[skanchan95]

1:72 Hawker Hunter F.Mk.56 No.7 Sqdn Indian Air Force "Battle Axes", Tail No. BA245, AFS Halwara, 1965

A superb model by the super talented Basundhar Roy - a Hawker Hunter that had a Sabre kill to it's credit in the 1965 Indo-Pak War. The amount of detailing and accuracy on this very historic model by bhpian basuroy is outstanding.

Hawker Hunter F.Mk.56 Tail No. BA245 was being flown by Fg Offr P S Pingale of No.7 Squadron IAF on September 16, 1965 when he shot down a PAF F-86 flown by Fg Offr M I Shaukat of No.11 Sqdn PAF.


Then Flying Officer Prakash Sadashivrao Pingale, No.7 Sqdn IAF, was awarded the Vir Chakra for his Sabre kill.

The British designed and built Hawker Hunter, as many would agree, is one of the most graceful fighter designs ever to grace the skies. The Hunter traces it origin to the Hawker Sea Hawk(which was operated by the Indian Navy).

The Hunter was one of the UK's first operational swept-wing fighters. After a somewhat difficult coming-of-age, the Hunter became an outstanding success, both in British service and in the air forces of nations around the globe. Initial Hunter variants suffered from issues like small internal fuel capacity , giving it minimal endurance, there were issues with engine surging, pitch control problems, at high altitudes firing the cannons also tended to cause engine surges and flameouts.

On the plus side, the Hunter's performance was excellent. It handled beautifully, and it was very rugged. RAF Pilots had few doubts that once the bugs were worked out with the Hunter, they would have a superb machine on their hands, all the more so because it simply looked right -- it was a classic example of British aircraft design philosophy, all smooth curves and pleasing lines. Besides, the only alternative the RAF had at the time was the Supermarine Swift fighter, which was proving to be a real problem child.

The Hunter was put into RAF service very quickly, with fixes for the glaring issues faced in the initial Hunter variants getting added as they became available. From the Hunter F.4 variants onwards, a new wing was designed that featured fuel bags built into the leading edge. This substantially increased the Hunter's internal fuel capacity. The new wing also featured a stores pylon outboard of the main landing gear under each wing to carry a 454-liter (100 Imperial gallon / 120 US gallon) external fuel tank.

The engine surge problem was to be partly addressed with the much improved Rolls Royce Avon 200 engine. However, The more powerful engine led to pitch-up problems, and so the area of the outer wings was increased, resulting in the introduction of a distinctive leading-edge "dogtooth". The new wing, known as the "Mod 228" wing, could be fitted with an outer "wet" stores pylon on each wing to allow the F.6 to carry a total of four external tanks - resulting in the Hunter F.6 variant. The dogtooth leading edge helped in improving the Hunter's lift and improve resistance to stalls.

Although the F.6's internal fuel tankage was rearranged to provide a total internal capacity of 1,770 liters (390 Imperial gallons / 467 US gallons), 6% less than that of the F.4, the ability to carry four drop tanks provided substantially greater range. In 1958, one F.6 flew from the UK to Libya nonstop, a distance of 2,556 kilometers (1,588 miles).

Blast deflectors were later added to the Aden cannon muzzle troughs to reduce high-altitude pitch-up problems caused by cannon recoil, and late-production F.6s also featured an "all-moving tailplane", in which the entire tailplane pivoted to provide better transonic flight control. The elevator was retained as part of the all-moving tailplane.

Hunters of the IAF
A delegation from India visited Hawker in the UK in 1956 to consider purchase of either the Hunter F.4 or the F.6. Not surprisingly they chose the F.6, ordering 182 in 1957, including 160 "F.56s" , which were F.6s with cannon muzzle blast deflectors and brake chutes, and 22 "T.66" trainers.

The first 16 F.56s were actually ex-RAF Hunter F.6s obtained directly from RAF stocks, which were modified to F.56 standard before delivery to India. The remaining F.56s were new builds delivered by Hawker. Initial delivery of the F.56 to India was on 11 October 1957, with the type going into squadron service at the end of the year. No. 17 Squadron "Golden Arrows" was the first IAF squadron to operate the Hunter. By the end of 1961 Indian Air Force (IAF) Hunters were up to strength, equipping seven squadrons. They were painted in standard RAF green / dark gray / light gray colors.

India was the first to get on the more powerful T.66 trainer variant( even before the RAF), ordering their first batches of "T.66" trainers in 1957. THe IAF's Hunter trainers came with the Avon 200 engine(The RAF's T.7 * T.8 trainers were fitted with older and less powerful Avon 100 engines) . The more powerful engine permitted greater take-off weights, and most or all T.66 trainers were fitted with twin Aden cannon of the Hunter F.6 instead of the single cannon of the T.7 / T.8.

IAF Hunters are believed to have participated in "Operation Vijay(Victory)" - Liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961.

IAF Hunters saw their first major combat service during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965.

No.7 Sqdn in the 1965 War
At the onset of the war, No.7 squadron was based at Halwara AFS in Punjab. Already on a high alert, the unit flew its first offensive sorties on the morning of 6 September, against targets of opportunity. Through the day, the unit would fly twelve missions supporting the Indian Army over the International Border. The first fatality suffered was on the evening of the 6th, when a four ship formation was intercepted by PAF Sabres over Taran Taran. In the ensuing battle, Sqn Sqn Ldr Ajit Kumar "Peter" Rawlley's Hunter hit the ground and exploded.

On the same evening, Halwara Airfield was raided by a three ship formation of F-86s from PAF's No. 5 Sqn. At the time of the raid, No. 7 had two aircraft, Fg Offr Prakash Sadashivrao "Pingo" Pingale(Later Air Marshal) and Fg Offr Adi Rustomji Ghandhi(Later Air Marshal), flying on CAP over the airfield. Both were bounced by the Sabres. In the battle that followed, Pingale was shot down by an F-86 flown by Sqdn Ldr Sarfaraz Rafiqui before he could give battle. Ghandhi, however, was able to shoot down his adversary(Sqdn Ldr Sarfaraz Rafiqui) before his aircraft fell to the cannon shells of the two remaining Sabres. At about this time, Hunters from No. 27 Sqn returning from a sortie were directed to join the battle, which shot down one of the attackers. The remaining sabre, was claimed that it made itself back to base by the PAF, was also shot down (F-86 flown by Flt Lt Yunus Hussein was shot down by a Hunter flow by Flt Lt Vinod Kumar Neb of No. 27 Sqdn).

The No. 7 squadron was to suffer two more fatalities the next day, when on a dawn strike against PAF Sargodha, a five-ship formation was intercepted. Two of the Hunters from unit, flown by Sqn Ldr Sureshchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat and Fg Offr Jagdev Singh "Li'l Ben" Brar, were lost on that day(both falling to the F-86 flown by Sqdn Ldr M M Alam). Both of them were flying as escorts to their squadron mates on strike mission. They peeled off from the formation to engage the pursuing enemy F-86s.

Hunters from No. 7 Sqn, however, provided ground support for Indian Army troops through the war, repeatedly hitting ground targets in support of the army offensives. It hit an ammunition train at Kasur on 8 September, and ground targets in the Lahore area the next day. In a number of these missions, Hunters from different units flew together. On the night of 14 September, B-57 raid at Halwara destroyed two of the squadron's Hunters on the ground.

No. 7's next and last air-to-air kill was on 16 September, when Fg Offr PS Pingale shot down a F-86 Sabre over Tarn Tarn. His wingman Fg Offr Farokh Dara "Bunny" Bunsha from No. 20 Sqn was shot down by an F-86 flown by Sqdn Ldr M M Alam of No. 11 Sqdn PAF and killed. Fg Offr P S Pingale's F-86 kill has been described in great detail in PVS Jagan Mohan's brilliantly researched book on the 1965 Air War - "India Pakistan Air War of 1965" and in the article below:

The Battle Axe who became a Sabre Slayer

Then Flying Officer P S Pingale, who had to eject after being shot down on September 6th,1965, took to the air ten days later and extracted his pound of flesh – by shooting down a PAF F-86 Sabre. During this short but fierce encounter, Pingale also went head to head in air combat with the Pakistani ace M M Alam. This account is excerpted from the book – The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 by P V S Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra (Manohar Publishers 1965)

On September 16th, No.7 Squadron went into action against the Sabres on the Amritsar front. Hunters from Halwara had not seen air combat since the evening of September 6th but that was soon to change.

Late in the afternoon at Halwara, Fg Offr Prakash Sadhashivrao ‘Pingo’ Pingale of 7 Squadron was on ORP duty along with Fg Offr Farokh Dara ‘Bunny’ Bunsha. Pingale had returned from a medical checkup in Delhi a couple of days earlier – necessitated by his ejection over Halwara on September 6th. He had since flown a couple of interdiction strikes across the border. Bunsha, originally from 20 Squadron, had been deputed to 7 Squadron for the war. Suddenly the scramble order was given and both pilots took off in their Hunters. Once airborne, the fighter controller Fg Offr RC Mahadik gave Pingale an initial vector in a northwesterly direction towards Jullundhur. They were flying at 20,000 feet altitude at high speed – nearly 0.9 Mach – with eyes preened to spot intruding aircraft.

