Air superiority in 48 hours
PAKISTAN had fortified ITS eastern half With A ring of AIRBASES. to Achieve victory, INDIA needed to eliminate them All
A crucial advantage for India during the 1971 war was its impressive collection of ground and carrier-based fighter jets. While Pakistan did enjoy a short-lived heyday during the late 1950s thanks to arms deliveries from the US, by the 1960s this had dissipated as India poured money and resources into its air force.
Strong ties with the Soviet Union allowed the transfer of the MIG-21 to the subcontinent. these eastern bloc interceptors, known by their nato nomenclature as the ‘fishbed’, were the best in Asia at the time and worked alongside british-made hunter fighterbombers – the other prized assets of the IAF.
on the eve of the 1971 invasion,
Pakistani squadrons from bangladesh attempted to cripple Indian airbases across the border with dumb bombs. Poor coordination and a lack of ordnance made this an exercise in futility. Worse, India’s war planners knew these enemy aircraft were based in a dozen locations – all of them in range for retaliatory air strikes.
before the sun had set on 4 december, most of these sites were out of commission. the MIG-21 in particular was an agile and lethal adversary when
matched against the American- made f-86 Sabre, considered Pakistan’s best equaliser in the sky.
the following day the Indian navy’s carrier INS vikrant launched its Sea hawks on the southeastern coasts of bangladesh. the targets were the air and naval facilities in chittagong and cox’s bazaar.
Without any shore-based defences to oppose them, the INS vikrant and its escorts remained unmolested in the bay of bengal.
by 5 december most Indian air sorties were used for close air support as Pakistani Sabres were no longer able to contest their airspace. there would be no more major dogfights for the duration of the war.
As Indian mechanised columns neared dhaka, closing on the city like a vice, Indian Mig-21s had a last crucial mission before the city’s defenders capitulated. this was the pinpoint destruction of the Government house on 14 december. two days later Indian troops entered the city victorious.
the liberation of bangladesh was the first modern conflict where Indian pilots and aircraft established total superiority in a conventional war.
“THE MIG-21 IN PARTICULAR WAS AN AGILE AND LETHAL ADVERSARY WHEN MATCHED AGAINST THE AMERICAN-MADE F-86 SABRE”