On #AirForceDay, let me tell a kutty story of a brave IAF pilot. On the evening of 6th Sep, 1965, PAF attacked Indian Air bases on the western theater. Due to late receipt of message, the attack didn't commence in the East till the next morning (start) 
The IAF meanwhile had planned retaliatory attacks the intervening night. PAF had only one squadron, no 14 in the East. Early morning of 7th Sep, the Hunters from Kalaikunda airbase flew out to take it out
Unfortunately, due to faulty intelligence, they attacked Kurmitola base while the PAF Sabres were at that time taking off from Tezgaon near Dacca. That morning, five Sabres appeared as harbingers of doom over Kalaikunda
The base had neither AA guns nor a dedicated combat air patrol (CAP). The PAF Sabres had a free run - destroying 6 IAF crafts on the ground and causing other significant damage before flying back unharmed. It was a stunning sucker punch
The commander of Tejgaon airbase was Grp Captn Ghulam "Gulli" Haider. An astute tactician, he realised that this was the perfect opportunity to finish off the kill. He ordered another sortie to Kalaikunda
Haider ordered the contingent of 4 Sabres to fly out to the Bay of Bengal, turn around, cross the Sunderbans flying low and attack Kalaikunda from a south westerly direction - a side least expected by the IAF
Further, Gulli Haider ordered a decoy of 2 Sabres to fly out towards Dumdum to cover the real intention of attack. Gulli Haider's plan was working to perfection. The IAF was expecting a 2nd attack but on Dumdum or Barrackpore not KK
As soon as 2 bogeys were spotted near the border, a formation of two Hawkeye Hunters flew out to intercept them. Leading the mission was flight lt. Alfred Cooke and his wingman was Flying Officer SC Mamgain
That morning, Cooke & Mamgain were in Jessore, providing cover to a Vampire attack there. When the PAF Sabres struck, they'd just landed and were in no position to hit back. They were aching for action. But something was off
Cooke was left surprised at the behavior of the PAF Sabres. They seemed to make no attempt at concealing themselves. Rather, it appeared they were happy at giving themselves away. Cooke smelled fish
He kept imploring his radar controllers to keep looking out for any other bogeys in the air. His worst fears came true when his R/T relayed him the spotting of two bogeys over Port Canning. Cooke and Mamgain immediately asked for permission to fly back to KK
Luckily, his station commander, Wing Comm Dicky Law had by this time arrived at a similar conclusion and permission was given. Cooke & Mamgain reversed and flew back as fast as they could. As they arrived at KK, they saw the attack had commenced
One Sabre was up top, giving cover while the other 3 were driving into attack. In an unconventional move, Cooke asked Mamgain to engage the covering Sabre while he dived in to take on the other 3. The legend of Alfred Cooke was to begin
Cooke first struck the formation leader flt lt Haleem's craft. Although he was not hit, Haleem was stunned. The PAF pilots were confident that their decoy plan had worked and were not expecting a fight. Haleem pulled out
His no 4, FO Afzal Khan now engaged Cooke. Cooke pitched up vertically to move out of harm's way. At 3000 feet, he inverted his aircraft and headed for Afzal. The two pilots now got into a dangerous scissors maneuvering
Repeatedly, Afzal dived ultra low to build speed. Cooke followed him. It was a risky move as he ran the risk of losing control and smashing into the ground. At one point, Cooke, just 30 feet from the ground felt his wing brushing a tree top
On Afzal's next dive, Cooke was ready. He fired with deadly accuracy and the Sabre exploded, killing FO Afzal Khan instantly. It was the IAF's 1st kill on the eastern front in '65. Cooke was now attacked by Haleem & his no 2 Tareeq Habib
He fought both simultaneously, and managed to blow away a large chunk of Habeeb's wing. The PAF pilot was done and managed to get out of the battle theater, flying back to East Pakistan, heavy smoke billowing from his wings
Cooke and Haleem now engaged in another deadly dance of death. At one point, Cooke, chasing his rival's dive down, almost smashed into the ground. Finally, Haleem decided to live to fight another day. He tried to fly back. Cooke fired and hit him
But the damage wasn't significant and Haleem was off. It was Cooke's last round. Out of ammo, as he started to turn back, he found that his speed indicator was missing. The pilot tube on his left wing had fallen off, probably when he brushed the tree
Cooke was out of ammo in a crippled aircraft. But just then he saw his wingman, Mamgain in a disadvantaged position vs Sabre no 3. Flt lt Basheer was getting into a "kill" position after a long dogfight
But suddenly, another Hunter dove in between him and Mamgain. It was Cooke! Out of ammo, he was flying in straight towards Basheer, intending to ram it. The PAF pilot lost his nerve and flew out of attack. But Cooke was not giving up
He ordered Mamgain to fly back to base and himself kept chasing the last Sabre to the border. Basheer tried every trick to shake off his chaser but like a leech, Cooke stuck at his tail. If Basheer had chosen to fire, Cooke's story would've ended right there
But the PAF pilot was more busy with self preservation and managed to cross the border with the Hunter giving chase till the last point. It was only then Cooke decided to turn back. He had a dramatic emergency landing at Dumdum, almost out of fuel
When he landed at Tezgaon, Haleem informed Gulli Haider that they were attacked by no less than 9 Sabres! Flt lt Cooke was honoured with the Vir Chakra. He later retired and moved to Australia (end)
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