C-130’s Havoc! How Pakistan’s ‘Modified Bomber’ Wreaked Havoc On Indian Positions After A ‘Disastrous’ Paradrop

 

The wars in the Indian sub-continent have been dissected threadbare, but there have been little-known operations done by the American-made C-130s during the 1965 India-Pakistan war. The cargo aircraft supplied to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was modified to become a bomber and raid the Indian runways.

The other important mission carried out by the C-130 fleet was the audacious para commando attack planned by Pakistan. The commandos were inserted by C-130B to cripple three frontline airbases of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Punjab – Pathankot, Halwara (near Ludhiana) and Adampur (near Jalandhar).

The US Air Force (USAF) is now considering the dispersed nature of warfare that it will experience in the Indo-Pacific against China. It is turning its airlifters, C-130J, into traditional bombers and giving them more offensive capabilities. The PAF made the modification in 1965.

On the intervening night of 30-31 August 1965, the general atmosphere in the Indian subcontinent was tense. News of Pakistan’s military build-up along the border hinted at impending war. The IAF ordered its units to arm all its fighter jets and bombers on September 1, 1965.

At 1530 hours, the Number 3 Squadron of the IAF operating the French Dassault Mystere fighter jets was asked to prepare a strike in the Chhamb sector, where the Pakistan Army had intruded into Indian territory.

Twenty-six fighter bombers of the IAF consisting of 12 British-made Vampire aircraft of Number 45 and 220 Squadrons and 14 Mystere aircraft of Number 3 and 31 Squadrons took off from Pathankot for the Chhamb Sector.

“The mission marked the start of the air action against belligerence by Pakistan,” the IAF site reads. Just before 1800 hours, the first IAF aircraft struck the Pakistani Patton Tanks. The IAF managed to annihilate 10 tanks, 2 Anti-Aircraft guns, and 30-40 vehicles of the Pakistani Army.

 

The newly acquired MiG-21s of the IAF were also providing air cover to the fighters carrying out raids in the next few days. Even on September 6, 1965, the Indian fighter jets carried out strikes in Chhamb (on the Indian side) and Norowal area (on the Pakistani side) with “no enemy air opposition.” “Most of us were highly suspicious of this: the suspense threatened to get us well before PAF did!!!” a tongue-in-cheek entry in the 3 Squadron diary from September 6, 1965 read.

On the same day, PAF’s Sabres entered the Indian airspace and hit the Pathankot airfield. This strike resulted in the destruction of eight IAF aircraft on the ground at Pathankot. The Sabres were heading towards Adampur and Halwara airbase but were stopped by the IAF’s Hawker Hunter fighter jets.

The day also saw the first showdown between the Indian MiG-21s and Pakistani Starfighter 104s. The IAF pilot in MiG-21 fired air-to-air missiles in actual combat.

While the PAF’s Pathankot raid was a success, given the odds in its favor, the failure of the Adampur and Halwara air strikes did not go well with the PAF. Raids on the Amritsar, Porbandar, and Ferozpur radars, as well as Jamnagar airfield, were also a failure. After 6 September, the PAF stopped all daylight bombing missions into India.

Audacious Raids By C-130B

On September 6, the PAF’s raid on Pathankot airbase inflicted large damage. The IAF had also suffered an early setback over Chhamb and had lost four Vampires. This was supposed to have left the IAF in disarray.

Till 6th September, the lack of significant activities on PAF’s side was intriguing the IAF. However, it was just a lull before the PAF put its most audacious plan into action. The Pakistanis dropped paratroopers at Pathankot, Adampur, and Halwara in the intervening night of 6-7 September. Three C-130 aircraft of PAF dropped 60 Special Service Group Commandos each in the wee hours.

The three groups of 60 paratroopers each were dropped in the vicinity of each airbase. Each group was led by one or two officers and a junior commissioned officer (JCO).

The drop was successful, but the Pakistan commandos ran into unforeseen difficulties. A concerted effort by civilians and the Punjab Police resulted in the apprehension of most of the Commandos.

