in Operation Focus
Operation Focus
Operation Focus was the opening airstrike by Israel at the start of the Six-Day War in 1967. It is sometimes referred to as "Sinai Air Strike" since the focus was primarily on airfields around the Sinai Peninsula. At 07:45 on June 5, 1967, the Israeli Air Force under Maj. Gen...
during the Six Day War.
The decision to hit India with a pre-emptive air-strike was taken on 30 November 1971 during a meeting between the Pakistani President Gen. Yahya Khan
Yahya Khan
General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan...
, Chief of Staff Gen. Abdul Hamid Khan
Abdul Hamid Khan (general)
General Abdul Hamid Khan, HQA, SPk, SQA, was a Pakistan Army General. He was the Chief of Staff Pakistan Army under President General Yahya Khan during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.-1965 Battle of Khem Karan:...
, and Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan
Gul Hassan Khan
Lieutenant-General Gul Hassan Khan , was a former three star general and the last Army Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army from December 20, 1971 – March 3, 1972...
.
The objectives of the strike were:
- To surprise the IAF by attacking its forward airfields when it was least expected.
- To neutralize these in order to obtain at least temporary battlefield air superiority in the West.
- To counter-balance the Indian numerical advantage by hitting the Forward Operating Bases of the Indian Air Force as a measure reducing the weight of expected counterattacks on PAF's own bases.
To achieve surprise, the decision was made to strike on a Friday, the day of the jumu'ah
Jumu'ah
Jumu'ah is a congregational prayer that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon in lieu of dhuhr...
(Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Sabbath), at 17:45 hrs when shifts in IAF control centers were changing. Emulating its operations' experience in battle against the Indian Air Force during the Indo-Pakistani Conflict of 1965, the decision was made to hit the Indian bases in a two wave dusk
Dusk
Dusk is the beginning of darkness in the evening, and occurs after twilight, when the sky generally remains bright and blue. Civil dusk is when the earth has rotated enough that the center of the sun is at 6° below the local horizon...
strike followed by a number of night-interdiction
Interdiction
Interdiction is a military term that refers to the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy forces or supplies en route to the battle area. A distinction is often made between strategic and tactical interdiction...
missions through the night. The plans for the strike also anticipated the Indians to securing their aircraft in blast pen
Blast pen
A blast pen was a specially constructed E-shaped double bay at British RAF World War 2 fighter stations, being either or wide and front-to-back, accommodating aircraft for safe-keeping against bomb blasts and splinters during enemy air-attacks....
s. Also, anticipating difficulty in target acquisition for camouflaged targets such as fuel tanks, ammunition dumps and command centers, the primary objectives set for the Operation were the runways and air defense radars.
The first strikes
The final orders for the strike were issued at 17:30 hrs. The first formations were in air and heading for their targets by 17:40 hrs. Officially, it was announced via government channels that the airstrikes were launched in response to attacks along the western border on Pakistan RangersPakistan Rangers
The Pakistan Rangers are part of the Paramilitary forces of Pakistan, and consists of members of the Pakistan Army under the direct control of the Ministry of the Interior of the Pakistan Government. The Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain...
' outposts by regular troops of the Indian army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
, which the Indian Air Force was providing support to. The Indians would later deny any engagement on the Western Front. However, the Indian air defence radars failed to detect the approaching formations. The first indications for the Indians of the impending assault was the roar of the strike aircraft over their airfields, while in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, the air-raid sirens were the first indications for newsmen, gathered for the daily brief of the East-Pakistan situation, that something was going on.
The first two waves deployed 32 aircraft. Of these, 24 were F-86F Sabres equipped with bombs, 8 Mirage III
Dassault Mirage III
The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...
s armed with bombs, and 4 F-104s armed with cannons. The raids were limited to one pass at a relatively high level with the pilots ordered not to operate below 300m AGL as defence against ground fire
Ack Ack
Ack Ack may refer to:* Anti-aircraft warfare* Ack Ack , American Hall of Fame racehorse...
.
- Pathankot — The first of the strikes were mounted against PathankotPathankotPathankot became 22nd district on 28th July 2011 and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Punjab. It was a part of the Nurpur princely state ruled by the Rajputs prior to 1849 AD. It is a meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir...
AB. Led by a flight of two Mirage IIIDassault Mirage IIIThe Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...
s (a reconnaissance craft and a strike escort) a six ship mission of F-86Fs flying from Murid and led by Wg. Cdr. S N Jilani hit Pathankot with unguided rockets and dropped several 125 kg bombs. The main target of this strike was the runway, which was damaged and took the Indian ground crew several hours to repair. These missions went unopposed since the IAF had not scrambled any interception, and faced only AAAck AckAck Ack may refer to:* Anti-aircraft warfare* Ack Ack , American Hall of Fame racehorse...
. Pathankot was covered by interceptors from Adampur following this first strike during the time it took the ground crew to repair its runway.
