CutTheClutter: Flt Lt Alfred Tyrone Cooke passes on: Story of India-Pakistan war hero who took on 4 Pakistani jets

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This episode of CutTheClutter commemorates the life and extraordinary heroism of Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke, a celebrated Indian Air Force pilot who

Key takeaways

• Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke single-handedly engaged four PAF Sabre jets during the 1965 war.
• The battle took place over the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal, a critical hub for IAF offensive power.

Main topics

• The passing of Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke
• The 1965 India-Pakistan Air War

Notable quotes

Look at those bastards. They think they've already won the war. Let's get them.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a poignant tribute to an unsung hero whose coura

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:02) This is the most unconventional, unusual episode of Kartak Letter for multiple reasons. First, of course, it's a weekend episode of Kartak Letter. And that is caused by a good reason. The reason being that today at Ambala Air Force Base, 14 Squadron Indian Air Force, that is the Bulls, whose motto is Balam Jai, which means the strength conquers, that is... celebrating its Platinum Jubilee. It was in fact because of this Platinum Jubilee celebration that one of its most celebrated fighter pilots, in fact one of India's most celebrated fighter pilots of all times, Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cook had come to India from Australia where he had been located after 1968. He had come in and he unfortunately passed away today. That's why this celebration in Ambala also became somber because this was the platinum jubilee of his story. Indian Air Force Squadron, it flies by the way, the Jaguars now. It used to fly Hunters in 1965 war when Alfred Tyrone Cook or Flight Lieutenant Cook was involved in the most famous... air battle in the history of Indian Air Force. Now, that is the one reason this is unusual. And the second reason it's unconventional is that this is not like your classical Katha clutter because in this case, the clutter wasn't so much or the clutter isn't so much as the fact that this remains, it's still largely untold story. So we have to find a way of telling you this. This story had been told by another fellow fighter pilot, another fellow fighter pilot of Alfred Cook, three generations apart or maybe two generations apart. He was squadron leader Sameer Joshi. Squadron leader Sameer Joshi was a MiG-21 and Mirage 2000 pilot involved in Cargill operations, Operation Safed Sagar. He also took premature retirement from Indian Air Force. He is now set up a fantastic drone technology high-tech business in bangalore he had written a detailed account of the 1965 war battle over kalai kunda or around kalai kunda that's the airbase in west bengal the big second world war airbase in west bengal that's where that battle took place and i called him and i asked him samir will you will you do maybe maybe a podcast version a video version of the description and the detail you had written because that was one fighter pilot to another and he said that he was caught up and he was traveling and then i asked do you think i can have someone else do a podcast version of your article he said I'd rather that you do it because you feel passionately about Indian Air Force almost as much as any other journalist. So because I can't do it, I'd rather that no one else does it. You do it. So to that extent, I'm also picking up his account. And that's what makes this episode of Kartak Letter three times unusual. Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cook, he passed away in the base hospital today at the age of 87. As I told you just now, he had come to India especially from Australia. He was from the Anglo-Indian community. And in fact, one of the shining stars of his really storied community in India, which has contributed so much to India, particularly to Indian Air Force. For some reason, the Anglo-Indian community took a liking to Indian Air Force. Why did he still carry the rank Flight Lieutenant? He won a Vir Chakra in that war and there is a big debate now that even now that file should be reopened and he should be awarded a Param Vir Chakra because details of the battle he fought took time coming out. Because 1965 Air War, as I explained in an Earlier National Interest article of which I will share a link with you was a very confusing war. It was also a war that Indian Air Force fought with great disadvantages of technology, of equipment, of doctrine, of planning, etc. And that's how at that point maybe a lot of this history had not come out. Now it's available. After 1965 war, Not long after 1965 war, Alfred Cook and his family, like many other Anglo-Indian families, emigrated. He emigrated and settled in Australia. He's been in Australia since then and it's from there that he had come to India now for his squadrons, his own squadrons, Platinum Jubilee. Now I tell you the story as we know from Samir Joshi, who's really an award-winning historian of air war. I will give you more of his credentials as we go along. 