Masroor Hosain

Air Commodore Masroor Hosain SPk (Urdu: ; 29 December 1922 — 24 May 1967) was a one-star rank pioneering officer of the Pakistan Air Force, aerobatic pilot, fighter pilot, and captain of the RPAF's Hockey team during their tour to Australia and New Zealand in the summer of 1952.

On 24 May 1967, while approaching runway 27 at PAF Station Mauripur in his B-57 Canberra at a low altitude, a vulture impacted his canopy and killed the highly distinguished pilot instantly. The aircraft hit the ground at high speed and its debris were flung over a vast area, but no one else was killed. Masroor's death was a significant loss for the Pakistan Air Force. He was mentioned in Field Marshal Ayub Khan's diary, and Masroor's close friend, former C-in-C of the PAF Asghar Khan, wrote an obituary for him in The Pakistan Times.

On 24 May 1968, PAF Station Mauripur was renamed to PAF Station Masroor in his honor.

Early life
Masroor Hosain was born on 29 December 1922 in an Urdu-speaking Muslim family to Manzoor Hosain and Qudsiya Begum. The family moved to Pakistan in August 1947 after the Partition of British India. Masroor's younger brother, Khurshid Haider (1925–1995) was a Major General in the Pakistan Army.

Personal life
Masroor married Mehr Nigar Abdul Aziz in 1962. She was the daughter of Mahmood Jahan and her husband, the famous Urdu writer, Khan Bahadur Abdul Aziz who was better known by his pen name Falak Paima. The couple were close friends with Quaid-e-Azam and Fatima Jinnah.

Masroor and Mehr had two children, daughter Jolie Asfareen and son Fareed Masroor Hosain. Mehr was Pakistan's leading choreographer and the Director of the PIA Arts Academy when Asghar Khan was heading the airline in 1968. Mehr presented a bouquet to Queen Elizabeth II during a PIA culture show, Sons of the River. In the 1970s, Governor of Sindh Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan hosted Mehr's ballet "Lalkar" to the Chinese delegation at the Governor's House.

Mehr died from terminal cancer in 1986, shortly after completing her book, Shadows of Time: A Novel, which was posthumously published in 1987.

Masroor's cousin, Major General S. Wajahat Husain, served in the Pakistan Army. Masroor's nephew, S. Mazhar Abbas retired as an Air Commodore of the Pakistan Air Force, while Masroor's other nephew, Captain Syed Hassan Zaheer SJ of the Pakistan Army died in the 1971 War.

Royal Indian Air Force career
Masroor was commissioned into the Royal Indian Air Force on 4 September 1944 as part of the 26th Course of the Initial Training Wing in Poona.

Accident
On 12 February 1947, Masroor took off in a Spitfire FR Mk XIV from Ambala Air Force Station. The engine cut off in mid-air and the aircraft was belly-landed near Nizampur, Panipat, 8 miles from takeoff.

The forced belly landing severely damaged the fuselage due to the aircraft sliding along the rough ground at high speed. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and Masroor survived.

Pakistan Air Force career
Upon the Partition of British India, the RPAF was allotted eight Tiger-Moth aircraft from RIAF's Elementary Flying Training School at Jodhpur. The team consisting of Squadron Leader Stephen Aratoon Joseph, Flying Officers Masroor Hosain and Zafar Chaudhry, Officer Cadets Saleem-el-Edroos, Asaf Khan Chaudhry and S.M. Ahmad, was tasked to ferry them across to Risalpur. After a briefing by the leader, the formation took off in the early hours of 12 September 1947.

It was rare that trainees with less than a hundred hours of flying experience were required to ferry aircraft over a long and difficult route. Moreover, the aircraft were to be flown in formation and the cadets had not practiced the formation flying. At their third stop in Nawabshah, thousands crowded the airfield despite the stifling heat. The fact that the aircraft now belonged to Pakistan excited the crowd immensely. They spent the night in a local rest-house.

The next morning, 20 minutes after taking off for Jacobabad, Stephen Aratoon Joseph's aircraft force-landed in the desert due to a "dead engine." The remaining six aircraft continued to Multan via Khanpur, barely arriving before sunset. During landing, Cadet Chaudhry's aircraft sustained damage, leaving only five Tiger-Moths operational.

Upon reaching Mianwali on the morning of 14 September 1947, the escorting Dakota crew informed them that sugar had been found in the leader's aircraft fuel tank, causing the engine failure. Upon inspection, three aircraft had filters clogged with sugar. Taking off for Risalpur under those conditions would have been disastrous. The aircraft flown by the late Masroor Hosain was the only one deemed serviceable and was flown to Risalpur, landing there in the afternoon.

On 21 March 1948, an air show in Lahore was displayed to help promote the RPAF amongst Pakistanis. F/L Abdul Naeem Aziz, F/L Abdur Rahim Khan, Fg Off Masroor Hosain, and Fg Off FS Hussain took part in the formation.

