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1965 War Hero MM Alam remembered on 85th birthday

1965 War Hero MM Alam remembered on 85th birthday
July 6, 2020
LAHORE (92 News) – The hero of Indo-Pak War of September 1965 Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilot and Air Commodore Mohammad Mahmood Alam, popularly known as M M Alam is being paid tribute today [Monday] on his 85th birthday. The war hero was born on July 6, 1935, in Calcutta, India. Air Commodore MM Alam was awarded the third highest military award of Sitara-e-Jurat for his dauntless and chivalrous contributions during the 1965 war. He breathed his last on this day in 2013. In September 1965, MM Alam had encountered Indian war jets at three different points.
Five-in-one-minute
MM Alam shot down five Indian Air Force (IAF) jets in one minute during the 1965 war, making a world record in shooting most jets in shortest time. In less than a minute, five military jets of the Indian Air Force were downed one after another by Alam as he hit targets flying his Seber-86 jet. The precision and craft with which he carried the strikes continue to startle the air force soldiers to this day. MM Alam was the first ever fighter pilot for PAF, listed on top in the hall of famers list at the PAF Museum in Karachi. Alam is considered as a national hero for Pakistan, most significantly, for his remarkable show of brilliance in the war of 1965 he was awarded the ‘Sitara-e-Jurat’ and also the BAR medal. In 1965, when India started war in the late mist dark night, Alam who was the first commanding officer of the first squadron of Assaults Mirage III, took his F-86 Sabre jet plane equipped with AIM-9 sidewinder missiles and fly over the skies of Sargodha to defeat the enemies who entered in Pakistani Air Space. MM Alam made the unforgettable history by knocking down nine Indian Fighter Jets ‘Hawker Hunters’ in air to air combat despite Hawker Hunter superiority over F-86. He shot down as he sets an unbeaten world record by downing five Indian aircraft in thirty seconds. The Air Force legend was battling illness since December 2012, and was admitted to Pakistan Naval Station Shifa Hospital in Karachi. After a protracted illness, Alam died in Karachi on March 18, 2013 at the age of  77. He retired in 1982 as an Air Commodore.