Soviet helicopters
Some years ago, the PAF bought a Mil Mi-6 heavy-lift helicopter from the Soviet Union, reportedly against the advice of the Pak Army aviators, and this machine was eventually scrapped without ever entering service. The Mi-8 is apparently a very different proposition, and was selected as the cheapest and most suitable rotorcraft available for flying supplies into the mountainous areas of the North-West Frontier Province, and across the many rivers of what was formerly East Pakistan. It was also considered suitable for the secondary role, in its return trips, of medical evacuation and air ambulance duties.
Powered by two 1,700 shp Isotov TB-2-117B turbines, the Mi-8 can lift four tons stowed internally, or three tons slung from an external cargo hook, and its rear clamshell doors permit a jeep, gun or similar vehicle to be stowed within the capacious fuselage. Alternatively, it will lift up to 2 troops or passengers, or a dozen stretcher patients, in addition to a crew of three – pilot, co-pilot and engineer – and still perform a vertical take-off and landing at terrain heights of up to 15,000 – 16,000 ft (4,572 – 4,876m). For air-dropping, the Mi-8 can be flown with the clamshell doors half open, and it has a normal cruising speed of about 122 knots (225km/h).
In the three years or so that Pak Army Aviation has been operating the Mi-8, the big Soviet helicopter has proved “fairly reliable”, and, with the assistance of its good auto-pilot for IFR operations, efficient in the all-weather supply role in mountain areas. One of the main problems of this Soviet type has been obtaining adequate spares backing – a notorious Soviet shortcoming – but the sturdy construction of the Mi-8 has minimized normal maintenance requirements. Pak Army Aviation now undertakes most of its own airframe, engine and transmission overhauls for all its aircraft types, as well as for the Alouettes of the PAF and the Pakistan Navy.
In the case of the Mi-8, the component with the shortest overhaul like is the tail rotor, which requires overhaul at 500 hours, while the corresponding life for the five-bladed main rotor is 1,500 hours. The Pakistanis operate the Mi-8 turbines for 750 hours between overhauls, although the Isotov TB-2s are cleared to 1,000 hours in the Soviet Union. The Mi-8 can maintain height on one engine at full load by going to emergency power of 100 percent on the remaining powerplant, but the latter would subsequently have to be scrapped. Transmission and gearbox overhaul like if 750 hours. Unit cost of the Mi-8 to Pakistan was reportedly around Rs. 2.5 million, or the equivalent of about £210,000 at 1968 prices, repayable over 10 years.
Flood rescues
Several of these Mi-8s played a major part in the rescue operations in East Pakistan following the flood disasters there at the beginning of 1971. At the time of the December war, about half-a-dozen Alouettes and Mi-8s of Pak Army were operating in the East, where the ground forces had no fixed-wing aircraft. Because of India’s overwhelming air superiority in East Pakistan, the Pak Army aircraft were able to play no effective part in the operations, however, and were safely evacuated via Burma after the cease-fire on 17 December.
In the West, Pak Army Aviation units were active along almost the entire battle front in the normal roles of artillery spotting, battlefield surveillance, forward air control and reconnaissance. Squadrons were deployed with each Corps and allocated to sub-formations, although spread necessarily thinly in view of the total Pak Army Aviation inventory of only about 90 aircraft of all types. This total was augmented during the December war by a number of impressed flying club and charter aircraft, which were hurriedly given military markings and desert camouflage for the duration, and remained in army service for some time afterwards. Types involved in this way included Cessna 172s and Skymasters, as well as the Beavers of Plant Protection Ltd, and many other light planes.
Not much was apparently seen of Indian Army Aviation, which is a sizeable organization comprising, last December, at least 10 Asuter AOP Mk 9s out of 30 on establishment, 48 serviceable HAL Krishaks of the 67 in the inventory (one of which was shot down by PAF fighters), and a couple of HAL Pushpak light planes. The Indian Army was also known to operate about 15 Alouette IIIs on AOP duties, including some armed with Aerospatiale SS-11 anti-tank missiles, although there was no evidence of the latter’s operational use. Curiously, the Indian forces also operate about 20 Mi-8s, one of which was destroyed on the ground in the battle area last December by bombs from PAF Sabres.
The extent of Pak Army Aviation activity during the recent war is indicated by the fact that two Cessna O-1s were shot down over the battlefield by marauding IAF Hunters, while six of the Pakistani army pilots were awarded the equivalent of the DFC, the Sitara-e-Jurat, for the part they played in support of ground forces.
Future plans of the Pakistan army aviation element are limited by funding problems and restrictions on further US aid, but a number of foreign light planes such as the Saab MFI-17, Scottish Aviation Bulldog and Aerospatiale Rallye Minerva have been evaluated as possible successors to the Bird Dogs. In addition, the useful lives of the Cessna O-1s are being extended by complete overhauls undertaken at Dhamial by No 503 Workshop, which has also established, rather remarkably, its own production line for the Bird Dog.
With the help of its large spares backing for the O-1, plus indigenous manufacture of about 60 percent of the total components, the Workshop is now producing completely new Bird Dogs at Dhamial at a rate of about one a month. Alouette IIIs are coming off a parallel assembly line in the same hanger at a similar rate for the PAF and the Pakistan Navy, as well as for the Pak Army Aviation.
From the long-range point of view, the Pak Army is considering the procurement of anti-tank helicopters and improved close-support capability, which means gunships. It would also like an air assault capability, with sufficient transport helicopters to lift up a battalion. At the moment, it cannot arm its helicopters with the standard Pak Army anti-tank missile, which is the MBB Cobra, because this is a pop-up type and in any case lacks sufficient range for the airborne application.
In the meantime, the build-up at Dhamial is continuing, and its training organization now copes with helicopter pilots for the PAF and the Navy, as well as for the Pak Army itself. Prospective helicopter pilots receive about 80 hours of basic flying training on the Cessna O-1 before completing a similar period on the Bell 47G. Transition training on the Alouette III or Mi-8 then requires a further 40-45 hours of flight, much of which is done in an around the Karakoram mountains. These form the Western end of the Himalayan chain and extend to more than 26,000 ft (7,925m).
Student pilots for fixed-wing aircraft require about 175 hours in all from the ab initio stage to become operational on the Cessna O-1, with emphasis on flying at minimum altitudes for tactical evasion, and on short-strip landings and take-offs. Pak Army instructors subsequently train with the PAF at Risalpur to receive categorization, and the air force still keeps an eye on army maintenance through a quality control group. Pakistan Army Aviation is not likely to grow a great deal larger, but its standards are likely to remain as high as any corresponding air element in Asia or the Middle East.