The intruders were two Sabres led by Sqn Ldr MM Alam with Fg Offr MI Shaukat – a young pilot with 80 hours on the Sabre – as his wingman. The Sabres were on a baiting mission and were warned about the approaching Hunters by PAF GCI at Sakesar. Alam was looking to enhance his score; an eager Shaukat was set to support him.

The Indian pilots were flying the ‘loose deuce’ or ‘fighting’ formation, with Pingo leading the formation and Bunsha following to his left about 200 yards to the rear. The ‘loose deuce’ was a well-established battle formation for air combat – the US Navy would put it to particularly effective use over the skies of North Vietnam. It was easy to maintain and track: Bunsha could not only cover Pingale’s rear but also watch out for any threats from his rear.

Combat!
Pingale spotted a single aircraft going in the opposite direction at a lower altitude. The aircraft looked like a Mystere. As it flew on almost directly beneath them, Pingale recognized the green and white PAF roundels on the aircraft. It was Alam’s Sabre. Pingale called Bunsha on the R/T to announce an attack. Both Hunters peeled off and turned around in a dive. With the Hunters in a turn, the Sabre leisurely put in a turn from its southeastern direction to south. As both the Hunter pilots approached the Sabre from the rear, the Sabre was still flying straight, maintaining constant altitude and speed and not doing any evasive maneuvering. A puzzled Pingale rapidly closed in with his Hunter.

As he did so, he instinctively looked to his right and saw at approximately 4 o’clock another Sabre – flown by Shaukat Ali – at 800 yards and rapidly closing in, ready to fire. Pingale decided to take on the Sabre coming in behind, as it would be easier for him to engage rather than Bunsha who was much closer to it. Bunsha was in a better position to continue the attack on the Sabre ahead. Pingale called out on the R/T to Bunsha “Bunny, go after the bogey ahead; I’ll tackle this bogey coming from the rear”. Bunsha replied ‘Roger’ and went after Alam’s Sabre.

As Pingale put in a steep turn to fly head on to Ali’s Sabre, both passed each other at a distance. Pingale reversed into another turn and before Ali could try and turn Pingo was behind him. Shaukat frantically pulled up the Sabre into the sun, hoping that he would lose the Hunter due to the glare, but Pingo was ready:

“We had practiced this many times earlier. You can’t go forever into the sun because you don’t have the energy. The speed will decay and you will fall off, so I had to just wait and keep looking at the sun, hoping to see him when he comes out of somewhere, either to the left or to the right of the sun.”

Sure enough, as its speed bled off the Sabre fell. Pingo saw the Sabre coming out of the sun from the right and immediately increased power. Even as the Hunter’s powerful Rolls Royce engines kicked in, the Sabre continued to fall; Ali jettisoned his drop tanks and snapped the aircraft into a slow turn, expecting Pingale to overshoot. Pingo could see the Sabre’s leading edge slats open and knew the aircraft was going to turn tightly. As the Sabre’s speed bled off, Ali probably panicked in anticipation of stalling. He once again straightened out and pulled up: a common mistake in aircombat made by pilots not comfortable with pushing their aircraft to its limits. It was a crucial error for it allowed Pingale to stay behind the Sabre.

Pingale’s first burst at the Sabre had been a wildly aimed shot: the pipper was not properly placed on the Sabre and there was no damage to the aircraft. But now, Pingale had closed in to around 250-300 yards – his training took over as he prepared for the second burst and set the correct parameters for the radar ranging gunsight. He maneuvered the Hunter to get the pipper positioned just ahead and above the Sabre’s cockpit. A single burst from his Aden gunpack would have placed a deadly salvo of 30 mm cannon shells right into the cockpit, but Pingo hesitated, thinking, “Saala mar jayega- rahne do” (the poor bugger’s going to die – let him be) . He eased back on his joystick so that the pipper moved from the Sabre’s cockpit to the center of the fuselage and pressed the gun button at 300 yards.

It was a short burst. No more than a quarter second long – but it was enough. The Sabre exploded in a massive ball of flame. The exploding debris was so close to the Hunter that Pingale would have flown through it but for the fact that Pingale was already putting his Hunter in a turn – heading for Alam.







In the meantime, Bunsha was chasing Alam who started jockeying his Sabre in turns. Pingale – who was chasing Ali – had kept an eye on Bunsha and his target. Seeing the Sabre start to maneuver, he called out a warning to Bunsha, which was acknowledged. The chase transformed into a horizontal scissors fight with both the Sabre and Hunter cutting speed and turning inside into each other in an effort to get behind each other. This was a particularly dangerous maneuver with which to fight a Sabre whilst one was flying a Hunter – especially if not supplemented by vertical breakouts by the Hunter. Pingale once again called out, “Bunny be careful, you’re losing your advantage, he’s getting behind you’. Bunsha again acknowledged.