Villagers spotted the Pathankot group first, and an alarm was raised. This led to the discovery of the Halwara group. The Adampur group also landed in the middle of the village, and the dogs’ barking gave away their presence.

In the end, of the 180 para-commandos air-inserted, 138 were taken prisoners and taken to POW camps. Twenty-two were lynched by the joint combing teams of villagers armed with sticks and police. Only 20 para commandos were unaccounted for and were thought to have escaped back to Pakistan.

One notable, commando-style escape was of Major Hazur Hasnain, the Halwara group commander who, along with his friend, hijacked an IAF jeep and somehow managed to return safely.

According to PAF officer Kaiser Tufail’s account, operational considerations for the SSG’s employment were: “The operations would be mounted in the early hours of the night. Air missions (para-commandos) would be dropped on the target. Exfiltration would be either by landing an aircraft on the captured airfield or by rendezvous with a helicopter, given the vast distances separating the targets from friendly forces.”

The Pakistan Army officers were shunted out for opposing the use of the World War II tactic of utilizing “commandos in insurgency and prolonged guerrilla warfare roles that were central to the impending Operation ‘Gibraltar.’”

 

Four airfields, viz Adampur, Ambala, Pathankot, and Halwara, were agreed upon, though a day before the attack, Ambala was canceled. Three teams, each of 60 commandos including three officers, were planned to be air-dropped by three C-130s. Each team was to have one wireless set to be able to keep the C-130s informed of their progress. Individual commandos were provided with two days’ rations (five methi rotis each) and 400 rupees in Indian currency, in addition to personal weapons, explosives, grenades, etc.

Talking about the ill-planned mission, Tufail opined: “The AHQ (Army Headquarters) had also left several issues unresolved during the planning stage. For instance, the idea of exfiltration of commandos by C-130s landing on the just assaulted airfields defied common sense, but either the PAF C-in-C remained unaware of this plan or had rashly approved it.”

C-130 Bombers Modified

As the war proceeded, the Pakistan Air Force modified the C-130s to drop bombs. C-130 bombers targeted Indian tanks and guns in Ramgarh of the Sialkot sector. As part of its riposte strategy, the Indian Army had made advances in the Sialkot sector in response to Pakistan’s advent in Jammu and Kashmir.

In addition, Indian tanks advanced in the Chawinda region. Both areas resulted in two of the biggest tank battles in the history of the Indian subcontinent.

Two C-130s PAF came out in support of their forces and dropped nine tons of bombs each on the night of 15 September. On the following night, a single C-130 strike was repeated against Ramgarh, destroying Indian tanks and guns as well as ammunition and fuel dumps.

Seven officers of the Transport Wing were awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat, and 2 JCOSs the Tamgha-e-Jurat.

Some estimates suggest that the IAF flew over 4,000 combat sorties and the PAF a little over 2,000. The Indian account of the 1965 war suggested that the IAF lost 36 aircraft while still parked on the ground.

On the other hand, in aerial dogfights, the IAF lost just 14 aircraft while shooting down 18 Pakistani jet fighters. Pakistan ended the war, having depleted 17 percent of its front-line strength, while India’s losses amounted to less than 10 percent.

The Russian pilot who unraveled the Mig-25 Foxbat for the West dies in the US at 76

 

He was among the highest-profile figures to defect from the Soviet Union at the peak of the Cold War. He brought with him the top-secret interceptor fighter jet MiG-25 ‘Foxbat’ from the USSR with him. The Soviet Pilot Lieutenant Viktor Ivanovich Belenk, who unraveled the MiG-25 for the West died at the age of 76 years in the US.

The Swan Song of the Soviet aircraft designer Mikhail Gurevich, MiG-25, code-named ‘Foxbat’ by NATO, was a super-fast and super high combat jet. Its unmatched supersonic speed and stratospheric reach had evoked fear in the western militaries for years.

Fables were spawned around the fighter jet that could climb the stratosphere (the second layer of the earth’s atmosphere) in a matter of few seconds and attain supersonic speeds. The pilots of the jet could see the earth’s curvature from up there. The jet’s capability was so unmatched that the flight of the MiG-25s earned the monikers of “Loneliness at Mach 3”.

