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Are you looking for them only in India or are you willing to import them?
In case of the latter you can try Aviation megastore in Amsterdam, they have a vast collection of all kinds of things related to aviation both civil and military. Check out their website. They are very professional, prompt & reliable.

I do not know what custom import duty you will have to pay for pre built models, for the stuff I get its 77%.
There are many avid 1:144 & 1:200 scale collectors here they should be able to give some more information.

If you are looking for Indian websites, try DBJETS.
Almost 90% of the models in my collection were bought from him and he is very reliable. He is also the authorized Indian retailer for many diecast brands.

I don't mind buying them off ebay as well since many of my 1:64 collection is from ebay and Desertcart. Shall try the aviation megastore website well. Thank you so much for the pointer

Yess! I went through the earlier posts using the search option and ended up contacting DB jets. As you mentioned hes very responsive, has a huge collection and yes seems reliable as well! Have placed an order with DB jets and a few from eBay as well.

Shall share my feedback/updates after i receive the parcels! Thanks again for all the recommendations :Cheering: :)

I suspect the Pakistani Pattons getting trumped by Indian T-55s and Centurions had a lot to do with tactics and the fact that the M47s were armed with the smaller 90mm versus the 100mm of the T-55 and 105mm of the Centurion. The difference between these is significant for an engagement. While my figures are indicative a typical 90mm tank shell projectile would be ~11 kgs while that of a 105mm would be ~16 kgs and often faster ie carrying ~40% more kinetic energy. naval shells would normally be bigger for the same calibre.

Thank you Sandesh for, as always, penning down these detailed notes on the aircraft and the squadron concerned for all of us to enjoy and learn. I learnt of the 'G' model of the CH-47 only today after reading your post! The value of this thread I must say. The CH-47 is one of those, of several, outstanding examples of American aeronautical design excellence that lend themselves to constant improvement, upgradation and simply last on and on and on. I wonder why, other than budget restraints have we acquired so few CH-47s...I believe 15 only.

Note to self - next year I must take photography lessons from Sandesh :-)

Please do share pics of your models once you get them.

Thank you Sir.

I believe the CH-47s were meant to be a direct replacement for the three remaining (and grounded) Mi-26s of No. 126 HF(Helicopter Flight) "Featherwights". After the induction of the 15 CH-47Fs , they became an HU(Helicopter Unit).
There were rumours floating around about getting the grounded Mi-26s airworthy again with Russian support. The war in Ukraine probably means it will only remain a rumour.

1:200 Boeing 737-800 Jet Airways (no reg)


This is a very old plastic snapfit model that I had been on the lookout for a long time- a Jet Airways 737 in their old livery with the orange "Flying Sun" logo on the tail fin.

The model brings back to a lot of memories of what used to be a fantastic and a much loved airline. They had such lovely, polite and well behaved crew, unlike the snotty ones that one gets to see on India's current largest airline now!

Jet's aircraft always felt well kept. The standards, I felt it dropped a little with the infusion of the Jetlite/Jetkonnect brand(especially on the ex-Air Sahara aircraft). They had many well planned and convenient connections from smaller airports to bigger airports and then for onward flights.

History
Jet Airways was granted a scheduled airline status in January 1995. In 1996, the airline placed an order for four 737-400 and six 737-800 aircraft from Boeing, which were delivered between 1997 and 2000. Jet Airways was the first airline in Southeast Asia to order the 737-800. VT-JNA was the first 737-800 delivered by Boeing to Jet Airways.

The fleet and route expansion continued and they went on to become India's largest airline. In 2007, Jet Airways bought out Air Sahara rebranded it as Jetlite - Jet Airways low cost airline arm (around the same time period AIr deccan was acquired by Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines and rebranded as Simplifly Deccan - later Kingfisher Red). Jetlite was rebranded as Jetkonnect in 2012.

On 17 April 2019, Jet Airways ceased operations. The last flight operated by them was Jetkonnect Flight no. S2-3502 from Amritsar to Mumbai.


Like many of their loyal customers, it was heartbreaking for me to see the airline shut down in 2019. There was brief glimmer of hope that the airline would restart with the airline's new owners, but that hope got extinguished too.

Jet Airways was the only private airline founded in the 90s that survived for so long (after Private airlines were given permission to operate charter and non-scheduled services under the ‘Air Taxi’ Scheme in the early 90s). East West Airlines, ModiLuft, Damania Airways, NEPC Airlines, Gujarat Airways were among the few private airlines that started just before Jet Airways but none of them survived for as long as Jet Airways did.

