No. 26 Squadron PAF

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No. 26 Squadron
Black Spiders
PAC JF-17 Thunder
Engagements
Decorations2×
Nanchang A-5C (1984–2010)
Fighter
  • F-86 Sabre
    (1967-1980)
  • Shenyang F-6P Farmer
    (1980–1984)
  • PAC JF-17
    (2010—Present)

The No. 26 Squadron, nicknamed the Black Spiders, is a multi-role squadron of the

PAC JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter jets.[2][3][4]

History

F-86 Sabre

Retired F-86F Sabre of the No. 26 Squadron on display (Black spider logo visible on tail)

The No. 26 Squadron was raised on 30 August 1967 at

F-86 Sabre, the squadron was assigned the role of operational conversion unit and trained pilots on the F-86 Sabre.[3]

The squadron later shifted to PAF Base Peshawar from where it is still currently operating. For the next 10 years, more than 300 Pakistani and 150 foreign pilots were trained.[5][2]

1971 War

Fighter pilots of the No. 26 Squadron during the 1971 war. From left-to-right, Pervez Mirza, Flt Lt Salim Baig Mirza, unknown, Flt Lt Amjad Enderabi, Flt Lt Rahim Yousufzai, Shafqat and Flt Lt H K Dotani.

During the

No. 16 Squadron pilots serving with the No. 26 squadron also included).[6][3][2][5]

On 4 December 1971,

Peshawar Airport
. On 14 December, a formation of four F-86F Sabres consisting of Wing Commander Changezi & Flight Lieutenants H K Dotani, Amjad Andrabi, and Maroof Mir took of from
Mk.84 bombs and cratered the runway preventing any Indian fighters from taking off.[7]

F-86F
Sabre moments before it was shot down

Though two

Folland Gnats had managed to take off before the runway was disabled, one of the Gnats strayed away from the area allegedly due to low visibility while the second Gnat (flown by Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh) engaged the No. 26 Squadron's formation but was shot down by Flight Lieutenant Salim Baig after an intense high G dogfight.[8][9][10][11]
During the war however, the squadron lost two Sabres along with their pilots.

After flying 15 sorties, Squadron Leader M. Aslam Chaudhary's F-86F (S.No. 3856) was shot down on 10 December 1971 during a close air support mission over

Sitara-i-Juraat for their services.[12]

Shenyang F-6C

Retired Pakistan Air Force Shenyang F-6

By December 1980, the

Shenyang F-6 air superiority fighter.[2][5]

Nanchang A-5C

In 1984, the squadron was re-equipped with the

Nanchang A-5C, thus the unit became a Tactical Attack squadron. In 1985 it was awarded with the Flight Safety, Command Armament, and the Professionals Trophies. In April 1989, the squadron provided pilots to ferry A-5C fighters requiring overhaul to China. In 1991, the first four of the squadron's aircraft were fitted with new Martin-Baker ejection seats.[5][2][13]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Skirmishes

Main article:
Afghanistan-Pakistan Skirmishes

During the

defected from an 8-ship formation which was on a bombing run near the border. After being intercepted, the Su-25 lowered its landing gear and wiggled its wings as a sign of surrender. It later made a forced landing
. [13]

PAC JF-17 Thunder

SD-10 missiles flies over the Nanga Parbat

On 18 February 2010, the Black Spiders was re-equipped with 14 JF-17 thunders and thus became the

A-5C during which it led two JF-17s in a spectacular flypast.[14][15] Before their official induction however, the squadron's JF-17s were used in Operation Rah-e-Nijat against militants to test its weapons and effectiveness.[16][17]

JF-17s from the No. 16 and No. 26 Squadrons escorting the Chinese President's Air China Boeing-747

In 2015, 8 JF-17s from the

Boeing-747 during his official visit to Pakistan
. [18]

Exercises

[5][2]

  • Flat Out 89
  • Wide Awake 89
  • 1989 air-to-air firing camp (PAF Base Masroor)
  • ISAC 89 – inter-squadron armament competition, the squadron achieved first place and Wing Commander Wali Mughni was declared Sher Afghan.
  • ACES 89 – air combat evaluations.
  • High Mark 89
  • 1992 DACT camp (PAF Base Minhas)
  • Flat Out 92
  • Wide Awake 92
  • High Mark 93 – deployed at PAF Base Murid
  • High Mark 95 – deployed at PAF Base Shahbaz (Jacobabad)
  • Saffron Bandit 97
  • 1998 DACT camp (PAF Base Minhas) – held from 14 to 30 December 1998, No. 26 was deployed with ten A-5C and all squadron pilots flew sorties during the deployment. Other squadrons deployed were No. 8 and No. 16 Squadrons.
  • 1998 Armament cyclic training (PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha) – ten pilots and eight A-5C deployed, 246 armament sorties flown in a 19-day period from 5 October to 24 October 1998.
  • Awards:
    • Sarfraz Rafiqui Flight safety Trophy (1992)
    • Chief of Air Staff Professionals Trophy (1994)
    • Sarfraz Rafiqui Trophy (1994)
    • Sarfraz Rafiqui Trophy (1996)
    • Air Combat Evaluations – ACES Trophy (1996)

