The PAF was organized along RAF lines, and this heritage coninues to this day. This gave their pilots a high level of quality and training. Indeed, PAS' pilots are widely considered to be the best in the Islamic world. Treat PAF pilots as NATO pilots in terms of game initiative and use the Desert Falcons European table for generating pilot quality. The following is a summary of the aircraft available to the PAF during the 1965 war.
F-86F Sabre:
The main PAP combat aircraft was the F-86F Sabre. There were about 75 early model Fs with slatted wings on hand and about 25 with the 6-3 wing. These last 25 were fitted to carry the AIM-9B Sidewinder missile. The Sabre performed yeoman service in the ground attack and air superiority roles. Treat the Sabres as silver for sighting purposes. In air to air combat, the best estimate is that the F-86s shot down 12 Hunters, 4 Vampires, 2 Gnats, and 2 Mysteres for the loss of eleven of their own against Hunters and Gnats. The missile equipped Sabres were intermixed with the regular ones on a 1 for 4 basis in the Pakistani squadrons. The Sabre is an ideal jet for a combined air to air and air to ground campaign scenario.
F-104A Starfighter:
12 F-104As were on line in 1965 in the fighter/ nterceptor role. The PAF never seemed to utilize the Starfighter properly which resulted in a notable lack of success. One Mystere and one Canberra were downed for the loss of one F-104 in air combat. The reason seems to be that PAF tactical training appears to emphasize low speed, high-G turning dogfights, something that is politely put as next to impossible to pull off in an extemely high wing-loaded airplane like the Starfighter. Treat the F- 104 as silver for sighting. The F- 104, armed with AIM-9B Sidewinders is a good candidate for an air to air campaign scenario. It would be challenging to try and do better than the PAF did. The proper use of its high, for its era, thrust to weight ratio and solid vertical "energy tactics" would be needed to do well (Mark Bovankovich is probably already getting the counters out as he reads this...).
T-33 Shooting Star:
The PAF used twelve T-33 trainers as ground attack aircraft. They performed useful duty, mainly in support of the troops at the front. Evidently, the Shooting Stars were never involved in dogfights, nor did they suffer any air to air losses. Treat the T-33s as being silver. these would also be a challenge in a campaign scenario though only an air to ground one. One possibility would be to usea mixed F-104/T-33 squadron for a mixed campaign.
B-57 Canberra:
The PAF operated 25 B-57 bombers in the nighttime for the deep strike and interdiction roles, and in the daytime against Indian troops. At least one was downed by AAA, but they were generally considered to have been highly successful. Painted gloss black for their primary night attack role, they would be considered uncamoflauged in daytime. For campaign play it is suggested that close air support missions be played only in daylight conditions, and that strike missions be carried out in the day or night except that night missions would have to be restricted to targets that would be possible to attack at night, such as airbase runways and facilities. A B-57 Strike campaign is an ideal way to introduce yourself to Air Strike's night and adverse weather rules.
Dispute Over Kashmir 1965 Indo-Pakistan Air War
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© Copyright 1991 by J.D. Webster
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