Dunya News remembers MM Alam on 2nd death anniversary

Dunya News remembers MM Alam on 2nd death anniversary
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Summary Alam was granted commission in PAF (then RPAF) on October 2 1953

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmud Alam alias Little Dragon was a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) ace who set a world record of destroying as many as five Indian aircrafts within a minute on September 7 1965. Dunya News remembers the national hero on his second death anniversary today.

Alam was the eldest son of 11 siblings who was born in Calcutta (then Kolkata) on July 6 1935. He was brought up in Bengal, India but after Indo-Pak separation in 1947 his family migrated to the then called East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Alam was granted commission in PAF (then RPAF) on October 2 1953.

During the 1965 India-Pakistan war, Alam was posted at Sargodha Airbase where he flew North American F-86 Sabre fighter jet. He downed a total of as many as nine Indian aircrafts including six Hawker Hunters.

However, the total number of hits by Alam remained controversial as Indian authorities reported that one aircraft, claimed by Alam had encountered a technical fault and could not be counted as his hit.

He had developed a respiratory issue in his last days and he remained under treatment at the Pakistan Naval station Shifa Hospital. He was laid to rest at the Shuhuda Graveyard at PAF Masroor Airbase.

                                        

On March 20 2014, the PAF Mianwali Airbase was named after the PAF Brigadier-General. The famous M M Alam Road in Lahore is named after the war hero. After retirement from the PAF, Alam took up a permanent residence in Karachi.

The government awarded Little Dragon national decoration, Sitara-e-Jurat for his exceptional service to the nation in 1965 war. Air Marshal Riazuddin Shaikh referred him in his blog as "envy of all his peers" due to Alam s excellence in the field.

 

 

Following are some thoughts by the tweeps over Dragon’s second death anniversary: