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1965 Kalaikunda Airstrikes
Part of the 1965 War
Final moments of an Indian Canberra bomber at kalaikunda.
Operational scopeAir strike
Planned byPAF
ObjectiveDestroy Indian aircraft
Date6-7 September 1965
Executed byPakistan Air Force
OutcomePakistani victory

The 1965 Kalaikunda Airstrikes (Urdu: اردو, کالائی کنڈا فضائی حملے) were a series of two airstrikes by Pakistan at the start of the Indian invasion of Lahore during the 1965 War. At 07:45 on 6 September, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) under Squadron Leader Shabbir Hussain launched an airstrike that destroyed the majority of the Indian Air Force bomber force in the eastern sector on the ground. The following day, the Pakistan Air Force proceeded to bomb the same air base again. By noon, the Indian Air Force, with about 450 aircraft, were destroyed. It was also very successful in hindering Indian air operations in the eastern sector for the duration of the war, and is one of the most successful air attacks in military history.[1]

Summary

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The PAF launched many of its nearly 12 operational F-86 Sabres in two main waves of aerial attacks, a total of 10 enemy aircraft were destroyed, most of them on the ground. This resulted in the IAF pulling out most of it's bomber units which were deployed near East Pakistan.

The operational success was achieved by concentrating on the initial destruction of the runways with a new kind of weapon, a rocket assisted anti-runway warhead. The prototype French/Israeli anti-runway weapon program uses rocket braking over the target to point the warhead directly toward the runway being attacked; at a set altitude, a second accelerator rocket ignites and drives the warhead through the pavement of the runway before it detonates. The explosion creates a small crater over a large new sinkhole, meaning the damaged runway section must be completely removed before the sinkhole can be repaired rather than a normal bomb crater which is simply filled in and patched. Once the runways were disabled, entire air bases' complements of aircraft were effectively grounded and fell victim to subsequent attack waves, resulting in near-total Israeli air supremacy.[2][3]

Timeline

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5 June 1967

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Egyptian aircraft destroyed on the ground

Egyptian defensive infrastructure was extremely poor, and no airfields were yet equipped with hardened aircraft shelters capable of protecting Egypt's warplanes in the event of an attack. The Israeli warplanes headed out over the Mediterranean before turning toward Egypt. Meanwhile, the Egyptians hindered their own defense by effectively shutting down their entire air defense system: they were worried that rebel Egyptian forces would shoot down the plane carrying Field Marshal Amer and Lt-Gen. Sedky Mahmoud, who were en route from Almaza Air Base to Bir Tamada in the Sinai to meet the commanders of the troops stationed there. In this event it did not make a great deal of difference as the Israeli pilots came in below Egyptian radar cover and well below the lowest point at which Egypt's SA-2 surface-to-air missile batteries could bring down an aircraft.[4]

The first Israeli wave attacked 11 bases, catching much of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground and destroying them before they got airborne. The Israeli jets then returned to Israel, were "quick-turned" (refueled and re-armed) in 7 minutes 30 seconds, and left in a second wave that attacked 14 Egyptian bases and returned with only minor losses.[5] They "quick-turned" again and departed in a third wave.

The opening stages of Operation Focus were a complete success: Egypt's air force of nearly 500 combat aircraft was destroyed in the space of three hours, with only minor losses to the Israeli Air Force. When Syria, Jordan, and Iraq attacked Israeli targets in retaliation for the airstrike on Egypt, their attacks were mainly directed at civilian targets[citation needed] and were largely ineffectual. In response many of the IAF planes headed for a third strike on Egypt were diverted en route to Syrian and Jordanian targets, and other IAF aircraft were sent against Arab ground forces in support of Israeli ground forces. By the end of the first day of the Six-day War, Israel had complete air superiority over Egypt, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and the entire Sinai desert.[6]

6–10 June 1967

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On the second day of the war (6 June) the IAF was used against Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian, and Iraqi ground forces.

On the third day (7 June) the IAF destroyed hundreds of Egyptian vehicles trying to flee across the Sinai in convoys and trapped thousands more in narrow Sinai passes. By the end of the third day Jordan's air force of 34 combat aircraft had essentially ceased to exist and the Jordanian military was no longer in the fight.

By the sixth and final day (10 June) Syria had lost approximately 100 combat aircraft and the fighting was over.

Aftermath

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During the Six-Day War, the Israeli Air Force, with 250 combat aircraft[7] at its disposal, employing 352 sorties, had prevailed over a coalition with approximately 600 combat aircraft. The IAF destroyed 452 enemy aircraft, including 79 in air combat, while losing 46 of its own. Twenty-four Israeli pilots and hundreds of Arab pilots were killed.[citation needed]

Number of aircraft destroyed by aircraft type

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Number of aircraft destroyed by country

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Tail of a downed Egyptian Mikoyan MiG-19

Totals by waves

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  1. First wave (7:45 am): 101 sorties; 11 airfields were attacked by 183 IAF aircraft; 197 Egyptian aircraft and 8 radar stations were destroyed. Five IAF pilots were killed and five more fell captive.
  2. Second wave (9:30 am): 164 sorties; airfields were attacked; 107 Egyptian aircraft destroyed; Two Syrian planes destroyed in dogfights
  3. Third Wave (12:15 pm): 85 sorties against Egypt, 48 against Jordan, 67 against Syria and one against H-3 air base in Iraq.
  4. Other waves (afternoon & evening): two more sorties against H-3; several additional attacks on Egyptian airfields.

Other effects

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The effectiveness of the operation showed how vulnerable fixed air base installations were to aerial attacks at the time. This caused many nations' air forces to develop improved defensive measures against them, such as constructing hardened aircraft shelters to protect aircraft on the ground and establishing highway strips as alternative air bases.[8][9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Afzal, Muhammad (1967). Story of PAF Heroes. Sayyarah Digest Publications.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Dassault Mirage: The Combat Log", Salvador Mafe Huertas, page-41, ISBN 978-0764301681
  4. ^ Bowen, 2003, pp. 114–115 (author interview with General Salahadeen Hadidi who presided over the first court martial of the heads of the air force and the air defence system after the war).
  5. ^ Eshel, Stanley M. Ulanoff, David (1985). The fighting Israeli Air Force. New York: Arco Pub. p. 43. ISBN 0-668-05578-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Six Days of War" by Michael Oren (chapter 3)
  7. ^ Oren 2002, p. 171
  8. ^ Townshend, Charles (2005). The Oxford History of Modern War. Oxford University Press. p. 167. ISBN 9780192806451.
  9. ^ Andersson, Lennart (23 November 2006). "Svenska reservvägbaser" (PDF) (in Swedish).
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