But the fight was uneven. Man-to-man – Alam had more experience on the Sabre with nearly 1300 hours flying it. He knew the Sabre’s quirks inside out; Bunsha one of the junior most pilots of No.20 Squadron, had less than two years of service and about 250 hours on the Hunter. Alam cut inside Bunsha’s turn and was able to take a good shot at the Hunter. As Pingale was about to deliver the coup-de-grace to Ali, he noticed Bunsha’s predicament. After firing at Ali, Pingale instantly put his Hunter in a turn towards Alam.

But it was too late. Pingo noticed Bunsha’s Hunter in a very gentle turn; it seemed to have been damaged by gunfire, and Bunsha did not appear to be engaging in combat any longer. Alam, on Bunsha’s tail, continued firing. As he closed in, Alam gave up firing at Bunsha’s Hunter and turned his aircraft straight towards Pingale. Probably Alam was responding to a call of help from Ali.

Head to Head
As both the Hunter and Sabre closed in rapidly head on, Pingale noticed the gunports of the Sabre twinkling with fire – Alam had opened fire head-on in a feeble attempt to hit him. Pingale held his fire – it was poor judgment to open fire in a head-on course, the chances of hitting your adversary were slim and besides, Pingo wanted to conserve his ammunition. The lessons from a course in armament training at ATW, Jamnagar – completed a month ago – were still fresh in his mind.

The Hunter and the Sabre crossed over at high speed. Pingale immediately reversed course, hauling the Hunter almost on its wingtip, half expecting to find the Sabre doing the same and coming back to him. But he was in for a surprise: after turning back, he could see the Sabre flying away at a high speed away from the fight. Obviously Alam had given up on the fight and was heading for home. An indignant Pingale recollects his feelings at the moment:

“My impression was that this Alam fellow tried to get out of the fight. You know when you are young and you are in a fight and all gung ho, you want the other fellow to put up a fight, you don’t want him to run away from you at the slightest hint of trouble. That is where the mettle of a fighter pilot comes in. It is like playing chicken, you are going head to head on with some fellow on a road, which is narrow. You will wait for the other guy to give way first. It all depends on to who hangs onto longer, but surely when you cross each other, then you expect both to turn around and face each other again. I found out that when I turned around, this fellow (Alam) just had not turned around and lot of distance was put in between us. So he ran away from the fight. I still recollect my thoughts at that moment, ‘This is not right; look at this fellow he’s gone away!”

Pingale started chasing the Sabre. Alam then put the Sabre into a near vertical dive to get out of range of the Hunter. The maneuver worked. Pingale put the Hunter on the Sabre’s tail, but almost blacked out trying to pull out of the dive. The Hunter clocked almost 9 to 10 G during the pullout. Pingale was already suffering from pain from the back injury sustained by the ejection over Halwara on September 6th. As he eased the pullout, he got his vision back. But there was no sign of the Sabre. Alam had made good his escape. The fighter controller also lost contact with the Sabre at low level.

Pingale flew back to base – satisfied at shooting down Ali – but sad at losing his wingman. He had not seen Bunsha after the last gentle turn he was putting in. He hoped that Bunsha had ejected and was safe, but it was not to be. Bunsha’s Hunter was later found, completely wrecked. Bunsha had not ejected. Surprisingly, even though Pingale saw his target explode in front of him, Ali had ejected in time near Tarn Tarn, unaware that a fellow pilot’s benevolence had saved his life. As he was descending in his parachute he came under fire from troops and villagers on the ground . Ali suffered a .303 bullet wound and some shotgun pellet injuries. Shaukat was handed over to the troops of the 4th Division and moved to a field hospital, where an Indian Army surgeon removed the bullets and pellets from his body. Shaukat spent the rest of the war in an Indian POW camp. It had been a classic air-battle. The inexperience of the Indian and Pakistani wingmen had been their undoing: both had failed to exploit the particular strength of their aircraft.

Pingo’s second adversary, Alam, flew back to base after which an unrelated version of the aircombat emerged from the Pakistani side: Alam claimed that Shaukat and himself were bounced by two Hunters attacking in a yo-yo maneuver, following which Alam not only shot down one Hunter with guns, but the second Hunter as well with a Sidewinder after an intense dogfight in which the Hunter tried to ‘run away from the fight’. Alam received credit for ‘downing’ two Hunters in this fight, taking his total tally to ‘nine kills’.