- Amritsar — At 17:45 hrs, four Mirages flying from SargodhaSargodhaSargodha is a city in the Sargodha District of Punjab province, Pakistan.Sargodha is located in the northwest of Pakistan. It is the eleventh largest city of Pakistan and also known as Pakistan's best citrus-producing area. It is an agricultural trade centre with various industries...
and led by Wg. Cdr. Hakimullah attacked Amritsar AB. Hakimullah's flight was armed with two 500 kg bombs each, which the strike used efficiently hitting the first 300m of the runway and cratering it enough to leave it nonoperational for several hours. However, the Amritsar runway was repaired within the same night to receive detachments of Mig 21s and Su-7 that flew against Rafiqui AB the next morning. A second strike of two F-104 StarfighterF-104 StarfighterThe Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...
s, led by Wing Commander Amjad H Khan hit the P-35 radar station at Amritsar, rendering it inoperational for nearly an hour. On one remaining serviceable lane of runway, two sukhios took off moments before it got bombed by a passing B-57.
- Srinagar — SrinagarSrinagarSrinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
was hit at 17:50 hrs by a flight of six F-86Fs led by Wg. Cdr. Changezi. Flying from PeshawarPeshawarPeshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, the strike hit a fully lit up Srinagar airport with 250 kg bombs. However, this strike failed to cause any significant damage. Srinagar was to be attacked a second time, during the followup strikes later in the evening, by a C-130 commanded by Gp. Cpt. Qayyum. However Srinagar largely escaped unscathed.
- Awantipur — Awantipur was hit at the same time as Srinagar, at approximately 17:50 hrs by a flight of F-86 Sabres led by Wg Cdr Abdul Aziz. Awantipur, at this time did not have any IAF aircraft based there. The strike therefore did not achieve any significant results.
- Faridkot — At 17:53 hrs, a two ship mission of F-104As flying from Masroor and led by WgCdr Arif Iqbal hit the Faridkot radar station with cannon fire. This strike damaged the P-35 radar significantly. One of the pilots found it hard to resist the sight of a light aircraftLight aircraftA light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross take-off weight of or less.Many aircraft used commercially for freight, sightseeing, photography and scheduled flights are light aircraft.Examples of light aircraft include:...
parked near the runway and made an extra attack to destroy it.
All the Pakistani aircraft deployed in this first wave were recovered safely. However, the orders to make relatively high level passes also compromised the effectiveness of these strikes, with the result that IAF ground personnel were able to complete the repair to whatever damage was caused within the same night, hindered only by the follow-up waves.
Within forty-five minutes of these strikes, Pakistani troops had shelled India's western frontier and were reported to have crossed the border at Punch in the state of Jammu.
Followup counter-air strikes
The third wave of the PAF counter air strikes were directed to strike AmbalaAmbala
Ambala is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border of the states of Haryana and Punjab in India. Politically; Ambala has two sub-areas: Ambala Cantt and Ambala City, approximately 3 kilometers apart from each other...
, Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
and Halwara
Halwara
Halwara is a township in Punjab state in India. Located in the Ludhiana District close to Village Toosa , Halwara lies on the Mullanpur-Raikot road...
around 18:00 hrs and continued in single or two ship formations through the evening until at least 22:30 hrs. These strikes involved fifteen B-57 Canberra
B-57 Canberra
The Martin B-57 Canberra was a United States-built, twin jet engine light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, which entered service with the United States Air Force in 1953. The B-57 was initially a version of the English Electric Canberra built under license. However, the Glenn L...
s, four T-33
T-33 Shooting Star
The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star is an American-built jet trainer aircraft. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948, piloted by Tony LeVier. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then designated T-33A. It was used by the...
s, and one C-130. The B-57s flew seven single ship sorties. These cause significant damage, especially in in Uttarlai and Halwara and impeded IAF's preparation for retaliation.
- Ambala — Ambala was a hit by a two ship B-57 formation led by Wg. Cdr. Rais Rafi. The flight hit the runway with eight bombs, causing minor damage.
- Agra — Like Ambala, Agra, which lay deepest among the PAF's targets that evening, was struck by a two ship mission of B-57 led by Wg. Cdr. Yunus and suffered minor damage. Ironically, the first Indian Counter strikes launched that very night included the CanberraEnglish Electric CanberraThe English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
s of No.5 Sqn were based at Agra.
- Halwara — Halwara was struck twice on the night of the 3rd. The first of these was by a two ship flight of B-57s led by Sqn. Ldr. Abdul Basit. This flight struck the runway with eight bombs, three of which landed on target and significantly damaged it. Halwara was attacked a second time by a single B-57 bomber just before midnight. The arrival of the aircraft was detected by radar and the anti aircraft defences were ready. The aircraft dropped some bombs on the runway and airfield. One of the bombs dropped by the aircraft was equipped with a delayed fuse. It exploded while being examined and killed a navigator from the missile squadron. Halwara was not repaired before early the next morning.
- Amritsar and Bikaner — AmritsarAmritsarAmritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
was attacked a second time at around 22:10 hrs by the flight of Flt. Bikaner was attacked by Sqn. Ldr. Haq while Pathankot was struck by Flt. Lt. Sultan Arshad. Neither of these caused any significant damage.
