Sattar Alvi: Difference between revisions

| honorific_prefix = [[Air Commodore]]

| name = =Sattar Alvi

| honorific_suffix = [[File:Sitara - i -Jurat .png|20px]] <br />

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| birth_name = Abdus Sattar Alvi

| other_name =

| nickname = ''Master of Migs''<ref name="Defence Journal, 1999">{{cite web|last1=Tufail, PAF|first1=Gp. Capt. (Col) Kaisar|title=Shahbaz Over Golan: The saga of an intrepid PAF pilot who humbled the Israelis|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/apr99/golan.htm|website=www.defencejournal.com|publisher=Defence Journal|accessdateaccess-date=28 August 2017|location=Islamabad|language=en-pk|date=April 1999|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213417/http://www.defencejournal.com/apr99/golan.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

| birth_place [Sammipur= jalandhar India] punjab ProvinceJalandhar sammipur, [[British IndianPunjab]], Empire|[[British India]]

| allegiance = {{PAK}}

| branch = {{airAir forceForce|PAK}}

| serviceyears =1963–1998 1963–1998

| serviceyears_label =

| rank = [[File:Air Cdre Pakistan Air Force.png|10px20px]][[File:US-O7 insignia.svg|15px]] [[Air Commodore|Air-Commodore]]

| rank_label =

| unit = [[List of Pakistan Air Force aircraft squadrons|No. 11 Squadron ''Arrows'']]

| commands = [[PAF Base Rafiqui]]<br />[[PAF Base Sargodha|Combat Commanders' School]]

| battles =
{{tree list}}
* [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]

** {{small|[[Indo-Pakistani Air War of 1965|Air war operations]]}}

* [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]<br>[[Yom-Kippur War|Yom Kippur War of 1973]]<br />

| relations =

| laterwork = [[Flight instructor]]

| signature_size =

| signature_alt =

[[Air Commodore]] '''Abdus Sattar Alvi''' ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Urdu]]: {{Nastaliq| عبد ستارالستار ىلوىعلوی}}), {{small| [[Sitara-ie-ImtiazJurat|SI(M)SJ]], [[Sitara-ei-JuratImtiaz|SJSI(M)]]}}, is a retired [[One-star rank|one-star]] rank [[Air officer|air officer]] and a [[fighter pilot]] in the [[Pakistan Air Force]], who is renowned for his gallant actions during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|third]] [[Indo-Pakistani wars|Indo-Pakistani]] in 1971, and served as a [[military advisor]] in the [[Syrian Arab Air Force|Syrian Air Force]] during the [[Yom Kippur War]] of 1973.<ref name="The Express Tribune, Alvi (2015)">{{cite news|last1=Alvi|first1=Air Cdre. Sattar|title=50 years on: Memories of the 1973 Arab-Israeli Conflict - The Express Tribune|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/855837/50-years-on-memories-of-the-1973-arab-israeli-conflict/|accessdateaccess-date=28 August 2017|work=The Express Tribune|agency=The Express Tribune|publisher=The Express Tribune, Alvi (2015)|date=19 March 2015|location=Islamabad, Pakistan|language=en-pk}}</ref>

InAccording to modern Pakistani sources, in 1974, Alvi [[Air-to-air missile|shot down]] the [[Israeli Air Force]]'s [[Dassault Mirage III|Mirage III]] over the [[dogfight]] took place in [[Golan Heights]] in Syria, and was honored for his bravery with gallantry war-time medals by [[Government of Syria|Syrian]] and [[Pakistan Government|Pakistan government]].<ref name="My Voice">{{cite web |title=The PAF Shaheens of International Fame |website=My Voice Unheard|url=http://myvoiceunheard.com/the-paf-shaheens-of-international-fame-pak/ |accessdateaccess-date=28 August 2017|language=en-pk|date=7 September 2016}}</ref> However, no major sources from the time reported on such an incident.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=⁨מעריב⁩ {{!}} עמוד 1 {{!}} 28 אפריל 1974 {{!}} אוסף העיתונות {{!}} הספרייה הלאומית |url=https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/mar/1974/04/28/01/page/1 |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.nli.org.il |language=he}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=April 1974 Broadcast Index {{!}} Vanderbilt Television News Archive |url=https://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/siteindex/1974-4 |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=tvnews.vanderbilt.edu}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Results 1 to 13 of 13 for syria israel — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=q&hs=1&r=1&results=1&txq=syria+israel+&dafdq=26&dafmq=04&dafyq=1974&datdq=28&datmq=04&datyq=1974&puq=&txf=txIN&ssnip=txt&oa=&e=26-04-1974-30-04-1974--en--20--1--txt-txIN-syria+israel+------- |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}</ref>