RIP 9W. You shall forever be missed:unhappy.























VT-JNA - 9W's first 737-800

9W 737 Liveries
737 MAX 8 in the new livery and 737-800 in the old livery

1:72 McDonnell Douglas(Boeing) F-15I Ra'am Israeli Air Force No. 69 "Hammers" Sqn, #227, Hatzerim AB, Israel, 2010 (JC Wings)
The F-15I is a variant of the twin seat F-15E Strike Eagle operated by the Israeli Air Force where it is known as the Ra'am ("Thunder of God" in Hebrew).The Ra'am is a special version of the F-15E Strike Eagle that was designed specifically for Israel by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing). Its tremendous payload capacity, combined with its advanced systems, enable it to carry out depth attacks with a large weapons load, at long ranges, at low altitude, in all hours of the day and night and in any weather conditions. Like the F-15E, it is a tandem seater, with the pilot concentrating on flying the plane and releasing weapons, while the WSO controls the guided munitions from the moment of release until they hit the target.

The F-15I features different avionic systems to USAF F-15E to meet Israeli requirements. The F-15I also have some modifications specified by the IDFAF such as some electronics that were designed and installed.

The Israeli Air Force had 24 F-15Is delivered to No. 69 "The Hammer" Squadron between January 1998 and June 1999. No. 69 Squadron is based at Hatzerim AB. The F-15Is have Sharpshooter targeting pods and LANTIRN pods for night vision. In 2016 upgrades for the F-15I structure and electronics were approved.

After the Gulf War in 1991, in which Israeli towns and cities were attacked by SCUD missiles fired by Iraq, the Israeli government decided a long range strike aircraft was needed, issuing a Request for Information (RFI). In response, Lockheed Martin offered a version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, while McDonnell Douglas offered both the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-15E. On 27 January 1994, the Israeli government announced their intention to buy 21 modified F-15Es, designated F-15I. On 12 May 1994, the US Government authorized the purchase of up to 25 F-15Is by Israel. In November 1995, Israel ordered four extra F-15Is; 25 were built from 1996 to 1998. Some of the air-to-air missiles aircraft can carry: the AIM-9L, Rafael Python 4 and the Rafael Python 5 infrared-homing missiles; and the AIM-7 Sparrow and the AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missiles. In 1999, Israel announced its intention to procure more fighters and that a possible contender was the F-15I. However, the contract went to Lockheed Martin for the F-16I.

From 1998 onwards, the IAF began to receive their F-15Is with the intent to have them operationally ready by late 1998 but because of rising tension in the Persian Gulf. The first F-15I was ready by June 1998, well ahead of original plans. In 1999 three Israeli pilots took part in Red Flag at Nellis AFB using aircraft supplied directly from McDonnell Douglas and carried USAF serials. When the operation was over the aircraft were flown back to Israel by the same pilots. Aircraft with Israeli tail number 269 arrived in Israel on May 27, 1999 and assigned to the 69th Squadron "Ha'patishim" (Hammers).

Although operations carried out by Israeli Forces are always kept secret, Israeli F-15Is are known to have participated in Operation Orchard(The successful Israeli strike on a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site referred to as the Al Kibar site in the Deir ez-Zor region of Syria). Israeli F-15I were involved in airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon in the aftermath of the events of October 07, 2023.

Israeli F-15Is dropped dozens of bunker-busting bombs on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, Lebanon on September 27, 2024. It was later revealed that this Israeli airstrike was intended to eliminate Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah - a mission which was successful. Eight F-15I jets were equipped with at least 15 2,000-pound munitions with an American-made precision guidance system that attaches to bombs.

Specifications
Crew: 2 (pilot and weapon systems officer)
Primary Role :Tandem seat attack plane
Length: 63 ft 9.6 in (19.446 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 9.6 in (13.045 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Wing area: 608 sq ft (56.5 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 64A006.6; tip: NACA 64A203
Empty weight: 37,500 lb (17,010 kg) （Approximate value with CFTs）
Max takeoff weight: 81,000 lb (36,741 kg)
Fuel capacity: 13,750 lb (6,237 kg) internal using JP-5 fuel, 23,650 lb (10,727 kg) with CFTs using JP-5 fuel,[180] 34,162 lb (15,496 kg) with CFTs and 3 600-gallon (2,270 L) external fuel tanks
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 afterburning turbofan, thrust: 17,800 lb dry (79 kN); 29,160 lb (129.7 kN) with afterburner each

Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.5, 1,650 mph (2,655 km/h) at high altitude
Mach 1.2, 800 kn (921 mph; 1,482 km/h) at low altitude
Combat range: 687 nmi (791 mi, 1,272 km) air interdiction
Ferry range: 2,100 nmi (2,400 mi, 3,900 km) with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)
g limits: +9
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (250 m/s) +
Thrust/weight: 0.93

Armament
Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barreled Gatling cannon, 500 rounds of either M-56 or PGU-28 ammunition
Hardpoints: 4 wing pylons, fuselage pylons, bomb racks on CFTs with a capacity of 23,000 lb (10,400 kg) of external fuel and ordnance - Air-to air missiles: Python 3, Python 4, Sidewinder, Sparrow and AMRAAM. Varied air-to-ground missiles and guided bombs.Total carry load capacity: up to 11 tons.

Israeli Teens - F-16C Barak & F-15I Ra'am

Thank you for the effort you've made to preserve a slice of recent Indian aviation history.

After JRD's Air India only Jet Airways brought the quality that matched Air India of old. Their international flights in business class were so good in service that other than Singapore Airlines no other could compare. Paying too much for loss making Sahara Airlines, borrowing to buy that asset {and then struggling to service that debt} DGCAs refusal to permit merger of back end operations of Jet Airways and the newly christened JetLite and of course unscrupulous cash extraction by the owners/founders led to Jet's gradual demise. A classic case of greed overtaking a competent management & ownership. And when the senior management saw the owners raking it in folks down the line started their own little 'dhanda'.

1:72 Lockheed F-104A Starfighter 56-804, No.9 Sqdn Pakistan Air Force "Griffins", 1971
This particular F-104A Tail no. 56-804 ended up in India as a flaming wreckage in the 1971 war.




The F-104 Starfighter was the only cold-war fighter with such trapezoid, symmetrical wings. That's why they called it the 'Zipper' or the 'missile with a man in it'. It was meant to be a high-speed, high-altitude interceptor but was later adopted in the A2G role by many Air Forces - a role it was completely unsuited for.

Designed by Lockheed’s ace engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson to surpass the MiG-15 fighters that had stunned the aeronautical world in Korea, the F-104 Starfighter was something completely different: an inexpensive lightweight fighter with thin seven-foot wings, sharp as the blade of a dagger.

It was the first US jet fighter to fly at twice the speed of sound.

The PAF & the Zipper F-104A
In the 1950s, Pakistan aligned itself with the United States of America under the newly formed SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organization) and the later British sponsored CENTO (Central Treaty Organization) security pacts formed to contain the former Soviet Union. As part of these pacts Pakistan was recipient of a Mutual Assistance Program (MAP) which formed the basis of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) being re-organized on modern lines based on the model of United States Air Force (USAF). Over the late 1950s and till the middle of 1960s, PAF was equipped with American aircraft like the F-86F Sabre, T-33, T-37s, C-130s and B-57s. Under this arrangement Pakistan also allowed United States basing rights for U-2 reconnaissance aircraft missions. In May 1960 it was during one of these missions that a U-2 aircraft piloted by Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union. It was after this incident and subsequent Soviet threats to Pakistan that the US agreed to provide Pakistan with higher performance fighter aircraft. The choice ultimately settled on F-104As after PAF‟s refusal to accept an American offer for F-100 Super Sabre aircraft.

A total of 12 F-104 Starfighter aircraft were transferred to Pakistan, including 10 single seat A and 2 twin seat B models. The model numbers and USAF tail numbers (retained by PAF) are given below.
F-104A : 56-802/803/804/805/807/868/874/875/877/879/773/798( 773 & 798 were attrition replacements delivered ibn 1964 & 1965 respectively)
F-104B : 57-1309/1312

All the aircraft were ex-USAF Air Defence Command and were equipped with the 20 mm M61 Vulcan Gatling gun besides being able to carry AIM-9B Sidewinder air-to-air missiles on wingtips. All aircraft delivered were also equipped with the C2 upward firing ejection seat and higher thrust General Electric J-79-GE-11A engines.
The F-104s clearly surpassed the F-86F Sabres in PAF inventory in terms of performance and represented the cutting edge of aviation technology at that time. Although the Sabre was loved for its beautiful handling and maneuverability, Starfighter's performance remained unmatched till the induction of F-6 and Mirage III aircraft later in the decade.
During the period 1961-65, PAF F-104s training mostly included GCI controlled High and Low level interceptions during day and night, Low Level Navigation/Strikes, ACM/Tail Chase, Zoom Climbs for very high level interceptions and Dissimilar Air Combat Training missions against F-86 aircraft. However PAF‟s night Low Level interception Capability was very limited due to non availability of low level radar coverage.

The PAF lost two F-104As from induction to the start of the September 1965 war(56-802 & 56-803). Both these F-104As were replaced (56-773 &56-798)
That the IAF had nicknamed the Starfighters as “Badmash” (meaning scoundrel)

Sqdn Ldr Devayya's last stand
Full scale hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan on September 06, 1965, with PAF's F-104s tasked for air defence duties.
The first IAF air strikes on PAF bases took place on the morning of September 7, 1965. It was at 05:30 hrs that the first IAF Mystere IVA strike on PAF's Sargodha airbase by No.1 Sqdn IAF "Tigers" was detected when the formation of 6 IAF Mysteres was already pulling-up to attack the airfield. An F-104A flown by Flt Lt Amjad Hussain Khan was vectored by ground control to intercept the raid. Flt Lt Amjad he got behind two Mysteres which were exiting at about 100 ft AGL after completing their attack run. He fired an AIM-9B at one of the Mysteres which hit the ground after leaving the launcher. Closing in he fired at the Mystere with his gun and saw hits on the aircraft. The second Mystere meanwhile broke into the Starfighter forcing Amjad to make a high speed yo-yo and attack again. The Mystere turned into him again forcing another yo-yo with afterburners engaged. The Starfighter climbed to 13-15,000 feet and then dived to make another attack on the Mystere that was being flown by Sqdn Ldr A B Devayya. This time the Mystere pilot did not see the F-104, with the Starfighter diving and closing in at 540 knots and opening canon fire at a range of 3000 ft. What happened next is disputed.
As per the IAF, F-104 overshot the Mystere and was gunned down by the badly damaged Mystere IVA. The Mystere lost control and crashed shortly after.

As per the PAF, Sqdn Ldr Amjad's cannon fire scored many hits on the Mystere and the Mystere exploded when the range was around 1000-1500 ft. Before the Starfighter could pull up to clear the explosion, it flew through the resulting debris. The F-104's controls froze and aircraft stopped responding, going into a left bank. At this point about 75-100 ft AGL (Above Ground Level) Flt Lt Amjad Hussain ejected from the aircraft and landed near a village. The tail no. of this F-104A was 56-877.

One F-104 tail no. 56-868 was lost on September 17, 1965 due to disorientation of the pilot while landing in low visibility (sandstorm) undershooting the runway at Peshawar, aircraft exploded, pilot was thrown clear and slightly hurt.

PAF F-104s shot down 2 Mysteres and 1 Canberra in 1965 war. The 1965 war ended with PAF F-104s flying 254 sorties of which 246 were day and night air defence, 4 escort and 4 counter air.

The PAF lost two Starfighters during the 17 day conflict with India. Unlike the past, these two losses were not replaced by the US given the arms embargo imposed on Pakistan. Therefore No. 9 Squadron was left with only 8 F-104s and 2 F-104Bs after the 1965 War. In addition PAF faced the problem of dwindling spare parts stocks for the aircraft which were also embargoed and had to be sourced from third party sources and black market.

During this period, one F-104A aircraft (tail number 56-805) was written-off in 1967 in a ground accident. Yet another F-104A (56-807) was lost in 1968 in a fatal crash.

The arms embargo on Pakistan started effecting F-104 flying, with the result that the aircraft were practically cocooned starting December 1969. While some flying was managed on a regular basis, squadron pilots did the bulk of their day flying on F-6 aircraft with other squadrons and No.9 Sqdn became a composite squadron with F-104s and Shenyang F-6s. The Starfighter were pulled out of the storage in July 1971 as hostilities with India built-up.

Another important modification was installation of radar homing device on a single F-104A aircraft. This device called SLARD (Short range Low Altitude Radar Detection) and alternately Radar Locator (RALOR) was sourced through an American source and initial trials were carried on a twin engine communication plane. Based on results of such trials it was decided to fit an F-104A aircraft with this equipment. Aircraft tail number 56-875 was modified with this equipment (near the war perhaps due to maintenance related issues the equipment was removed from 56-875 and installed on 56-804). Initial trial fitting on the aircraft made the cockpit very uncomfortable for the pilot and was also considered a safety hazard in case of an ejection. Such issues were resolved during the testing phase which included extensive missions against various PAF radars. The SLARD had two sensors on the right and left of the nose cone. The device had a pick up range of about 7-10 miles at low level. The display in the cockpit would indicate the location of radar about 30 degrees either side from the nose of the aircraft. A vertical line/mark would appear after every 2 to 3 seconds to guide the pilot about exact location of the target radar with reference to the aircraft.

The F-104s also had an infrared (IR) sight however its pick up range was too short to be of any operational use. After the 1965 war, a serious effort was made by PAF engineers to improve its performance. These efforts did succeed in increasing the pick up range from less than half a mile to seven-eight miles against a single jet engine source by cooling the IR cell with liquid Nitrogen. The modified system did give the pilots good pick up ranges but because of ice formation, the system would clog and shut down. It required good 15 minutes for the ice to clear and the system to start functioning again. Unable to find a satisfactory solution to the problem, the effort was finally abandoned.

Yet another major modification was to make the under wing fuel tank station a weapon station capable of carrying Sidewinder missiles. Both the F-104 A and B versions that Pakistan had acquired had four external stores positions, one on each wingtip capable of carrying either an external jettisonable fuel tank or a Sidewinder missile, and one under each wing capable of carrying a jettisonable fuel tank only. Of these external store stations, the wingtip station was much cleaner and far less drag producing than the under wing station. For all operational missions, when Sidewinder missiles were carried, the pilots had either to fly with no external fuel tanks at all or carry them on the under wing station.

Operationally the ability to carry both wingtip tanks and Sidewinder missiles was considered very desirable. It was thought that the underwing stations could be modified to carry Sidewinder missiles. After the 1965 war, efforts were made locally for this modification. PAF‟s technical staff was able to fabricate a set of Sidewinder launcher racks for the under wing station and also completed other necessary modifications like wiring, sighting and emergency jettisoning etc.

Assistance to Royal Jordanian Air Force
In 1968 Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) had inducted F-104 A&B Starfighter Aircraft and a request was made to Pakistan Air Force to convert RJAF pilots on the aircraft along with leading some pilots to Instructor Pilot status. This started PAF‟s association with Jordanian F-104s. As the RJAF Starfighters started arriving at Prince Hassan Air Base (H-5) in USAF cargo airplanes and were being assembled and test flown by test pilots from Lockheed Martin, the PAF pilots deputed to RJAF started the pilot conversion program. Standard Operating Procedures, Flight Orders, Check Lists, Flying Syllabus, Boards and Charts, and all other operational aspects that were required for the establishment of fighter squadron were created and initially 15 pilots were converted.

King Hussain of Jordan, himself a keen aviator was a regular visitor to the F-104 squadron. This association with RJAF turned out to be very useful in later more testing times for PAF.

PAF Starfighter Operations during the 1971 War
As India-Pakistan tensions mounted around mid-1971, a number of pilots with previous F-104 experience were sent to Jordan for regaining currency on the aircraft, while pilots returning recently from Jordan were reposted to PAF‟s No. 9 squadron. In Jordan PAF pilots could also undertake Dissimilar Air Combat Training with Jordanian Hunters (given the significant presence of the type with IAF). When war broke out on 3rd December some of the pilots were still in Jordan and had to rush home.

For the initial pre-emptive strikes the Starfighter pilots were tasked to attack IAF radar stations. The aim was to degrade their performance by damaging or destroying the antennas using the Starfighter's Vulcan cannon, affecting IAF capability to interdict PAF raids on the forward airfields. The initial strikes were planned to be carried on 3rd December close to dusk on Amritsar and Faridkot Radar Stations, using guns only.

The Loss of Amjad Hussain (PAF F-104A 56-804)
Three F-104 missions were mounted to attack and destroy the radar station at Amritsar. fourth mission was planned for with Sqn Ldr Amjad Hussain as leader and young Flt Lt Samad Ali Changezi as his No. 2. Intel had reported the position of this radar at a road going towards Amritsar Airfield. The pilots approached the target from the south and Amjad made a strafing pass. In the first pass Amjad hit an antenna and realized it was a wooden decoy when he saw it splinter. Right at that moment he saw the actual antenna rotating on the right. Wingman Changezi also confirmed the contact on the right. Formation did a turnaround and attacked again, hitting the antenna. This time the radar station was struck successfully and it went off the air for some time. During exit, Amjad‟s F-104A (56-804) was hit by anti-aircraft guns deployed around the radar station. He turned towards Pakistan, hoping to recover when his wingman gave an ejection call, confirming that fire is spreading. Amjad successfully ejected and was taken POW. F-104A 56-804 was specially equipped F-104 with SLARD equipment as mentioned earlier. Amjad Hussain thus became the only pilot in the sub-continent to be shot down twice (in the 65 & 71 wars) losing wo F-104As ( 56-877 & 56-804). Loss of 56-804 was painful for the PAF because it was the only F-104 equipped with special radar equipment. He was shot down by Hav Ramaswamy,of the Indian Army’s 27 AD Regiment.