Flt Lt Masroor was among several RPAF officers who were sent to the RAF Central Flying School in England. Here, Masroor won the Clarkson Aerobatics Trophy on 12 February 1949.

Masroor was appointed as the Commander of the No. 14 Squadron PAF in November 1951.

Officers from the RPAF arrived at Point Cook Australia, on 13 June 1952, for a goodwill visit. During their stay, they played several hockey matches across Australia and toured all the capital cities. Group Captain A. Earle, the Acting Commanding Officer of RAAF Point Cook, welcomed Squadron Leader Masroor Hosain, the officer in charge of the visiting group.

On 3 June 1961, Masroor became the Commander of PAF Station Mauripur.

1965 war
Air Commodore Masroor played a crucial role in managing and directing PAF air operations during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. He led the staff at the primary radar center located at PAF Station Sakesar in the central sector.

All PAF stations were put on high alert in anticipation of potential Indian Air Force attack, which led Pakistan to focus significantly on air defense. Approximately 40% of the PAF's fighter aircraft were initially reserved for this purpose. This effort was directed by Air Commodore Masroor Hussain, who was in charge of air defense at the AHQ (PAF) in Rawalpindi. The remaining Sabres were managed by the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations), Abdur Rahim Khan. Both officers were directly accountable to C-in-C of the PAF Nur Khan, who was in close contact with President Ayub Khan and GHQ (Pakistan Army).

The border line of responsibilities between ACAS Operations Abdur Rahim Khan and AOC Air Defence Masroor was somewhat ambiguous. However, this was addressed by Nur Khan's decision to relocate the PAF air defence team to the GCI control center in Sakesar. This move allowed Air Cdre Masroor Hussain to utilize his expertise to directly evaluate the air situation using the Sakesar radar, facilitating prompt decisions on tactics and defensive measures.

On 10 September 1965, Flt Lts Syed Nazir Ahmed Jilani and Amanullah Khan engaged with three remaining Hunters, who were later joined by four Gnats. While Jilani maneuvered in a circle with one Hunter, Amanullah Khan stayed close until he was targeted by a Gnat, forcing him to evade. He narrowly avoided fire from a second Hunter. Eventually, Flt Lt Jilani managed to outmaneuver his opponent. He fired a barrage of armor-piercing and incendiary rounds at close range, causing the Hunter to plummet in flames and lose control.

The remaining IAF aircraft disengaged and disappeared as the engagement ended. Air Cdre Masroor Hosain, monitoring the fight from Sakesar, urged the PAF aircraft to pursue the IAF planes, but darkness fell rapidly, and the IAF aircraft vanished from sight. 'How did you get on?' Air Cdre Masroor asked over the radio to the returning pilots.

'I got a Hunter,' replied Sqn Ldr Sharbat Ali Changezi.

'I got a Hunter, too' added Flt Lt Syed Nazir Ahmed Jilani.

'I got saved,' remarked Flt Lt Amanullah Khan.

As a result of the Tashkent Declaration, the war ended and Masroor stated that Pakistan would fully implement withdrawal and hoped that India would also.

Death
On 24 May 1967, Sajad Haider strapped Masroor into his F-86 Sabre at PAF Station Samungli, where Masroor warned him, "You scared General Jehanzeb during mock attack exercises; be very mindful of the big vultures here." This warning turned out to be eerily prescient.

After landing at PAF Station Mauripur, Masroor switched to a waiting B-57 Canberra. While practicing a simulated attack, a large vulture struck Masroor's canopy, killing him instantly and causing the plane to crash in Karachi. Sajad writes that Masroor would have been the next C-in-C of the PAF after Abdur Rahim Khan.

Former C-in-C of the PAF Asghar Khan, wrote an obituary note to his junior colleague and close friend Masroor: "In the death of Air Commodore Masroor Hosain in a flying accident, the Pakistan Air Force has lost one of its finest officers. An exceptional pilot and an outstanding sportsman, he had throughout his career performed every assignment with distinction. He had a rare personal charm and engaging manner.

A person of many qualities he always set the highest standards of professional conduct. In a service which is rich in talent and tradition, he had stood out as a man that others might emulate. Always out-spoken and honest in his views he brought to the service a refreshing candour that raised the tone of any discussion in which he took part. So many were his qualities that if it can be said of any person, it can certainly be of him that he was indeed a "complete" officer. In a service hardened by such losses and steeled by experience of battle, the passing away of no one person is regarded as an irreparable loss, I have no doubt that the Pakistan Air Force will in time produce an officer who will acquire the distinction and ability that he displayed in the professional field.

I am however, certain that not many will display those human qualities that made him so rare a figure amongst his contemporaries. It is perhaps fitting that he should have died as he lived, in an environment to which he gave over 23 of his best years and in a service towards the development of which he made such a notable contribution.

He leaves behind a young and talented wife and two charming children. They will, I hope, bare this loss as well as he would have liked them to, for when the initial shock of this tragedy passes, they will treasure the memory of a husband and father whose loss many others today mourn with them."