Sattar Alvi was born in Sammipur, [[Jalandhar district|Jalandhar]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British India]] in 1944, into a [[Punjabi Muslims|Punjabi]] family that had the military background. His father was an [[Army officer|officer]] in the [[British Indian Army]] who later served in the [[Pakistan Army]].<ref name="PAF Shaheens">{{cite web|title=The PAF Shaheens of International Fame - My Voice Unheard|url=http://myvoiceunheard.com/the-paf-shaheens-of-international-fame-pak/|website=myvoiceunheard.com|publisher=PAF Shaheens|accessdateaccess-date=8 September 2017}}</ref> He was educated at the [[Bannu]] where he did his matriculation and attended the [[Government Emerson College|Emerson College]] in [[Multan]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] where he secured his graduation.<ref name="PAF Shaheens"/>

In 1963, he was accepted to join the [[Pakistan Air Force Academy|Air Force Academy]] in [[Risalpur]] where he received his flight training on the [[Cessna T-37 Tweet|Cessna T-37T]], and graduated in General Duty Pilot (GD) course in 1965.<ref name="PAF Shaheens"/> [[Pilot Officerofficer|P/Off.Pilot Officer]] Alvi participated in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|second war]] with [[India]] in 1965, touring his duty as "Mail Runners" to convey messages from one base to another, served on this assignment until the [[Tashkent Agreement|war was ended]].<ref name="PAF Shaheens"/>

From 1966–711966 to 1971, [[Flight Lieutenantlieutenant|Flt.LtFlight Lieutenant]] ([[Captain (air force)|Capt.Captain]]) Alvi was selected in the [[military adviser]] group for the [[Iraqi Air Force]], where he qualified as a [[test pilot]] for the [[MiG-21]] and sat up the training school for the [[Iraqi Air Force|Iraqi IAF]].<ref name="PAF Shaheens"/> He returned to Pakistan to participate in the [[Indo-Pakistani war of 1971|third war]] with [[India]] and flew the Quick Reaction Close Support Missions especially in Shakargarh, where the battle with the [[Indian Air Force|Indian IAF]] was the most turbulent.<ref name="PAF Shaheens"/> After the war in 1971, [[Flight Lieutenant|Flt.Lt]] Alvi was sent to join the faculty at the [[Pakistan Air Force Academy|Air Force Academy]] and served as a [[flight instructor]] on the flight manuals on the [[Chengdu J-7|F-7P]], a Chinese variant of [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21F]].<ref name="The Express Tribune, Alvi (2015)" />

[[Prime Minister of Pakistan|Pakistani primePrime ministerMinister]] [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] sought to maintain close relationships with the [[Arab world]]. When the [[Yom Kippur warWar]] broke out, Alvi was one of the Pakistan Air Force fighter pilots who volunteered to go to the Middle East to support [[Egypt]] and [[Syria]]. By the time they arrived, however, [[Egypt]] and Israel had already concluded a ceasefire, and only Syria remained in an active state of war against [[Israel]].<ref>{{Cite web

| authorlinkauthor-link =

| title =1973 Arab Israeli War and PAF Pilots

| date = 26 August 2009

| url =http://pakistaninside.blogspot.com/2009/08/1973-arab-israeli-war-and-paf-pilots.html