Sqdn Ldr Amjad Hussain & his F-104A 56-804

On December 10, 1971 PAF F-104A flown by Wg Cdr Arif Iqbal shot down an Indian Navy Alize near Okha.

Jordanian Starfighters in PAF service
On 6th of December the squadron was ordered to move to PAF Base Masroor, Karachi. For the rest of the war the squadron performed day and night Air Defence and Counter Air Operations from this base. It was at PAF Base Masroor that the squadron received nine F-104s provided by the Kingdom of Jordan in support of Pakistan during the 1971 war. These Starfighters were ferried by RJAF pilots (along with some PAF pilots) to Masroor on 13th December from where they operated for the remaining period of the war. The serial numbers of these RJAF Starfighters were as follows: 56-774. 56-775, 56-767, 56-777, 56-799, 56-839, 56-843, 56-845, 56-1789.

The Loss of Wg Cdr Middlecoat(PAF F-104A 56-773)
A formation of two F-104‟s was tasked on 13th December,1971 to strike IAF‟s airfield at Jamnagar. Wg Cdr Mervin L Middlecoat was to lead this mission with Sqn Ldr Tariq Habib as his No.2. The formation ingressed for the strike at low level, with the Starfighters configured with wingtip tanks and two Sidewinders under the wings. Close to the target the formation pulled-up to 2-3000 feet with target offset to their right by 2-3 miles in order to line up for their strafing runs. For some reason Middlecoat who was leading the strike banked to the left while target was on the right. Habib gave him a call to correct this. Repositioning for the strafing run resulted in formation spending another minute or two near the target area. After repositioning when formation was again going in for a strafing run, Middlecoat gave Habib a call saying that a missile has been fired at him. Habib cleared his six but did not see anything. Moments later while exiting and over the Gulf of Kutch, Habib got a call from Middlecoat saying that he has been hit and is ejecting. Habib inquired if he could make it to overland but he replied in the negative. Habib saw Middlecoat ejecting and the Starfighter going into the water while inverted. At that moment Habib noticed a MiG-21 to his right. As he pulled up to convert behind the MiG-21 his auto-pitch control malfunctioned and the aircraft nose started oscillating. After disengaging the APC Habib safely exited from the area.

Later from various published Indian accounts it transpired that two IAF MiG-21‟s had intercepted the Starfighters while they were lining up for the strafing run. The lead MiG-21 flown by Flt Lt Bharat Bhushan Soni of No. 47 Sqdn "Black Archers" had fired an Atoll missile at Middlecoat‟s F-104 which missed but he was able to close-in for a gun kill with his GP-9 gunpod. Wg Cdr M L Middlecoat was declared MIA and though rescue was mounted by the IAF, his body was never found.


The Loss of Flt Lt Samad Ali Changezi(RJAF F-104A 56-767)
On 17th December, 1971 Sqn Ldr Rashid Bhatti, along with Flt Lt Samad Changezi were instructed to fly a CAP around Mirpur Khas and Chor area.
Both pilots started a CAP in the designated area. Samad was flying the RJAF Starfighter with tail number 56-767 and Bhatti 56-839. After an hour, while both pilots were planning to return to Masroor for landing, they heard a call from Badin Radar Station, informing them of two bandits, flying at 10,000 ft and heading in their direction. The radar controller asked if they would like to engage them, Bhatti replied affirmative. Radar controller started passing on the instructions to establish contact with the bandits.

As Starfighter was approaching near the targets in battle formation, Samad who was on Bhatti’s left established contact with one of the IAF MiG-21s coming from opposite direction. Samad broke off from his lead and tried to manoeuvre behind this MiG-21. Meanwhile Bhatti (lead) also picked up both the MiG-21s and tried to position behind them. Now the situation was such that Samad was behind one MiG-21 trying to close in within gun firing range (about 3500 ft) with the second MiG-21 trying to close in on Samad. At this time Bhatti saw the second MiG-21, while still diving and turning, fire one missile at a very high angle-off at Samad. This missile missed Samad's aircraft. At this moment Bhatti called Samad that one MiG-21 is behind him and has fired a missile which was a miss. Bhatti told Samad to jettison his fuel tanks and go full afterburner (full throttle) and disengage. Since Samad was very excited trying to get within the gun firing range of the MiG-21 he ignored Bhatti or was not very attentive in the heat of the situation. The second MiG-21 fired another missile which was a direct hit and Samad’s Starfighter exploded in the air. The pilot had no time to eject and was killed instantly.