Aircraft flown

No. 26 Squadron
Black Spiders
Role Operational Aircraft Notes
Fighter 1967–1981
F-86 Sabre
Air Superiority 1981–1984
F-6C Farmer
 [19]
Tactical Attack
 1984–2010
A-5C Fantan
Multi-role 2010—Present
JF-17A Thunder
(Block 1) 		The PAF's first JF-17 squadron, formed from the JF-17 Test and Evaluation Flight.[20]

Gallery

  • JF-17 from the No. 26 Squadron at the Farnborough Airshow
    JF-17 from the No. 26 Squadron at the
    Farnborough Airshow
  • A JF-17 Thunder belonging to the No. 26 Squadron with its canopy open
    A JF-17 Thunder belonging to the No. 26 Squadron with its
    canopy
    open
  • PAC JF-17 Thunder from the No. 26 Squadron during the 2015 Paris Airshow
    PAC JF-17 Thunder from the No. 26 Squadron during the 2015
    Paris Airshow

In popular culture

In 2019, the No. 26 Squadron was featured in the military combat flight simulator, DCS World. The No. 26 Squadron Livery was and is one of the base liveries available for the DCS: JF-17 module.

In 2021, the No. 26 Squadron was featured in the military combat video game,

Nanchang A-5C. It came with the livery of the No. 26 Squadron "Black Spiders".[21][22]

See also

References

  1. Allama Iqbal. "شاہین/The Falcon". Gabriel's Wing
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f "No. 26 Squadron PAF". PakDef.info. Archived from the original on 2012-08-29.
  3. ^ a b c "No. 26 Squadron PAF". GlobalSecurity.org.
  4. ^ "Today in history (No. 26 Squadron PAF)" (Press release). DGPR PAKISTAN AIR FORCE. 30 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e "26 Squadron". Globalsecurity.org.
  6. ^ Kaiser Tufail (10 May 2010). "Close Air Support at Chamb".
  7. ^ "Air Battles December 1971-My Experience". Defence Journal. Archived from the original on 11 January 2001. Wing Commander (Retd) Salim Baig gives an account of his own personal experience as a combat pilot in 1971
  8. ^ "1971 War Air Combat Kills". PakDef.info. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012.
  9. ^ Sqn Ldr (R) Fahad Masood (7 April 2022). "Baig Strikes Twice". Second to None. Directorate of Media Affairs Pakistan Air Force.
  10. ^ Fahad Masood (10 December 2020). "Baig's Tryst With Destiny". DefenceJournal.com.
  11. ^ Tufail, Kaiser (21 November 2008). "Aeronaut: A Hard Nut to Crack". Kaiser-aeronaut.blogspot.com. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  12. ^ "PAF Losses (1971 War)". PakDef.info. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008.
  13. ^ a b Air Commodore Muhammad Ali (3 March 2022). "Fantastic Fantan". Second to None. Directorate of Media Affairs Pakistan Air Force.
  14. ^ "No. 26 Squadron Re equipment" (PDF). Pakistan Air Force Official Website (Press release).
  15. ^ "JF-17 THUNDER JOINS PAF's FIGHTER FLEET" (PDF). Pakistan Air Force Official Website (Press release).
  16. ^ "First Squadron of JF-17 Thunder inducted in PAF". App.com.pk. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  17. ^ Tanouli, Zia. "جے ایف-١٧ میں باقاعدہ طور پر شامل پی اے ایف". Daily Express (Pakistan) (in Urdu). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2010. (Translated) No.26 Squadron established in Kamra with 14 aircraft initially inducted. According to top PAF sources, fourteen aircraft were evaluated thoroughly with different kinds of weapons during the anti-terror operation in Waziristan. First squadron established in Kamra due to security concerns, will be transferred to Peshawar later. With induction of first JF-17 squadron, the two A-5 squadrons will be grounded today.
  18. ^ Peer Muhammad (21 April 2015). "JF-17s Thunder-ous welcome for Xi". eTribune.
  19. ^ "Final Salute to F-6". Archived from the original on 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  20. ^ "PAF re-equips No 26 Squadron with JF-17 thunder aircraft". Daily Times (Pakistan). 12 April 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  21. ^ "A-5C - War Thunder Wiki". Wiki.warthunder.com. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Gaijin.Net Store - A-5C Pack". Store.gaijin.net. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
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