| accessdateaccess-date = }}

</ref> Alvi, who was serving as a [[Flightflight Lieutenantlieutenant]] in 1973, joined the [[Syrian Air Force]] along with a Pakistani Squadron Leader Arif Manzoor. The Pakistani fighter pilots flew in a formation using the call-sign "''Shahbaz''" under the command of Squadron Leader Arif Manzoor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pavocavalry.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/shahbaz-over-golan-1973-war-golan-idf-click-on-top-to-enlarge/ |title='Shahbaz' over Golan–1973–WAR-GOLAN-IDF-CLICK ON TOP TO ENLARGE « understanding each other |website=pavocavalry.wordpress.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718104052/http://pavocavalry.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/shahbaz-over-golan-1973-war-golan-idf-click-on-top-to-enlarge/ |archive-date=2011-07-18}}</ref>

===The Aerial fight over Golan according to modern Pakistani sources ===

On 26 April 1974, PAFAlvi fighterwas pilotflying a SAF [[Flight LieutenantMig-21|MiG-21F-13]] Sattar(Serial AlviNo. 1863) on deputation to No. 67A Squadron, [[Syrian Air Force]] (SAF) was flying a SAF [[Mig-21|MiG-21F-13]] (Serial No. 1863) out of Dumayr Air Base, Syria, in an eight-ship formation with a fellow PAF pilot and the Flightflight Leaderleader, [[Squadron Leader]] Arif Manzoor.<ref>{{Cite web

| last =Tufail

| first =[[Group Captain]] [[Colonel]] Kaisar

| authorlinkauthor-link =

| work = Defence Journal of Pakistan

| publisher =Pakistan Defence Forces

| date =April 1999

| url =http://www.defencejournal.com/apr99/golan.htm

| doi =

}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.defencejournal.com/apr99/golan.htm |title=Ibid |access-date=1 November 2009 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213417/http://www.defencejournal.com/apr99/golan.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> While leading a Mig-21 patrol along the border, Squadron Leader Arif Manzoor was apprised of the presence of two [[Israeli Air Force|Israeli]] [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|Phantom aircraft]] and was cautioned that these could be decoys while two other fast tracks approaching from the opposite direction might be the real threat. The latter turned out to be Mirages and a moment later Alvi, in Arif's formation saw the Nono. 2 Mirage breaking towards him.<ref>{{Cite web

| last =The Global Security

| firstauthor-link =

| authorlinktitle =Syria 1974

| url =http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/air-force-combat.htm

| accessdateaccess-date = }}

</ref> All this time, heavy radio jamming by Israeli ground stations was making things difficult, but the Pakistani pilots were used to such tactics. HeAccording to the same Pakistani sources, he managed to shoot down Captain Lutz, while the jetwingman pilotedquickly disengaged, byand Captain Lutz whilelater succumbed to wounds he sustained during ejection.<ref name="The Express Tribune, Alvi (2015)" /> However, no major sources from the wingmantime quicklyreported disengagedon such an incident,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> and there is no mention of "Captain Lutz" in [[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|Israel's Ministry of Defense]]'s record of Israel's casualties of war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=אתר ההנצחה לחללי מערכות ישראל |url=https://www.izkor.gov.il/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=אתר ההנצחה לחללי מערכות ישראל |language=he}}</ref>

After the war, Sattar Alvi was promoted to [[Wing Commander (rank)|Wing Commander]] and went on to command PAF's elite [[Combat Commanders' School]] and the premier [[PAF Base Rafiqui]]. In 1994, he was promoted to [[Air Commodore]] and commanded the [[Pakistan Aeronautical Complex]] (PAC) until 1998. He retired as an [[Air Commodore]] in 1998 and received an [[honourable discharge]] from the air force.

* [http://www.defencejournal.com/apr99/golan.htm Air Commodore Sattar Alvi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213417/http://www.defencejournal.com/apr99/golan.htm |date=23 September 2015 }}