The victorious IAF pilot was Flt Lt Niraj Kukhreja of No.29 Sqdn “Scorpions”


This was the third and final Starfighter loss for the PAF in the 1971 war.

End of the F-104 in PAF service
Despite limited numbers (the Jordanian F-104s were available only in the last part of the war); the Starfighters flew a total of 104 sorties during the war.
The remaining eight Jordanian F-104s supported by a PAF C-130 were flown back to Jordan about twenty days after the war ended. PAF offered Jordan one F-104 in lieu of the single Jordanian Starfighter lost, an offer which was declined by Jordan.

After the 1971 war due to continuous arms embargo and limited numbers due to accumulative attrition it became virtually impossible for Pakistan Air Force to maintain a reasonable in-commission rate on the F-104s. Subsequently it was decided by the PAF to phase it out of service in late 1972. This ended the memorable story of PAF and its love with an engineering marvel, remembered by many as a “missile with a man in it”.
After the phase out, the remaining airframes were preserved at PAF Museum and various air bases as gate guardians. Out of the total 14 F-104s received, six survived 11 years of service and two wars. These six include four A models and two B models.











































The F-16 is to the PAF now what the F-104 was to them in the 1960s.

Beautiful and well detailed model! Also great write up with a detailed history of the F-104 in the 1971 war. I have read more Starfighters were lost but since they were over Pakistani Air Space no conclusive proof of their downing was found and they remained claims (like the PAF F-16 in 2019).

Also the loan of RJAF F-104s allowed the PAF to say they did not lose any of their "own aircraft".

I was always under the impression model manufactures avoided making serial numbers of crashed aircraft.

Very nice narration @skanchan95. And lovely models too.
Interesting to see some Paki aircraft models. It is interesting to read different versions from different players and observers:)

The F16 looks puny next to the F15. I haven't really seen it in this comparitive perspective.

Just wondering - What could be the reason, as per you or any of the knowledgable members, that USAF has transitioned to single engine air craft off late- be it the F16, now F35 and even the next gen contenders of Helicopters are likely to be single engine aircraft?

Indeed, I will ask him for a write up for 2 of my models coming soon...:D

On the aside, Pakistan/PAF got assistance from many ME countries during the 1965 & 1971 wars, Iran had lent them their C-130s to transport troops via Colombo when India stopped overflights of Pakistani air craft before the 1971 war...any other similar incidents know of?

Thank you. Yes, it is difficult to confirm the actual PAF F-104 losses or for that matter, any loss. In fact that there was a claim that the PAF lost a Mirage III in 1971 as well after it was severely damaged by gunfire from an IAF Gnat or Hunter.

This is an interesting read on the fate of one of the RJAF Starfighters that served with the PAF in 1971. Jordanian F-104A 56-767 flown by Flt Lt Samad Ali Changezi was downed by Flt Lt Niraj Kukreja's MiG-21FL on December 17, 1971.


Well, NG models recently made a model of 9M-MRO (The Malaysian Boeing 777 that was lost as Flight MH370)

Thank You.

I think compared to the olden days, the reliability of modern engines have improved a lot. Let's remember, one of reasons why combat aircraft were preferred with two engines was safety(survivability). In a single-engine fighter, in the event of engine failure, chances for the pilot to make a safe landing at an airfield are less. The twin-engine combat aircraft, on the other hand, has a high degree of redundancy and hence in the event of failure of one engine, the pilot can continue to fly and land at the nearest airfield.

A single engine fighter is of lower weight and though this means having less fuel capacity than bigger twin engined fighters, the combat radius of a single-engine fighter aircraft can be increased through mid-Air Refuelling. From a maintenance PoV and operating costs, the twin-engine platform is much more expensive because of the second engine, its larger size and greater number of weapon stations.

However, a twin engined fighter has a significantly higher weapon load capacity with the capability of carrying a wider variety of weapons and can undertake missions over much longer ranges giving it a much larger combat radius. Compared to other fighters of the similar specifications and role, a a Twin engined fighter is faster than a single engined fighter. Twin engined interceptors like the MiG-25, F-14 and F-15 were developed to fly fast and high - to reach high altitudes quickly to shoot down bombers.