- Sirsa — Sirsa was hit by Sqn. Ldr. Alvi with bombs equipped with time-delayed fuses, damaging the runway heavily and forcing the runway to be closed for the rest of the night.
- Bhuj — Was accurately bombed and IAF commanding officer found it difficult to get enough labour to repair it.
- Uttarlai — Four T-33sT-33 Shooting StarThe Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star is an American-built jet trainer aircraft. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948, piloted by Tony LeVier. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then designated T-33A. It was used by the...
from A-Flight No.2 Squadron, led by Sqn. Ldr. Qureshi, hit Uttarlai, causing damage to the runway. These were launched at the same time as the second strike over Srinagar. Uttarlai was attacked a second time later that night by Wg. Cdr. Akhtar. The net damage to the runway was significant enough to keep the runway closed for six days and for the taxiway to be used instead. - Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Jamnagar — In the south, Sqn. Ldr. Ishtak Qureshi's bombs hit the underground power cable at JaisalmerJaisalmerJaysalmer , nicknamed "The Golden City", is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital Jaipur. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain...
, cutting off the power supply and telephone connection for six hours. At the same time, JodhpurJodhpurJodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
was hit by two B-57s led by Sqn. Ldr. Sohail Mansur while Jamnagar was hit by Flt. Lt. Ejaz Azam.
The later flights were not expected to achieve any significant objectives which they miraculously did, and also aided to hamper any counter-air strike by the IAF. The pilots were all qualified for night flying and were to continue flying such raids for the rest of the war, gaining the nickname "Uttarlai Night Mail".
The Indian retaliation
As Indian Prime Minister Indira GandhiIndira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
addressed the nation on radio shortly after midnight informing about the Pakistani attack, the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
struck back. By 21:00hrs, the Canberra
B-57 Canberra
The Martin B-57 Canberra was a United States-built, twin jet engine light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, which entered service with the United States Air Force in 1953. The B-57 was initially a version of the English Electric Canberra built under license. However, the Glenn L...
s of the No.35 Squadron and No.106 Squadron, as well as No.5 and No.16 squadron were armed and ready for their foray deep into Pakistan. These flew against eight Western Pakistani airfields of Murid, Mianwali, Sargodha, Chander, Risalewala, Rafiqui, and Masroor. In total, 23 combat sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
s were launched that night, inflicting heavy damage to Sargodha and Masroor. The PAF units stationed on these airfields had to operate from taxiways for the following two days.
Through the night The IAF also struck the main East Pakistani airfields of Tejgaon, and later Kurmitolla. At the same time, the IAF was deploying additional aircraft to its forward airfields for the strikes that were to follow the next morning. Within two days, the Indian Air Force was to achieve complete air supremacy in the East Pakistan
East Pakistan Air Operations, 1971
East Pakistan Air Operations incorporate the interdiction, air defence, ground support, and logistics missions flown by the Indian Air Force and the Bangladesh Air Force in support of the advancing Mitro Bahini in the eastern theatre of the Indo-Pakistani conflict of 1971...
.
On the other hand IAF Canberras which raided PAF's airfields were "bombed up" by PAF fighters ready in anticipation of the counter attack.
Analysis
In total, the Pakistani Air Force dropped 183 bombs over 12 target runways and 120 hits were reported by the pilots. However, of its stated objectives, the PAF was unable to neutralize the Indian Air Force in the west although it certainly achieved surprise. The Indian Air Force was unable to offer any resistance to the first waves other than ground fire. The damage to the facilities, albeit limited, also meant that the third wave went unchallenged in the air.Just as importantly, only a limited section of the PAF's strike capability was employed during Operation Chengiz Khan. Also, compared to the Israeli Air Force's
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
preparation for airstrikes against Egyptian
Egyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF , is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The EAF is headed by an Air Marshal . Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed...
s (the Israeli pilots had flown against replicas of the most important Arab airfields) and the use of specific armament
BLU-107 Durandal
Named for a mythical medieval French sword, the Durandal is a bomb developed by the French company Matra , designed to destroy airport and airfield runways.-Overview:...
s, the PAF had been limited by servicability before the USA supplied spare parts in March of the year and training was limited if any. Constraints of the fledgling Pakistani economy also meant the development of its military could not be supported. The Pakistani Air Force thus lacked ammunition for effective runway denial. East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
i personnel of the PAF who defected may have revealed some of the plans, and it appears that IAF was expecting a pre-emptive strike against its forward airfields. A large-scale offensive was therefore doomed to fail, likely to cause heavy losses and bring the PAF in a position where it could never seriously challenge IAF operations.
Yet to prove the positive results of PAF's attack, the following narration comes from an Indian Mig-21 pilot taken prisoner after being shot down over Pakistan. Flight Lieutenant Harish Sinhji, who belonged to a Sirsa-based squadron, stated:
“After one of PAF’s night bombing strikes on our airfield, we were all grounded for six hours. The runway had been cratered in many places. The following morning our CO, Wing Commander V B Sawardekar, took us all to the runway to show us the Pakistani pilot’s bombing accuracy. Pointing to the craters on our runway he said ‘this is the kind of bombing accuracy the IAF pilots should achieve against Pakistani targets.’’