12. Pakistan Air Force F-86F Sabres of 14 Squadron PAF were based at Tezgaon in Dhaka, East Pakistan and represented some of the PAF's striking power in the eastern sector in 1965. When the PAF issued the diktat to strike the IAF on 6 September 1965, the message was received late by the PAF in East Pakistan. Hence, when the PAF struck with their pre-emptive strike effort on the Western Front in the late evening of 6 September due to bad light conditions at their location and an hour's difference in time in East Pakistan, the Sabre strike was postponed to the following morning. Meanwhile, the IAF counter-strike against PAF commenced on the night of 6-7 September. As a part of the effort, IAF hunters were tasked to destroy PAF Sabres of 14 Squadron. This is what Samir Joshi is writing. This is what I have also recorded in that earlier National Interest where I said these IAF aircraft were sent. They had Pakistani targets in their gun sights and from... There, the government recalled them. They called them back because there was some concern. In fact, there was a great deal of concern that starting any hostilities in the eastern sector will give the Chinese the excuse to get involved in the war. That is not something that the Shastri government wanted. So, Sambir Joshi says that due to contradictory intelligence about the location of the PAF sabres, the IAF hunters of 37th squadron hit... Kurmitola airfield instead of Tejgaon. So the Sabres were at Tejgaon but IAF hunters hit Kurmitola at 5.30 am on 7th September. This was the time when the PAF Sabres at Tejgaon were getting armed on their dispersal for the planned strike into India. They were indeed lucky to escape destruction at the hands of the IAF hunter counter-strike. The Canberra sent the previous night for a night bombing raid had been recalled by Government of India. Alarmed by the IAF strike at Kurmitola, the base commander at Tejgaon, Group Captain Gulam, nicknamed Gulli Heather, directed the CAO of PAF 14 Squadron, Squadron Leader Shabbir Hussain Syed, to immediately get airborne for the strike on the IAF base at Kalai Kunda near Kharagpur is known a lot more for its IIT but Kalaikunda airbase has been there for a very very very long time. This was the main hub of IAF's offensive air power in the east. Armed with 1750 rounds of front gun ammunition and long range fuel tanks, five sabres led by Shabbir Syed taking a 300-kilometer masking detour over the Bay of Bengal, struck Kalaikunda airfield at 6.40 a.m. on 7 September. The raid achieved complete surprise over Kalaikunda and destroyed six IF aircraft on the ground. Samir Joshi is writing this. Destroyed six IF aircraft on the ground, the PAF sabres extricated successfully back to East Pakistan post their attack. So what happened in this case was, and I am adding this, that the Indian Air Force had sent their aircraft into attack and when they were coming back, some had been recalled, Canberras in particular, before they could release their loads. Others were coming back and as they were coming back, on their tail came this PAF raid and that is what took the base by surprise. Those days, radars were very basic, air defences were very basic as well. The Pakistan Air Force, Samir writes, were upbeat with the successful airstrike over Kalai Kundah. Though their claim of 14 cameras destroyed and 8 other aircraft damaged was an enormous exaggeration, the PAF had reasons to be enthusiastic after this successful strike. Lacking anti-aircraft artillery, The Army Anti-Aircraft Artillery Unit was just moving into the airfield. They were not ready yet, so the airfield had no defenses. And a dedicated base CAP, CAP as in Combat Air Patrol, the weak IAF defense over Kalai Kundal provided an assurance of tactical superiority to the Pakistan Air Force. Speaker 1 (9:51) i.e. the Pakistani commander in the east, he reckoned it was time to go for the jugular and eliminate Kalai Kundal for the remaining duration of the war. With its defense in tatters after the morning PAF raid, writes Samir Joshi, Kalai Kundal would be in a state of utter disarray and pandemonium. Hence, the PAF decided to swiftly launch four more sabres to strike and destroy the surviving strength of Canberra's They were not in safe shelters or hardened shelters then. Hunters and vampires at Kalaikunda for good. The Sabres planned to exit East Pakistan at medium levels towards the south, cross at low levels over the Sundarbans into India and finally