PAF Base Masroor
| PAF Base Masroor | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karachi, Sindh in Pakistan | |||||||||
| File:PAF Masroor.jpg | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Military airbase | ||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defense | ||||||||
| Operator | Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Southern Air Command | ||||||||
| Other site facilities | Tactical Air Support School | ||||||||
| Website | Pakistan Air Force | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |||||||||
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1940 | ||||||||
| In use | 1940 - present | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | World War II | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Current commander | File:Pak-air-force-OF-6.svg File:US-O7 insignia.svg Air Commodore Omair Najmi | ||||||||
| Occupants | No. 2 Squadron PAF No. 8 Squadron PAF No. 84 Squadron PAF | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: MSR, ICAO: OPMR | ||||||||
| Elevation | 11 metres (36 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Pakistan Air Force Base Masroor or more simply PAF Base Masroor (ICAO: OPMR) is the largest airbase operated by the Pakistan Air Force. It is located in the Mauripur area of Karachi, in the Sindh province.[1]
The base was originally known as RIAF Base Mauripur (1940-47), RPAF Station Mauripur (1947-56), and after 23 March 1956, as PAF Station Mauripur.
PAF Base Faisal and PAF Base Bholari are the other Pakistan Air Force bases in Karachi.[2][3]
History
[edit | edit source]
The airbase at Mauripur was established by the RIAF during World War II in 1942 as a transit airfield allowing RAF Drigh Road to concentrate on maintenance. Huge numbers of aircraft staged through Mauripur during and after the end of World War II.[4][5] British units continued to use the airfield after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, finally leaving in 1956.[6] The RAF airfields at Gan and Masirah took over RAF Far East Air Force staging duties from Mauripur and Habbaniya (which became unavailable from 14 July 1958 after the revolution in Iraq).[citation needed]
Historic units and aircraft
[edit | edit source]| Unit | Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Squadron RAF | 1947 | Hawker Tempest | F.2 | Single-engined (piston) fighter[7] |
| No. 10 Squadron RAF | 1946-1947 | Douglas Dakota | Twin-engined piston transport[8] | |
| No. 20 Squadron RAF | 1947 | Hawker Tempest | F.2 | [9] |
| No. 31 Squadron RAF | 1946 and 1947 | Douglas Dakota | Was 77 Sqn[10] | |
| No. 62 Squadron RAF | 1947 | Douglas Dakota | [11] | |
| No. 77 Squadron RAF | 1945-1946 | Douglas Dakota | Renumbered 31 Sqn[12] | |
| No. 117 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Douglas Dakota | [13] | |
| No. 267 Squadron RAF | 1945-1946 | Douglas Dakota | Detachments from Mingaladon[14] | |
| No. 298 Squadron RAF | 1946 | Handley Page Halifax | A.7 | Four-engined piston heavy bomber transport conversion[15] |
Post-partition era
[edit | edit source]After the Partition of British India, the base became RPAF Station Mauripur.[citation needed]
On 24 May 1968, PAF Station Mauripur was renamed PAF Station Masroor in honor of base commander Air Commodore Masroor Hosain.[4]
On 1 July 1970, Pakistan Air Force stations were renamed to bases.[4]
During 1979 the base was home to 7 Squadron with the Martin B-57B Canberra.[16]
Features
[edit | edit source]Masroor airbase has the distinction of not only being the largest base, area wise, in Pakistan but also in Asia. Before Karachi Airport, this airport had been used for domestic flights and also by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. It is of immense strategic importance considering it has been entrusted upon the task of defending the coastal and Southern region of Pakistan. It houses the 32 Tactical Attack (TA) Wing which comprises six separate squadrons. squadrons include No 2 MR squadron operating JF-17 Block 2s, No 4 AWACS Squadron operating Karakoram Eagle AWACS, No 7 TA Squadron operating Mirage 3 ROSE 1, No 8 TA Squadron operating JF-17 Block 3s, No 22 OCU operating Mirage 3EL/D and No 84 CSS operating AW-139 Seahawk CSAR helicopters. Base is also home to College of Aviation safety management and Tactical Air Support school (TASS).[17]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ PAF inaugurates new operational air base at Bholari near Karachi
- ^ Khawaja Asif lays foundation stone of PAF Bholari base in Jamshoro
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ SANDSCRIPT, The Journal of the RAF Mauripur Association.[page needed]
- ^ SANDSCRIPT, The Journal of the RAF Mauripur Association.[page needed]
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 28.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 30.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 34.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 38.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 47.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 51.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 60.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 83.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 86.
- ^ Hewish et al. 1984, p. 195.
- ^ Pakistan Air Force Bases (list includes PAF Base Masroor) nuke.fas.org website, Retrieved 4 October 2021
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- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Pakistan Air Force (PAF) official website
- RAF Mauripur Association Website
- The strike at R.A.F Mauripur
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