Pakistan Air Force Base, Faisal (Urdu: پی اے ایف بیس فیصل), founded as RAF Drigh Road, previously known as PAF Station Drigh Road, and is now called Shahrah-e-Faisal.[1] This air force base is located at Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. In 1975, it was named after the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.[2]
Faisal Air Force Base, Karachi | |||||||||||
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 Logo of PAF Base Faisal | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Operator | Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||||
| Location | Karachi | ||||||||||
| Commander |  
Shafique Ahmad | ||||||||||
| Occupants | Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 29 ft / 9 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 24°52′42″N 67°6′56″E / 24.87833°N 67.11556°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  Faisal Air Force Base, Karachi | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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It is the site of PAF's Southern Air Command HQ and PAF Air War College.
History
editDuring the British Raj, PAF Base Faisal was established in 1933 and was known as RAF Drigh Road.[3] It was the first air force station in the Undivided India and was the birthplace of the colonial-era Royal Indian Air Force, the PAF's parent force. The Royal Air Force mutiny of 1946 was a mutiny on dozens of Royal Air Force stations in the British India in January 1946. The mutiny began at RAF Drigh Road, now known as PAF Base Faisal, and later spread to involve nearly 50,000 men over 60 RAF stations in British India and RAF bases as far as Singapore.[1][4]
PAF Base Masroor is the other Pakistan Air Force base in Karachi. The new PAF Base Bholari near Karachi was inaugurated in January 2018.[5][6]
Recent developments
editIt is currently the home of the PAF Air War College, preparing Pakistan Air Force junior officers who have already been marked for promotion for command and staff duties at the operational level. One of the facilities at PAF Base Faisal, the 102 Air Engineering depot, is responsible for the overhaul of turbojet engines for the PAF's fleet of Chengdu F-7. The F-7 is a type of Chinese interceptor aircraft. On 4 July 2003 a ceremony was held to celebrate the roll-out of the 10,000th turbojet engine to be overhauled at the facility.[3]
The engine overhaul workshop was also upgraded to overhaul the newer WP-13F turbojet engines of the PAF's latest F-7 model, the F-7PG.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- Childs, David (2000), Britain Since 1945: A Political History, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-24804-3
- ^ a b "PAF Base Faisal". GlobalSecurity.org website. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ Pakistan Air Force (scroll down to read about PAF Base Faisal) Scramble (Dutch Aviation Society) website, Retrieved 4 October 2021
- ^ a b "PM says ties with China to grow stronger: 10,000th engine rolls out". Dawn (newspaper). 4 July 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ Childs 2000, p. 22
- ^ "PAF inaugurates new operational air base at Bholari near Karachi". Geo TV News website.
- ^ "Khawaja Asif lays foundation stone of PAF Bholari base in Jamshoro". The Nation (newspaper). 10 December 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ "ISLAMABAD: Air chief visits Faisal base". Dawn (newspaper). 20 January 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
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