Pingale doesn’t agree with Alam’s description of the fight:

No missiles were fired — first he opened up with guns and when we crossed over and I turned, he was already flying straight and away trying to get out of the fight.

Back at the base, Pingale’s gun camera footage came out perfectly. He had used just half a second worth of ammunition in both his bursts. The first burst was a quarter second long. The subsequent burst, which was more devastating, was another half a second. Pingale received the Vir Chakra for downing Shaukat Ali’s Sabre. It was poetic justice for Pingale. After his early exit from combat with Rafique’s Sabre over Halwara on September 6th, he had extracted his pound of flesh from the PAF.

While Fg Offr Farokh Bunsha was shot down in air combat and lost his life on 16th September, Fg Offr Shaukat Ali of the PAF was shot down and taken POW – He would later join the Bangladesh Air Force after the 1971 war and then visit India again as a guest for a Staff Course!

No.7 Sqdn lost another Hunter on 20 September, when Fg Offr SK Sharma ejected from his badly damaged Hunter was over Kasur on 20 September( he had sustained hits from a F-86 flown by Sqdn Ldr Sharbat Ali Changezi of No. 26 Sqdn PAF). The unit however, lost Sqn Ldr Deba Prasad Chatterjee, who had joined 7 Sqn on deputation from 20 Sqn was killed in the same battle, having being shot down by an F-86 flown by Flight Lieutenant S N A Jilani of No. 26 Sqdn PAF).

Although the squadron's figures at the war are not impressive compared to what it would go on to achieve in six years, it remains true that it was seriously limited in its deep penetration strikes, operating ammunition-laden Hunters at maximum range in IAF's strike against bases as deep as PAF Sargodha. However, No. 7 squadron- along with the other squadrons operating the Hunter- proved to be invaluable in ground-attack roles. In total, the Battleaxes flew 453 sorties (including 109 CAP) amounting to nearly 333 Hours, expending 218 rockets and 13000 lbs of bombs. In the course of the war, the squadron flew a total of 128 strike missions and 46 Combat Air Patrol sorties. Three pilots were killed along with another two on deputation from 20 Sqn. The squadron lost Ten Hunters in the course of the war. For their contribution, No. 7 was awarded 4 VrCs (Sqdn Ldrs Sube Singh Malik & Ajit Singh Lamba, Flying Officers PS Pingale and AR Ghandhi) and five mentioned in dispatches. For its impressive record in the air as well as on ground, the squadron received commendations from the Prime Minister L B Shastri, the Defence Minister Shri YB Chavan and Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh. After the war No. 7 would move to Hindon AB in November 1965 and also took on the role of Operational Conversion Unit with the addition of a Hunter Trainer Flight. However, the unit was moved again in March 1969, this time to Bagdogra.

The IAF obtained additional batches of refurbished Hunters after the 1965 war. Single-seaters were obtained in the form of "FGA.56As", which were basically FGA.9s, with 36 ordered in 1965, 11 in 1967, and 6 in 1968. Two more batches of two-seaters were ordered as well, including 12 "T.66Ds" in 1968 and 5 "T.66Es" in 1973. An unknown number of IAF Hunters were locally upgraded to FR.10 specification, with the camera nose.

Hunters flew combat operations again in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war that resulted in the creation of the state of Bangladesh. The Hunters performed close-support sorties and a number were lost.

No. 7 is probably the only unit to have flown both in the Eastern and Western theaters during the 1971 war. Based at Baghodra at the start of the war, Operations began immediately following preemptive PAF strikes on the western airfields on 3rd December 1971, the first strikes were flown on the morning of 4 December against targets in East Pakistan. Repeated strikes were carried out on airfields in Dacca as well as ground targets. One of these strikes destroyed the bridge over the River Teesta. The first fatalities were suffered when an attack on a train at Lal Munir Hat came up against fierce ack ack. Both of the two badly damaged Hunters eventually lost crossed the IB into friendly airspace. Fg Offr Andre Da Costa's Hunter went out of control and crashed, killing him. The Hunter leader, Sqn Ldr SK Gupta ejected safely over Baghdogra airfield. In total, No. 7 flew 40 sorties in the east before it was pulled out to the western theatre.

