Note from the author
The 1971
Indo-Pak war was the last ‘traditional’ war between two countries deploying 2nd
generation weapons and aircraft with no technology asymmetry except for the IAF
deploying the S-75 Dvina SAMs and the PAF deploying the Matra R-530 Beyond
Visual Range (BVR) AAM. It was the first Indo-Pak
war involving all arms, and also all domains, sub surface to air, and India was
to fight a two and a half-front war with several troops dedicated to defending
the border against China. It was also a
war of three protagonists: Pakistan, India and Bangladeshi Freedom Fighters.
The air war was closely linked to the ground war and hence the ground
battles have also been covered in some detail.
The war has been examined against the campaigns prosecuted ie, Counter
Surface Operations (CSFO) which include Close Air Support (CAS) or Battlefield
Air Strike (BAI) and Interdiction, Counter Air Operations (CAO), Air Defence
Operations (AD) and Combat Support Operations by transports and helicopter Air
Lift operations. Strategic attacks against harbours, energy plants, and
factories are also covered separately along with the IAF’s nascent Electronic
Warfare attempts in the last chapter.
Separate chapters on the final collapse of the Pakistani army and
surrender in Dacca and an assessment of the cost of war and post war mopping up
events in Bangladesh are covered in separate chapters.
Straight of the bat, it is necessary to explain what to some may sound a
rather arrogant assertion in the title of the book. After the surrender at Dacca, at tea, General
Niazi was asked by a foreign journalist why he had thrown in the towel when he
had some 70,000 troops and ammunition and supplies to hold out for another six
months. Niazi looked around and pointed
to the IAF pilot’s wings brevet on the chest of a senior IAF officer (reportedly
Group Captain Chandan Singh) and said “Because of this, you the air force”.
The book is fundamentally divided into two parts, West and East. The narrative is laid out in the Indian
army’s Corps-wise and the attached IAF’s Tactical Air Centre-wise Air-Land
battles from the north to the south on the western front and west to east in
the eastern front. Counter-air and air defence battles are covered together for
each side while the dedicated bomber operations (IAF and PAF Canberra) are also
examined in separate chapters. Every viewpoint
is examined, the forward air controller, the tank commander, the pilot and the view
from the other side’s trench.
Extensive data and numbers are necessarily included as the war has also
been examined in quantitative terms. The
numbers vary from other figures mentioned in several other publications
including the Indian Ministry of Defence’s Official version. There are two reasons for this; this book
benefits from the latest data available and documents now made available allow
for a careful squadron-wise and type-wise calculation of sorties flown,
ordnance employed, losses etc. While
detailed date–wise official data was available, it was inaccurate as complete
data was not then available, especially of aircraft and pilots lost in enemy
territory. Role-wise data was also
confused as air defence roles were mixed up with escort and sweep sorties etc. Data from various Command HQs, itself received
from various Base Operations Centres was compiled in a somewhat
compartmentalised manner at the Statistics Directorate at Air HQs with varying
levels of inaccuracies creeping in due omissions, typos and duplication. It has taken me a month of long nights to
cross correct all the data presented.
However, I apologise for any minor contradictions that may yet exist and
am confident that those that might remain are not material to the final
understanding of the tables and charts.
A much contested topic especially for the PAF is the number of aircraft
lost from either side. Given the recent
research from both sides and a balanced approach by historians, this matter is
more or less settled even as the PAF still desperately hopes to gain that ‘one
more kill’ that it is sure the IAF is hiding. The PAF continues to live in the fond belief that while Pakistan lost
the war, the PAF did not lose to the IAF.
Readers will find this theme throughout the book. This is a most strange contention and is
examined in the last chapter.
No adequately researched
book on the 1971 air war had yet been written and those that had emerged were
unnecessarily jingoistic rendering them incredulous. On the other hand, Indian army veterans have
put out a plethora of literature on their victories. Yet not one cared to acknowledge the IAF’s
role in the outcomes. This is an age old
failing where airpower is not understood or given its due by the protagonists
on the ground, usually leading to self-defeating consequences. Thus, I found a very one – sided approach to
the 1971 war from both the protagonists with the IAF being the target of fuzzy
facts on one side and completely being ignored by the other. In all fairness,
it was perhaps not possible to critically research the IAF’s role as no
documents were available or, were not allowed to be viewed at the time. In the recent past, I must add happily,
there have been a few books from both army’s that have mentioned the role
played by the IAF especially in the battle of Chhamb, perhaps the most bitterly
fought battle of the war.
To give more ‘life’ and
context to people, place names and other events of historical significance, I
have extensively used the notes and reference section at the end of each
chapter. A historical work is only as credible
as its willingness to make refutation easy, thus almost every fact, number or
assertion is backed by sources or explanation to make verification and
understanding easy.
Like all war histories I
have struggled with the distinction between fact and value and the profane
glare of the purist historian who abhors the new ‘cult of quantitative
history’. In the end I am convinced that
this book must also be a comprehensive repository of rare and accurate data and
information simply for its own sake even if only to provide that small nugget
to some enthusiastic historian of the future.
I have retained place names and spellings as they were in 1971. So Sri Lanka is Ceylon, Dhaka is Dacca and
Kolkata is Calcutta etc. All units are
in the SI system with the Imperial units in parentheses. While the book is based on
Official documents, interpretations and assertions are mine alone.
In
the photo above is the author of this book, Air Marshal Vikram Singh.