India was wounded by war in the evening of December 3, 1971. The Indian Air Force bases in north and western India Air Force (IAF) bases in north and western India were the target of a sudden raids by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at approximately 5:30 p.m. Pilots from the Pakistan Air Force raided the IAF radar at Punjab’s Barnala and the cities of Amritsar, Pathankot, Srinagar, Halwara, Faridkot, and Uttar Pradesh’s Agra.
However, this time unlike 1947 or1965, India was not caught unaware. A third armed conflict between the neighbors of the subcontinent had become inevitable as early as the night of March 25, 1971, when the West Pakistani administration of Yahya Khan began the brutal crackdown on the Bengali-speaking population of East Pakistan, starting an endless inflow of refugees into India.
The journey of retaliation began at IAF base Dimapur, where Fight Lieutenant Shamsul Alam, ex-PAF, and six civilian pilots trained on transport aircrafts like Otter and Douglas Dakota. Fight Lieutenant Badr-ul-Alam and others trained on an Alouette III helicopter. 67 former PAF ground crew were transferred.
Squadron Leader Sultan Ahmed took over as commanding officer and trained on the Alouette, formally naming the unit “Kilo Flight’. Despite poor living conditions, Bangladeshi airmen underwent rigorous training under IAF instructor. Their moral was significantly boosted when the landed in Dimapur with the Bangladeshi flag painted on its wings and tail.
The Otter arrived at the port of Chittagong after an hour of flight. The time for truth has come. Soon after, two rockets were fired against oil tanks, causing them to burst into fireballs right away. The Otter reversed course as the anti-aircraft guns at Chittagong harbor opened fire. However, it still had one more ruse in store. Alam destroyed an anchored ship with his final two rockets as he leaving. Joy-Bangla (Glory to Bangla) were heard after this event.
Raids in Narayanganj were also conducted by Sq. Leader Sultan Ahmed’s Alouette concurrently. Both aircraft made a safe, damage free return to Agartala. The big boys of the IAF, the Sukhois, Gnats, and Migs, were now prepared to seize the initiative and wreck havoc on the enemy. Ultimately, the two Kilo Flight operations were largely symbolic and caused minimal actual harm to the enemy . However, the Indian defense establishment and the IAF made a wise tactical decision by allowing the Bangladeshi pilots to take the lead deliver the first blows in retaliation. This gave the Mukti Bahini a renewed sense of pride and highlighted India’s support for the liberation of Bangladesh.
In less than two weeks, East Pakistan cease to exist and anew nation born as Bangladesh.