No. 7 Squadron flew to Hindon AB on 6 December, 1971 . The next day a flight of eight Hunters deployed at AFS Nal in Rajasthan. The squadron provided close support to the troops, repeatedly hitting Pakistani targets. In one of the first missions against Pakistani tanks in Ganganagar, a Hunter was lost to ground fire. Its pilot was the charismatic Officer Commanding (O.C.) of the squadron, Wing Commander (and later, Air Vice Marshal) Bernard Anthony "Bunny" Coelho. Wing Commander Coelho ejected over No Man's Land and was taken prisoner by Pakistani ground forces before he could be located by Indian troops. He was replaced by Wg Cdr Nirmal Chandra Suri( Later Air Chief Marshal) on 09 Dec. Interdiction sorties were also flown against targets in the Suleimanke Headworks area. One of these missions on 9 December, flown by Flying Officer Diskhit, landed with the fuel gauges reading zero. Towards the end of the war, the squadron moved to Pathankot, where it stayed till the end of the war. The squadron was awarded Three VrCs, and one Vayu sena Medal. Three other pilots were mentioned in dispatches.

IAF Hunter pilots who were shot down in combat by PAF F-86s in the '65 & '71 wars made the mistake of engaging the F-86s in the horizontal plane. The Hunter’s power to weight ratio was such that the pilots were told to get the F-86s in a vertical fight instead of a circular/turning fight, where the F-86 had the advantage. Because of the Hunter’s higher thrust to weight ratio, it could easily out climb and out-maneuver the F-86 in the vertical plane. The F-86 could not match the Hunter’s climb performance and had to drop down to prevent itself from stalling, the Gnat could then reverse and go after the F-86.

Hunters began to be replaced by the MiG-21M/MF in the mid 1970s in the air-combat role (No.7, 17, 37 Sqdns) and by the SEPECAT Jaguar(No.14 & 27 Sqdns) in the late 1970s -- but the Hunter lingered in second-string roles for a long time, flying as advanced trainers and target tugs. No.20 Squadron continued to operate the Hunter till 1990.

The Hunter was used by the Indian Air Force "Thunderbolts" flight demonstration team (formed from No.20 Squadron), which was formed in 1982 as part of the IAF's Golden Jubilee and was disbanded in 1988. These machines were painted in a spectacular color scheme, painted dark blue with white lightning bolts.

IAF Hunter Squadrons
No. 7 Sqdn "Battle Axes" - Jan 1958
No. 14 Sqdn "Bulls" - October 1959
No. 17 Sqdn "Golden Arrows" - Jan 1958 (first IAF Hunter Sqdn)
No. 20 Sqdn "Lightnings" - 1959
No. 27 Sqdn "Flaming Arrows" - October 1958
No. 37 Sqdn "Black Panthers" - November 1962
Hunter OCU/No.122 Sqdn "Young Ones" - October 1966
















































The Hunter's ventral airbrake couldn't be used on landing, and so it was automatically disabled when the landing gear was extended.


The four Aden cannons on the nose


Hawker Hunter F.56 BA245

[skanchan95]

Hawker Hunter F.56 BA245 - the Sabre killer of No.7 Sqdn

























BA245 was an ex-RAF Hunter F.6(XF503) which was bought upto F.56 standards before delivery to the Indian Air Force. It later was the mount of Fg Off P S Pingale when he shot down an F-86 on Sep 16, 1965.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

1:72 Hawker Hunter F.Mk.56 No.7 Sqdn Indian Air Force "Battle Axes", Tail No. BA245, AFS Halwara, 1965

Thank you for that beautifully written and most comprehensive narrative from 60 years ago. The Hunter is probably the jet fighter with the most graceful lines of all times. In my opinion only the Saab Gripen or Mirage 2000 compare well. If the British had built a further 300 hunters above the 1900 odd they did build all would have found a buyer. It is the only jet fighter with stall & spin characteristics so docile and stable that it can be used for tail spin recovery training.

Lovely historic scale model.

[Jeroen]

One of my all time favourite fighters, the Hunter. Very gracious looking plane. It saw extensive use by many air forces, including the Dutch airforce. It has an interesting trainer variant, side by side cockpit. The Dutch National Aviation museum used one for decades for testing, even after the airforce retired their hunters.

The hunter was produced in fairly big numbers. Many found a last resting place in museums all over the world. I stumbled upon this list recently

https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.c.../survivors.php

There are quite a few airworthy hunters around the world too. You might come across them at vintage airshows.

Of course, it was also as Hunter which was involved in the horrific Shoreham crash in 2015. 11 people died, 16 got seriously wounded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_S..._Airshow_crash

Jeroen

[keroo1099]

If I remember correctly they have one on display at Halwara. I should have a pic somewhere, will post if I find it

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

One of my all time favourite fighters, the Hunter. Very gracious looking plane. It saw extensive use by many air forces, including the Dutch airforce. It has an interesting trainer variant, side by side cockpit. The Dutch National Aviation museum used one for decades for testing, even after the airforce retired their hunters.

Quite a few Fokker built ex-RNLAF(Royal Netherlands Air Force) Hunters found a second life with the Indian Air Force after they were decommissioned by the RNLAF.

