Tags
The end of World War II led to a withdrawal of the United Kingdom and France from the Middle East, and this included a withdrawal from Syria. In 1948, the Syrian Air Force was officially established after the first class of pilots graduated from flight schools in Britain.
The 1950s saw Syria and Egypt attempt to unify as the United Arab Republic, this was reflected in the Syrian Air Force with growth in personnel and aircraft. However, this union would not last. With the ascent to power of the Baath Party and Hafez Al-Asad, Syria began looking to the Soviet Union for help and built closer ties with the USSR. This in turn led to a massive influx of Soviet equipment to the Syrian Armed Forces, including the Air Force.
The Syrian Air Force, despite its training and capabilities never fared well against Israel. In the Six-Day War, the Syrian Air Force was defeated rapidly, losing two-thirds of its forces with the rest retreating to bases in remote parts of Syria. This in turn helped the IDF in defeating the Syrian Army on the ground and led to the loss of the Golan Heights.
The Yom Kippur War provided initial success for both Syria and Egypt. Though again Israel scored far more casualties in the air than it endured. Following this conflict, the Syrian Air Force continued to remain in the Soviet sphere of influence, whereas Egypt abandoned Soviet aid, and began building its Air Force with American, French, and Chinese equipment.
During this war the Pakistani Air Force sent 16 pilots to the Middle East in order to support Egypt and Syria but by the time they arrived, Egypt had already been pushed into a ceasefire. Syria remained in a state of war against Israel. Eight (8) PAF pilots started flying out of Syrian Airbases; they formed the A-flight of 67 Squadron at Dumayr Airbase.
The Pakistani pilots flew Syrian MiG-21 aircraft conducting CAP missions for the Syrians. Flt/Lt. A. Sattar Alvi became the first Pakistani pilot, during the Yom Kippur War, to shoot down an Israeli Mirage in air combat. He was honored by the Syrian government. Other aerial encounters involved Israeli F4 Phantoms; Pakistan Air Force did not lose a single pilot or aircraft during this war.
The Pakistani pilots stayed on in Syria until 1976, training Syrian pilots in the art of air warfare.
Despite Syria’s continued supply of Soviet equipment its Air Force again fared badly during conflicts with Israel over Lebanon in the early 1980s, losing over 80 planes while the Israeli Air Force lost only a handful, and none to Syrian Air Force fighters.
