THE ROLE OF

PAKISTAN AIR
FORCE
VOLUNTEER
PILOTS IN ARAB
ISRAEL WARS IN
AIR COMBAT
AGAINST ISRAELI
AIRCRAFTS
IDF MYSTERE IV A FLOWN BY
CAPTAIN HANANIA BULA WHO
WENT DOWN WITH THE AIRCRAFT
SHOT OVER MAFRAQ AIR BASE
JORDAN BY FLIGHT LIEUT SAIF UL
ZAM PAKISTAN AIR FORCE ON 5TH
JUNE 1967
IDF--ISRAELI MIRAGE-- III C J AIRCRAFT--- FLOWN BY ---CAPTAIN M LUTZ--- OF
--- 5 AIR WING--- BASED AT--- HATZOR--- SHOT ON 26 APRIL 1974--- OVER
---GOLAN BY FLIGHT LIEUT SATTAR ALVI FLYING A MIG 21 F OF SYRIAN AIR
FORCE-- ARAB ISRAEL WAR-IDF PILOT SAFELY EJECTED--ALVI WAS AWARDED
SYRIAS --WISAAM AL SHUJA

FLIGHT LIEUTENANT SAIF UL AZAM WHO SHOT ISRAELI AIRCRAFTS WHILE FLYING
FOR EGYPTIAN , JORDANIAN AND IRAQI AIRFORCES IN 1967 WAR
ISRAEL MIRAGE III C J FLOWN BY CAPTAIN GIDEON DROR BY FLIGHT LIEUT
SAIFUL AZAM PAKISTAN AIRFORCE ON 7TH JUNE 1967 OVER H 3 AIRBASE IRAQ--
GIDEON SAFELY EJECTED BUT BECAME A PRISONER OF WAR.SAIF UL AZAM WAS
AWARDED IRAQS NAWT UL SHUJA

Date Pilot Name

AF Unit Aircraft Flown
Base Kills
Aircraft/Pilot Comments
5 June 1967 Flt. Lt. Saiful Azam
PAF Royal Jordanian Air Force Hawker Hunter
Mafrak AB, Jordan. 1 Israeli Air Force (IDAF)
Super Mystere B-2 Over Mafrak AB, Jordan. 6 IAF S. Mysteres Vs. 4 RJAF
Hunters.
7 June 1967 Flt. Lt. Saiful Azam
PAF Iraqi Air Force Hawker Hunter
(S. No. 702)
H-3 AB, Iraq. 1 Israeli Air Force Mirage IIICJ
1 Israeli Air Force Vatour IIN Bomber
M.IIICJ pilot was Gideon Dror, IAF while Vatour IIN bomber was the IAF Vatour
flight lead In a single sortie over H-3 AB, Iraq at 1130 hours. 4 IAF M.IIIs & 4
Vatours Vs. 4 IraqAF Hunters.
Total: 3 Air-to-Air Kills

Bangladeshi Fighter Ace of India_Pak and Arab-Israeli Wars

By

A Bangladeshi

Group Captain. Saiful Azam, from Pakistan Air Force ,later Bangladesh Airforce
after 1971 , holds awards for gallantry in aerial combat from Pakistan, Jordan,
and Iraq!

Bangladeshi’s should be proud of his outstanding and courageous exploits.

Saiful Azam

Azam was born in 1941 in Pabna, (the then) India, and, as a young boy, lived in
Calcutta. In 1947, his family moved east to the area that became part of
predominately Muslim East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In 1955, he went to
West Pakistan and attended high school until 1958, when he entered the
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Cadet College. Graduating in 1960, he was
commissioned as a pilot officer in the PAF.

He trained in the Cessna T-37 and then travelled to Luke AFB, Arizona, for an
advanced fighter course in the North American F-86 Sabre. He returned to East
Pakistan and flew the Sabre jet until 1963.

Aerial Combat Exploits

1965 War

During the September 1965 war with India, Azam was flying Sabres in No. 17
Squadron from PAF Base Sargodha. After successfully executing a ground attack
strike, his formation was ‘bounced’ by Indian Air Force fighter’s. In the
ensuring fight, Azam shot down one of the two attackers, a Folland Gnat, and
earned his first victory. His victim, Flight Officer. V. Mayadev, thankfully
ejected safely to become a POW.