I read somewhere that despite the relatively short service life with the RNLAF, Hunters in Dutch service were the first in the world to have AIM-9s fitted on them.

Some of these Fokker built Hunter F.6s were "sold" to Hawker, got refurbished/upgraded to Hunter FGA.9 standards and delivered to the IAF as the F.Mk.56A after the 1965 Indo-Pak war as attrition replacements.

For e.g IAF 20 Sqdn Hunter F.Mk.56A Tail no. A1014 that was flown by Sqdn Ldr J M Mistry and was shot down by a PAF Mirage IIIEP on December 06, 1971 was the ex-RNLAF Hunter F.6 N-213.

A few single seat ex-Dutch Hunters were converted to twin seat Hunter by Hawker and delivered to the IAF as Hunter T.66D trainers.

It was one of these ex-RNLAF Hunter T.66Ds in service with the IAF that was credited with a maneuver kill on a PAF F-86 in the 1971 War. Wg. Cdr M N Singh & Sdn Ldr F J Mehta of No. 122 Sqdn (Battle of Longewala fame) while flying a twin seat Hunter T.Mk.66 on an interdiction mission, were bounced a couple of PAF F-86s. In the ensuing air battle to shake off their pursuer, the PAF F-86 flew in to the ground and the Hunter crew were awarded a maneuver kill. Sqdn Ldr F J Mehta had earlier shot down a PAF F-86 while flying a single seat Hunter F.Mk.56 two or three days prior to this incident.



cockpit & nose section of ex-RNLAF F.6 N-250 - IWM Duxford, Cambridgeshire

Tucked away to the side of the AirSpace hangar at Duxford you can find this nose section which was once part of a Dutch Air Force Hunter, N-250. She was built in 1957 by Fokker-Aviolanda at Schiphol, one of 237 built there. She first flew in July 1958 entered service with 325 Squadron, Royal Netherlands Air Force on the 20th of August 1958. She was bought back by Hawker Siddeley Aviation on 24th April 1964, who put her into store initially and then in 1967 began work on converting her to a twin-seat T.Mk.66D. As a result the single seater nose was surplus to requirements. The new two seater was delivered to No.5 MU in September 1967, before being delivered to India later in the year as S-581. N-250's old nose was then delivered to the Science Museum, who donated it to the IWM. She's in excellent condition and the cockpit appears to be complete. She's a real time capsule, wearing original paint and stencil decals.

Originally Posted by keroo1099

If I remember correctly they have one on display at Halwara. I should have a pic somewhere, will post if I find it

Its a Hunter F.56 (Tail no. BA233) on display in Halwara. Sadly, like most such aircraft in display in India, it does not have its original paint scheme and markings.

Sukhoi-7 [B785] and Hunter [BA233] at War Memorial, Halwara AFS

[Jazzybala]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Its a Hunter F.56 (Tail no. BA233) on display in Halwara. Sadly, like most such aircraft in display in India, it does not have its original paint scheme and markings.

Absolutely brilliant write up, Skanchan95. The Hunter, along with many aircraft from the Hawker stable have a very refined design language and bearing, almost like a suave English gentleman.

For all their technological prowess, US has never built an aircraft as beautiful as the British or the other european countries did. Russia has a saving grace in its Flanker and fulcrum family but even that is a far third.

I had the opportunity to visit and see the Hunter in RSAF museum a few years ago and it only made me love this aircraft even more.

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Its a Hunter F.56 (Tail no. BA233) on display in Halwara. Sadly, like most such aircraft in display in India, it does not have its original paint scheme and markings.

This is a travesty and a tragedy. These warbirds deserve to be remembered in their operational or war time conditions and maintained properly.

[BlackBeard]

Hello everybody, managed to receive 2 completed models in my collection.
Presenting you the MiG21FL & SU7BMK in IAF colours. Enough and more have been said & discussed about these aircraft on this forum so without much ado, I present you Brothers in arms....Fishbed and Fitter both aircraft were instrumental in India winning the 1971 war against Pakistan.












Any guesses for the squadron marking on the MiG21FL?

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by BlackBeard

Hello everybody, managed to receive 2 completed models in my collection.
Presenting you the MiG21FL & SU7BMK in IAF colours. Enough and more have been said & discussed about these aircraft on this forum so without much ado, I present you Brothers in arms....Fishbed and Fitter both aircraft were instrumental in India winning the 1971 war against Pakistan.

Both wonderful models! I especially like the paint scheme on the Su-7, quite striking. I'm assuming these are custom built models by Basuroy?

