Eagles of Destiny: Volume 2 - Birth and Growth of the Pakistani Air Force, 1947-1971

(Paperback)

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The authors discuss the transformation of PAF under the first US assistance program to Pakistan and how PAF's leadership at the time utilised this opportunity to create a modern air force. Modernisation of the air force in terms of equipment, training and organisation are discussed in detail. The 1965 war is covered on the basis of previously unavailable material, authors later turn towards the build-up of PAF in the context of US sanctions highlighting and discussing the challenges and the response. The 1971 war is covered including first-hand accounts of key officers. Induction of new systems like F-86 Sabres, Mirages, Chinese F-6, electronic warfare efforts and PAF's air war strategies are discussed in detail. Like Volume 1, the book also includes several first-person accounts of the men who were part of important episodes relevant to the subject. Most of these accounts have not been published before and provide a unique insight from the perspective of professionals who were either direct actors or witnesses of these episodes. AUTHORS: Usman Shabbir was born in Pakistan in 1978 and after his early schooling at Lawrence College, completed his engineering education from IT University of Denmark. He is an avid aviation enthusiast with his primary focus on Asian air forces. He has contributed to numerous aviation publications over the years. Currently, he resides in Copenhagen, working for Deloitte as Manager. Yawar Mazhar was born in Pakistan and has worked in the corporate sector for all of his professional life. Military aviation and especially the history of the Pakistan Air Force has been a passion for him all through his life. Over years he has collected information on PAF's history and developments and in the process has met and interviewed dozens of PAF officers, most of whom were a key part of important developments of PAF. A fortunate introduction to Usman allowed both of them to start collaborating actively which led to earlier articles on PAF. His other interests include philosophy, history and Urdu poetry. 126 b/w photos, 27 colour profiles, 5 maps, 30 tables

Reviews

"...well written, solidly researched with detailed citation, and filled with historical facts and personal anecdotes."-- "The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation"
"The colour profiles are well executed and will be useful to the modeler. Given the detail present in the text, this is also a very useful book for the aviation enthusiast."-- "IPMS/USA"
"In line with other books from Helion, the research is well done, there are a lot of good photos as well as nicely done maps and full color profiles. The authors do a fine job of telling the story and there are a lot of pilot's tales to make it an especially interesting read."-- "ModelingMadness.Com"

Author Bio

Usman Shabbir was born in Pakistan in 1978 and after his early schooling at Lawrence College, completed his engineering education from IT University of Denmark. He is an avid aviation enthusiast with his primary focus on Asian air forces. He has contributed to numerous aviation publications over the years. Currently, he resides in Copenhagen, working for Deloitte as Manager. Yawar Mazhar was born in Pakistan and has worked in the corporate sector for all of his professional life. Military aviation and especially the history of the Pakistan Air Force has been a passion for him all through his life. Over years he has collected information on PAF's history and developments and in the process has met and interviewed dozens of PAF officers, most of whom were a key part of important developments of PAF. A fortunate introduction to Usman allowed both of them to start collaborating actively which led to earlier articles on PAF. His other interests include philosophy, history and Urdu poetry.