For this exploit Saiful Azam was awarded the Sitara-I-Jurat, united Pakistan’s
Distinguished Flying Cross.

1967 Arab-Israeli War

In late 1966, he became an advisor to the Royal Jordanian Air Force and flew as
a ‘volunteer’ in a Hawker Hunter with No. 1 Royal Jordanian Squadron (RJAF).
During the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, he again distinguished himself in the air.

. On 5 June 1967, his flight of four Hawker Hunter fighter’s engaged Israeli
Dassault Super Mysteres jet’s attacking RJAF Mafraq, the major Jordanian air
base. Azam shot one down and sent another smoking towards Israel.

Two days later, on 7 June 1967, the Israelis struck H-3, an air base in western
Iraq. Azam, this time flying an Iraqi Hunter, scored two further victories.
During the Israeli attack, he first downed a Dassault Mirage III and, moments
later, downed a Sud-0uest Vautour bomber.

His formation had first intercepted an Israeli formation of Four Vautours and
Two Mirage IIIs. One of the Mirage IIIs was flown by Israeli Capt. Gideon Dror.
Dror shot down Azam's Wingman, but himself fell to Azam's Guns. Dror ejected
safely to be taken as a POW. Moments later, Azam intercepted the formation of
four Vautour Bombers and bought down one of them flown by Israeli Capt.
Golan, who ejected.

Source: ACIG Air Combat Publications and Airforce archives.

Saiful Azam’s Exploits in Perspective

Considering the widely acknowledged skill and success of Israeli pilots, Azam’s
three confirmed victories merit great praise. His tally has a range of kills
including the enviable credit of a Mach 2 Mirage III Fighter. Truely a gifted and
superior pilot. Arguably the most successful fighter pilot from the
Subcontinent.

In fact, considering the abysmal display of the ineffectually trained and led
Arab pilot’s in the Arab-Israeli conflict’s, it is possible that Bangali Azam was
the highest scoring Muslim pilot flying on the Arab side in the 1967 Six Day
War!!

Military Decorations

For his outstanding actions, he received Jordan’s Husame Isteqlal and Iraq’s
Medal of Bravery, the Noth-es-Shuja. He returned to East Pakistan in 1969 and
became a flight commander in a squadron flying the Shenyang F-6. Next, Azam
became a flight commander at the PAF Fighter Leader’s School.

Post Independence

Being a Bangali, Saiful Azam did not fly in 1971. When East Pakistan gained
independence as Bangladesh, he became Director of Flight Safety, and, later,
Director of Operations for the newly formed Bangladesh Biman Bahini (Air
Force). In 1977, he became Wing Commander and Base Commander of the BAF
base at Dhaka.

After retiring as a group captain, in the 1980s, Azam twice served as Chairman,
Civil Aviation Authority. He was also Managing Director of the Film
Development Corporation. A member of Bangladesh’s Parliament from 1991 to
1996, he is now Managing Director, Natasha Trading Agency, Limited, trading in
aircraft and other equipment. He also directs a travel agency and with his wife,
Nishat, has three children.

Note: In fact successful fighter pilot’s of the old Pakistani Air Force tended to
be of Bangali origin eg. Wing Commander. MM. Alam and Sarfaraz Rafiqui, from
Kushtia and Rajshahi respectively.
Wow, what do you guys think?

I don’t think he is known widely in Bangladesh. Although he was certainly one

of the most gifted in his field.

ANOTHER VERSION FROM A PILOT :---

Super Mystere B-2, but rather a Mystere IV of the "Flying Wing" squadron, flown
by 2nd. Lt. Hanania Bula
Flight lieut sattar alvi was flying a
syrian mig 21 f and lutz was flying a
mirage-iii cj (J stands for jewish).Lutz
successfully bailed out and parachuted
in israeli held golan.

Syria awarded alvi with wissam ul

shujaat and pakistani government of
z.A bhutto awarded him sitara i jurrat.

Syria loved za bhutto and his son mir

murtaza bhutto was a special guest of
syrian government for many
years.Syrians despised the clown zia.

One of his colleagues who also crashed

in a Syrian MIG 21 over Golan in 1974
was a relative of mine.