15.2 PAF History

15.2 PAF History

Quick Answer: The Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) was established on 15 August 1947, the day of Pakistan's independence. The prefix "Royal" was dropped on 23 March 1956 when Pakistan became a republic, renaming it the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Air Marshal Asghar Khan became the first native Pakistani Commander-in-Chief on 23 July 1957 and is known as the father of the modern PAF. Squadron Leader MM Alam was the celebrated ace of the 1965 war.

Founding (1947)

With the partition of British India on 15 August 1947, the Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) was created as an independent service. Air Vice Marshal Allan Perry-Keene was the first commander. The RPAF inherited a small fleet — including Hawker Tempest IIs, Supermarine Spitfires, Tiger Moths and Harvard trainers — and a handful of airbases. The RPAF Flying Training School was formed at Risalpur the same day, becoming the seed of today's PAF Academy.

Becoming the PAF (1956)

When Pakistan became a republic on 23 March 1956, the prefix "Royal" was dropped and the service was renamed the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had visited Risalpur on 13 April 1948, elevating the school to a college — a date still commemorated.

The Asghar Khan Era (1957 onwards)

On 23 July 1957, Air Vice Marshal Asghar Khan became the first native (Muslim) Commander-in-Chief of the PAF — at age 36, the youngest air chief in the world at the time. He is widely called the "father of the Pakistan Air Force" for modernising the service: inducting F-86 Sabres, B-57 Canberras and F-104 Starfighters, founding the Fighter Leaders' School and the PAF Staff College, and setting the training standards that later paid off in combat.

The 1965 Indo-Pakistani War

The PAF's coming-of-age was the 1965 war. Its best-known hero was Squadron Leader Muhammad Mahmood Alam (MM Alam), nicknamed "Little Dragon." Flying an F-86 Sabre over Sargodha on 7 September 1965, he was credited with shooting down multiple Indian Hawker Hunters in a single engagement — popularly reported as five kills in under a minute, making him an "ace in a day." He was awarded the Sitara-i-Jurat (SJ) & Bar. (Some claims have been disputed by historians, but MM Alam remains the PAF's most celebrated fighter ace.)

The 1971 War and After

In the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War the PAF again saw heavy action on both eastern and western fronts. The war's outcome and the loss of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) led to a long period of reflection and re-equipment, including later induction of Mirage III/5 aircraft and, from the 1980s, F-16 Fighting Falcons — the PAF's signature multi-role fighter for decades.

Modernisation and Milestones

• 1980s–2000s: F-16 induction; continued expansion of the fighter fleet.
• 2006: PAF officer rank insignia changed from British-style to Turkish-style.
• 2003: Women admitted to the GD (Pilot) branch for the first time.
• 2006: First batch of women fighter pilots graduated.
• 2014: PAF Base Mianwali renamed PAF Base M.M. Alam on MM Alam's first death anniversary.
• 2017: PAF Academy Risalpur renamed PAF Academy Asghar Khan on 23 March 2017.
• 2010s–2020s: Induction of the JF-17 Thunder (jointly developed with China) as the PAF's workhorse multi-role fighter.

Key Dates to Remember

Heroes and Decorations

Beyond MM Alam, the PAF produced several decorated officers who frequently appear in general-knowledge questions:

• Air Marshal Nur Khan — led the PAF during the 1965 war and later headed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
• Air Commodore Sajad Haider — a notable fighter pilot and squadron commander in the 1965 war.
• Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Rafiqui — awarded the Hilal-i-Jurat and Sitara-i-Jurat for gallantry in the 1965 war; Shaheen Chowk in Lahore was renamed in his honour.
• Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry — a decorated Christian fighter pilot of the 1965 and 1971 wars.

Gallantry awards relevant to PAF history include the Nishan-i-Haider (Pakistan's highest military award, awarded posthumously), Hilal-i-Jurat, and Sitara-i-Jurat.

Women in the PAF

The PAF opened the GD (Pilot) branch to women in 2003, and the first batch of women fighter pilots graduated in 2006 — the milestone most often asked about. Flight Lieutenant Ayesha Farooq became Pakistan's first combat-ready female fighter pilot in 2013, and Flight Lieutenant Marium Mukhtiar, who died in a trainer crash in 2015, is remembered as the first Pakistani woman fighter pilot to die in the line of duty. Beware the common error of dating women's entry to the PAF cockpit to the 2010s: the induction decision is 2003 and the first fighter-pilot graduation is 2006. Women also serve in ground branches, engineering and air defence, and the current GD Pilot advertisement is open to male and female candidates alike.

Why This Matters for the Test

The history portion of the GD Pilot initial test focuses on the founding date (15 August 1947), the republic renaming (23 March 1956), the first native air chief (Asghar Khan, 23 July 1957), the 1965 war and MM Alam, and the 2017 renaming of the Academy after Asghar Khan. Memorise the timeline above.