The West was panicking over the regular reconnaissance flights by MiG‐25's over West Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway. According to NATO intelligence reports, there are 45 Foxbats in East Germany and Poland employed on such patrols.

 

Lieutenant Belenko was 29-years-old getting training on the MiG-25 supersonic interceptor jet. In September 1976, disillusioned after a personal setback, he flew on MiG-25 undetected to Japan and delivered the aircraft in exchange of asylum in the US. The New York Times reported that he went on to settle in the US and died on September 24 in a small town in Southern Illinois. His death came after a brief illness and was not widely reported at the time.

Belenko lived a low-profile life. He did make occasional appearances at air shows after the end of the Cold War. But he never sought to capitalize on his moment of international fame. “He lived the most private life,” his son Paul was quoted by the New York Times. “He flew under the radar, literally and figuratively.”

Belenko’s story still remains as one of the most intriguing tales of the Cold War. The aircraft’s spy satellite photos had caused panic in the Pentagon. A gigantic Soviet airplane with an engine intake equal to the size of small cars, huge wings indicated at maneuverability that even America’s McDonnell F-4 Phatom II could not achieve.

The aircraft was brought out in public for the first time in July 1967. It set some records that hitherto remain unbroken. It notched a speed of 1,852 mph, climbed to 98,425 feet in four minutes and 3.86 seconds and ultimately reached an absolute altitude record of 123,520 feet.

Such was the paranoia in the west around the Foxbat that as soon as the fighter jet went operational in 1970s, the US altered its battle plan. The US got a new generation of surface-to-air missiles in its inventory, no bombers were allowed towards Russia. The US retired B-58 Hustler and dropped the plans for the B-70.

‘Intelligence Bonanza’ as MiG-25 lands in Japan

Lieutenant Belenko was heartbroken as his wife was divorcing him. On September 6, 1976, he took off from the Sakharovka air base in Siberia along with two more aircraft. Shortly after take-off he peeled away from his formation and dropped to an altitude of about 150 feet to escape Soviet radar. After he was out of the range of the Soviet radar, Lieutenant Belenko took his plane up to 18,000 feet and headed for Japan.

The escape was meticulously planned for months. Belenko waited for the moment when they were to exercise on the Sea of Japan to make dash for freedom. He circled the Hakodate airport twice before landing and overshot the runway. Belenko had provided the West the opportunity to examine the aircraft more closely.

 

“He jerked the MiG into the tightest turn of which it was capable, allowed the 727 to clear, dived at a dangerously sharp angle, and touched the runway at 220 knots. As he deployed the drag chute and repeatedly slammed down the brake pedal, the MiG bucked, bridled, and vibrated as if it were going to come apart. Tires burning, it screeched and skidded down the runway, slowing but not stopping.

“It ran off the north end of the field, knocked down a pole, plowed over a second, and finally stopped a few feet from a large antenna 800 feet off the runway. The front tire had blown, but that was all,” according to an excerpt from a biography of the pilot written by John Barron MiG Pilot, The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko, published in 1980.

The then director of the Central Intelligence Agency, George Bush aptly called the incident an “intelligence bonanza.” Surprisingly, none of the Western pilots flew the aircraft that Belenko brought.

Japan, however, ordered the dismantling of the Soviet MiG 25. Assisted by nearly 20 United States Air Force experts it separated the wings and vertical tails from the fuselage. The MiG-25 was taken in crates to the US for closer inspection and Belenko was flown to the country for questioning. He was granted citizenship in 1980.

EOM/

Seeds of Kashmiri youth’s alienation lie in graveyards

September 2018

Tikpora Lolab (Kashmir): It was on October 11 that her brother was killed during a gunfight with the security forces. Her tears have since dried up, but the flow of mourners continue unabated in their house in the beautiful Lolab Valley of Kashmir. Asimah is trying to come to terms with the death of her brother Manan Wani, but she keeps saying one thing: “It (joining militancy) was so sudden that we did not realise it. We knew when he picked up gun that he will kill someone or get killed.”