Nevertheless, it will not be easy for single-engine platforms to inspire the same level of confidence with respect to safety that a twin-engined fighter can provide.

The helicopter single and twin-engine machine debate is again centered on safety as well. But, in the case of engine failure on a single-engine helicopter, the pilot can switch to autorotation mode and can still make a successful landing as the helicopter requires only a small open space to do so.

As in the case of fixed-wing platforms, the twin-engine helicopter provides better performance in terms of speed, range and payload capability. Needless to say, that compared to a single-engine helicopter, a twin-engine helicopter provides higher level of safety and survivability in the event of failure of one engine especially at night( where the helicopter can continue to fly - an autorotation landing in a single engined helicopter at night is difficult for obvious reasons).

However, in the event of a tail rotor failure, the twin-engine feature is practically of of no use as the pilot will be compelled to shut down both the engines to cope with the emergency as the helicopter starts spinning wildly earthwards.

So, I suppose the switch to single engine has a lot to do with reliability of modern engines & saving maintenance downtime and costs.

Yes, the PAF lot of assistance secretly from Iran. The US looked the other way when Ex-Luftwaffe Canadair built F-86E Sabre Mk.6s shipped to Iran were clandestinely transferred to Pakistan. The lone Sabre squadron in then East Pakistan was Sabre Mk.6 squadron and these Sabres made up for the F-86F losses that the PAF suffered in 1965 by being deployed in West Pakistan based squadrons too.

There were also rumours that three F-5As meant for Libya were flying for Pakistan in 1971 war.

It was either the 1965 or 1971 war, that the Indonesians were willing to send their MiG-17s, MiG-19s and pilots to Pakistan to fight for Pakistan against India. This was primarily because of the animosity that Indonesia had towards India as they wanted the Indian Ocean to be renamed as Indonesian Ocean and their claim over the A& N islands --all this despite the fact that India and Indonesia had worked together for the Non-Aligned Movement:mad:!!!


IAF MiG-21FL v/s PAF F-104
The much anticipated "supersonic" air battle between the MiG-21 and the F-104 did not happen in 1965 but was fought ferociously by these two jets in the 1971 war. The IAF's MiG-21FLs had clearly "won" the much anticipated air battle between the MiG-21FL and the F-104A, downing between 2 to 4 PAF F-104As in air battles between the MiG-21 and the F-104 (two were confirmed because the wreckage of the two downed F-104s were found in India while the others were probable), while one F-104 was downed by ground based Anti-airctraft fire. DUring the 1971 war, an IAF MiG-21 also shot down a PAF F-6 in air combat.

Both the MiG-21 and F-104 were designed to be high altitude missile armed interceptors and not the low to medium altitude dogfighters that both India & Pakistan used them in.They were both designed to intercept and shoot down high flying bombers using missiles. The F-104s and MiG-21s had the guns removed as it was thought the era of close-in dogfight was over. The Pakistanis insisted on having a gun installed on their F-104As. India's first MiG-21 variant (Type 74 MiG-21F-13 had a single cannon) while the later variants (Type 76 MiG-21 PF and Type 77 MiG-21FL) did not have them. The centerline GP-9 Gunpod on the Type 77 MiG-21FL was fitted as an afterthought and it wasn't fully operational in the 1971 war. It was so underprepared that the IAF had to use the Gnat's gunsight on the MiG-21 to aim at a target while using the GP-9 Gunpod.


The F-104 had small, but razor sharp trapezoidal wings, while the MiG-21 had a delta wing. The F-104 was faster and had a better acceleration , but the MiG-21 had a better sustained turn rate. So, the MiG-21 was a better dogfighter than the F-104 which in comparison turned like a brick!

It is believed that because of the performance of India's MiG-21FLs in battle in both the Air to Air and Air to Ground role, that several Arab nations, including Iraq, approached India for MiG-21 pilot training (after the thrashing that Arab Air Forces received at the hands of the Israeli Air Force in the 1967 & 1973 wars). By the early 1970s, more than 120 Iraqi pilots were being trained by the Indian Air Force and Indian Air Force instructors were posted in Iraq. A few were even there during the long Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. And it was this reason why Iraq under Saddam Hussein was fiercely pro-India over the Kashmir issue(to some extent, Syria's Bashar Al-Assad and his father were too).

*The MiG-21FL was built by bhpian basuroy. C750 was the mount of FLt B B Soni when he downed the PAF F-104A over the Arabian Sea near Jamnagar in 1971.