No. 11 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)

No. 11 Squadron
Arrows
Active 1 January 1949
Country  Pakistan
Allegiance  Pakistan
Branch  Pakistan Air Force
Type Fighter squadron
Role Multi-role, Operational Conversion Unit (OCU)
Part of No. 38 Multi-Role Wing
Central Air Command
Airbase PAF Base Mushaf (Sargodha)
Nickname(s) Arrows
Motto Your destination is above everyone else’s destination.[1]
Mascot An arrow pointing up through a circle of stars.[2]
Aircraft F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16A/B Block 15
Engagements 1965 Indo-Pak War
1971 Indo-Pak War
Operation Sentinel[3]
Soviet war in Afghanistan
War in North-West Pakistan
Battle honours Sargodha 65
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 ACM Zulfiqar Ali Khan
ACM Anwar Shamim
Air Mshl Nur Khan
Air Mshl Abdul Rahim Khan
Air Cdre Mitty Masud
Air Cdre M.M. Allam
Air Cdre Sattar Alvi
Air Cdre W. J. M. Turowicz
Aircraft flown
Fighter Supermarine Attacker (1951-1956)
F-86F Sabre (1956-1966)
Shenyang F-6 (1966-1983)
F-16 Fighting Falcon (1983-present)

No. 11 Squadron, named the Arrows, is a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter squadron assigned to the No. 38 Multi-Role Wing of the PAF Central Air Command. It operates the Block 15 model of the F-16 Fighting Falcon with a multi-role tasking and is also an Operational Conversion Unit (OCU).

The squadron crest has an arrow pointing upwards, circled by 11 stars, and symbolises the pursuit of professional excellence.

History

The squadron was first established at 1 January 1949 at RPAF Station Mauripur as a light bomber unit. It was supposed to be equipped with the Bristol Brigand but the first aircraft crashed before arriving in Pakistan. The type's procurement was subsequently halted and the unit was disbanded in February 1949. In June 1951 the unit was restored as a fighter interceptor squadron and became the PAF's first jet squadron with the introduction of the Supermarine Attacker. First commanded by Squadron Leader A. Rahim Khan, the unit was to remain the PAF's only jet squadron until 18 January 1956 when the unit was re-equipped with the F-86F Sabre and its role changed to a Fighter Bomber squadron.

The squadron took part in the 1965 Indo-Pak War as part of the No. 33 Wing at PAF Base Sargodha (now PAF Base Mushaf). The Arrows flew 227 sorties, including Air Defence and Close Air Support missions, during the 17 day war. Ten Hawker Hunters and three Folland Gnats of the Indian Air Force were shot down during these missions, with a further three Hawker Hunters damaged. One F-86 was shot down in Indian territory during a fighter sweep mission, flown by Flying Officer Shaukat.

When sanctions and an arms embargo was placed on Pakistan by the U.S. after the war, the Arrows were re-equipped with the Shenyang F-6 in 1966 and their role changed to Air Superiority. The unit moved to PAF Base Rafiqui in January 1971, moving back to Sargodha during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Again, the squadron flew Air Defence and Close Air Support missions during which a Sukhoi Su-7 and a MiG-21 were shot down. One of the squadron's F-6 fighters were shot down over India. After the war the squadron returned to PAF Base Rafiqui.

During these wars the Arrows were credited with the highest number of kills of any PAF squadron. In January 1983 the unit was again moved to PAF Base Sargodha and became the first squadron to re-equip with the F-16 Fighting Falcon, becoming a Multi-Role unit with introduction of the F-16A/B Block 15.

The squadron was termed as "exceptional" after an inspection by the Inspectorate team on 28 October 1991. In early 1992 an imminent threat to Pakistani nuclear facilities lead to the squadron flying missions under a national contingency plan named Thunderbolt from 19 February 1992. After nuclear tests by India in May 1998, the squadron was deployed on 24 May 1998 to its wartime location at a satellite base to perform day/night Air Defence Alert (ADA) duties until 28 May 1998 when the Pakistani nuclear tests were completed.

No. 11 Squadron
Arrows
Role Operational Aircraft Notes
Fighter Interceptor 1951—1956 Supermarine Attacker
Type 538 Attacker		 A land-based variant of the naval Attacker, powered by RR Nene 4, 36 built for the PAF, first delivered in 1953.[4]
Fighter Bomber 1956—1966 F-86 Sabre
F-86F
Air Superiority 1966—1983 Shenyang F-6
F-6A
Multi-role
Operational Conversion Unit		 1983—Present F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16A/B Block 15		 The PAF's first F-16 squadron.

Exercises

National

International

References

  1. ↑ "F-16 Units - PAF 11th squadron". F-16.net. 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  2. ↑ "F-16 Units - PAF 11th squadron". F-16.net. 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  3. ↑ "F-16 vs. SU-25". Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  4. ↑ Bingham, Victor. Supermarine Fighter Aircraft. Ramsbury, UK: The Crowood Press, 2004. ISBN 1-86126-649-9.
  5. ↑ "Al-Saqoor II" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2012.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 17, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.