The despondence in Asimah’s voice is also palpable in Manan Wani’s father – Bashir Ahmed Wani, a lecturer at a college in nearby Sogam area. Sitting stoically as mourners continue to pour in from across Kashmir, Bashir exhorts the politicians to find a solution to wrest the growing trend of youth picking up guns. “I am not a politician. I cannot tell why children are picking up gun. It is for the politicians to find a solution,” Bashir said.

Manan Wani has shocked people across cross-sections of Kashmir conundrum for leaving behind an illustrious life that waited for him and picking up guns. But, the story emerging from the profiles of recent militants killed at the hands of security forces is a sordid one. In these stories parents are rendered helpless in stemming the growing number of youngsters opting for militancy to push back the high-handedness of security forces. Similar disbelief is writ large on the face of the father of Ashiq Hussain Zargar, the 23-year-old joined Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed along with Manan Wani. Ashiq was the sole bread winner of his family.

After Burhan Wani’s death, everyone in Kashmir had come out on streets and pelted stones. The state police responded by invoking the Public Safety Act (PSA) – 1978, which allows preventive detention of people against whom there is no criminal track record.  Hundreds of people, including juveniles, have been jailed on administrative orders of the deputy commissioners following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani. Those detained were treated like hardened criminals and children as young as 15-year-old were put alongside criminals. “Everyone had pelted stone after Burhan Wani’s death. What police did was to slap PSA against the young. Many a times the police men would ask Ashiq to come. He was scared that he would be tortured, so he ran away,” said Ashiq’s younger brother Firdaus, his eyes emotionless. Ashiq had been missing for 5 months and they had filed a missing person report.

Harangued parents have run pillar to post to locate their children arrested under PSA. From 2016-February 2018, 1,150 people were detained under PSA. As many as 55-60 per cent of the detainees were in the age group of 15-28 years. Under PSA there is no trial as all detainees are considered guilty. Sometimes, even if the parents manage to get the PSA order quashed against their child quashed, the police immediately gets another detention order against them. Under the Section 8 (ii) of the Act, a person can be detained for up to 2 years from the date of offence, if the offence is prejudicial to the security of the state.   

“PSA is being used to target the youth. And the no-talks stand of the Centre is increasing militancy. Most militancy recruitment are successful due to trust deficit in the youth,” says Waheed Ur Rehman Para, the youth president and Spokesperson of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The narrative of ‘dignity in death’ among the youngsters has gained traction and is reflected in the spike in number of militants in the valley from the all-time low of 78 in 2013 to nearly 360 in 2018. The number has increased even as the security forces have killed around 170 terrorists/infiltrators since January 1, 2018.

“The government needs to understand that the seeds of the youth’s alienation are in the graveyards. Today, the killings of the ‘militants’ have been incentivised over surrender,” Para added. The 30-year-old politician from Pulwama has been in the forefront of sports movement in the valley to help the enraged youth channelize their energy. He has also survived an assassination attempt in August this year.

The stand-off between the youngsters and security forces have been evident during the funeral of Manan Wani. As the news of his “encounter” – as the killing by security forces are called in the valley- spread thousands of youth from all parts of the valley converged in his village. The police fearing a repeat of Burhan Wani, blocked the roads to Tikpora and detained many of them under PSA. The bail amount asked was Rs. 30,000. Many harried parents, barely able to contain their tears, have been meeting local politicians to get their children freed even after two weeks. These funeral processions in reality have become the recruitment advertisements for militancy.

The arbitrariness and the perpetual continuity of the PSA has resulted in many youngsters going in hiding. “There are children in the village would go and stay with their relatives, and only dare to return to their homes during night,” Ashiq’s brother Firdaus said. With 63 per cent of Kashmir’s population under the age of 30 and 70 per cent below the age of 35, the elderlies are finding it difficult to mitigate their sense of frustration and alienation with the system.

Bashir Wani summed up the fear and frustration of parents in Kashmir by saying: “I have been working hard all my life hoping that Manan would grow up and do something for the society. The path that he chose for himself has caused me immense pain. It is for all of us (society and the state) to find out why our children are becoming violent.” 

(This piece was written during my last visit to Kashmir in September 2018.)