Who has the world record of shooting down 5 planes in thirty seconds?

On 6 September 1965, Pakistan Air Force Pilot MM Alam made history by shooting down five Indian planes in less than a minute. Commonly known as M M Alam, the “1965 War Hero”, the war hero still holds a record for the heroic act. He received the Sitar-e-Jurat twice for his outstanding flying abilities and valor in air warfare.

In the 1965 Pakistan conflict, Alam, popularly known as “Little Dragon,” shot down five Indian war planes in less than a minute while piloting an F-86 Sabre, totaling nine warplanes downed in aerial action.

MM Alam was the PAF’s first combat pilot, and his name is on the list of Hall of Famers at the PAF Museum in Karachi. Alam is regarded as a national hero in Pakistan and was honored with the prestigious ‘Sitara-e-Jurat’ medal 1965 war.

Alam was born in Calcutta, on July 6, 1935. No one in his family had served in the military before him, and he entered the military despite his father’s wishes.

When India went to war in 1965, Alam, who was the first commanding officer of the first squadron of Assaults Mirage III, flew his F-86 Sabre jet plane over the skies of Sargodha, armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, to kill the enemies.

MM Alam made headlines when he shot down nine Indian Hawker Hunter fighter jets in air-to-air battle amid the Hawker Hunter’s dominance over the F-86. He shot down five Indian planes in thirty seconds, breaking the world record.

Alam died in Karachi on March 18, 2013, at the age of 77, after a long illness.

More Info: pakobserver.net

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3 Comments

Leapy Lee

Shirley Dutt, just because you haven’t heard of someone why does that mean it’s wishful thinking?

Babita Goyal

Agree with the answer but not with the statement that India went to war. Following excerpt is from wikipedia "The Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, also known as the second India–Pakistan war, was an armed conflict between Pakistan and India that took place from August 1965 to September 1965. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar,[11] which was designed to infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir to precipitate an insurgency against Indian rule.[12] The seventeen-week war caused thousands of casualties on both sides and witnessed the largest engagement of armored vehicles and the largest tank battle since World War II.[13][14] Hostilities between the two countries ended after a ceasefire was declared through UNSC Resolution 211 following a diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and the United States, and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration.[15] Much of the war was fought by the countries' land forces in Kashmir and along the border between India and Pakistan. This war saw the largest amassing of troops in Kashmir since the Partition of India in 1947, a number that was overshadowed only during the 2001–2002 military standoff between India and Pakistan. Most of the battles were fought by opposing infantry and armored units, with substantial backing from air forces, and naval operations. India had the upper hand over Pakistan when the ceasefire was declared." History repeated itself in 1972 and 1999.