[FlankerFury]

Originally Posted by BlackBeard

Hello everybody, managed to receive 2 completed models in my collection.
Presenting you the MiG21FL & SU7BMK in IAF colours. Brothers in arms....Fishbed and Fitter both aircraft were instrumental in India winning the 1971 war against Pakistan.

They're amazing. I like how they were developed by two different design bureaus but adopted so many similar features, nose air intakes with a shock cone for its powerful engines, sleek fuselage, all moving tailplanes.
To a layman, a Su-7 would look like an elongated MiG-21 with swept wings.

Any guesses for the squadron marking on the MiG21FL?

I'm guessing it's something iconic so, First Supersonics?

[BlackBeard]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

I'm assuming these are custom built models by Basuroy?

Yes of course & thank you for the appreciation. My IAF collection is slowly but surely increasing, some rotor crafts are due for completion & 1 in an unique paint scheme...

Originally Posted by FlankerFury

To a layman, a Su-7 would look like an elongated MiG-21 with swept wings.

Thanks. Indeed, I think the SU7 was originally designed as a fighter but due to its poor handling it was designated as a bomber, the pilot visibility also was poor. Nevertheless a powerful aircraft that could withstand a lot of abuse apparently. I'm sure most people would have read the below article from BR forum.

https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/a...past/sukhoi-7/

Originally Posted by FlankerFury

I'm guessing it's something iconic so, First Supersonics?

MOFTU...the MiG21 silhouette is a giveaway!

[FlankerFury]

Originally Posted by BlackBeard

Thanks. Indeed, I think the SU7 was originally designed as a fighter but due to its poor handling it was designated as a bomber, the pilot visibility also was poor. Nevertheless a powerful aircraft that could withstand a lot of abuse apparently. I'm sure most people would have read the below article from BR forum.

https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/a...past/sukhoi-7/

Yep, this was supposed to be a powerful complement to the MiG-21. In fact the early prototypes looked exactly like a stretched 21 in a planform view.

T-3, T for triangular, referencing its delta wing

This eventually evolved into the Su-9 and a modification on it became the Su-11. It was used as an all weather interceptor until it was replaced by the Su-15.


Su-9, NATO reporting name: Fishpot


S-1 prototype, eventually becoming the Su-7, S for swept back


airliners.net | Su-7BMK battle damaged tail
That tail section is displayed prominently in Delhi IAF museum.

MOFTU...the MiG21 silhouette is a giveaway!

I noticed the MiG flying out of the Sun and figured it signified the dawn of a new age.

[BlackBeard]

Originally Posted by BlackBeard

Added a few more models to my collection

Added some more models to my collection:

An32 - 1/72 scale with IAF decals.
BN2T - (Britten-Norman islander), 1/48 scale with IN decals.
De Havilland Vampire - 1/48 scale

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by BlackBeard

Hello everybody, managed to receive 2 completed models in my collection.
Presenting you the MiG21FL & SU7BMK in IAF colours. Enough and more have been said & discussed about these aircraft on this forum so without much ado, I present you Brothers in arms....Fishbed and Fitter both aircraft were instrumental in India winning the 1971 war against Pakistan.

Brilliant models both of them, Congratulations!!!

Despite it's shortcomings, the Su-7 did remarkably well in the 1971 war and was capable of taking a lot of punishment. In a remarkable fleet or airmanship during the 1971 war, Flt Lt Surinder Singh "Mad Mally" Malhotra of No. 32 Sqdn IAF "Thunderbirds" took on a PAF F-6 and shot it down(Flt Lt Ejazuddin of No.23 Sqdn PAF "Talons"). It remains in the only air to air kill by a Su-7 in the world and Flt Lt Malhotra was awarded a Vir Chakra for his F-6 kill.

Originally Posted by BlackBeard

Any guesses for the squadron marking on the MiG21FL?

MOFTU (MiG Operational Flying Training Unit) flying MiG-21FLs and MiG-21UM/US that was based in Tezpur. The unit was disbanded in 2007.

MOFTU had two MiG-21s in it's fleet that scored kills in the 1971 War - C750 (Flt Lt Bharat Bhushan Soni's F-104 kill) & C754(Flt Lt Samar Bikram Shah 's F-6 kill). How I wish these two airframes were preserved in a museum!

[blahman]

Originally Posted by blahman

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

Just a quick update since I started collecting 1:200 models and a few 1:144/1:400 models since I asked for help on this forum in February. Sharing the models I currently bought mostly from eBay and a few from DBJets.

Still need to buy a few more before I can put it up on the wall like my 1:64 Car Diecast models. Just need to figure out how the planes are going to be stuck on the wall and also need to find a suitable Diorama Mat design Please suggest if can you think of a solution!