Bangladesh Air Force

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Bangladesh Air Force
Active 1971 - present
Country Flag of Bangladesh Bangladesh
Commanders
Air Force Commander Air Marshal Shah Mohammed Ziaur Rahman
Insignia
Roundel
Aircraft flown
Attack Q-5
Bomber A-5C
Fighter F-7, MiG-29,
Trainer L-39, T-37, Fouga Magister, PT-6
Transport An-32, C-130, Mi-8, Mi-17

The Bangladesh Air Force (বাংলােদশ িবমান বািহনী Bangladesh Biman Bahini in Bangla), is the tactical and strategic air branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Bangladesh Air Force consists of more than 19,000 personnel including 2,100 officers of whom around 450 are pilots.

Contents

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[edit] History

Bangladesh Air Force was formed at Dimapur, Nagaland (India) on 28 September 1971. At that time, the embryo of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) was formed as 'Kilo Flight' to assist the Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters). Initially, 'Kilo Flight' consisted of three aircraft (given by Indian Air Force), 09 officers and 47 airmen. Squadron Leader Sultan Mahmud (retired as Air Vice Marshal and Chief of the Air Staff of BAF) was appointed as the commander of the 'Kilo Flight'. After having some basic training on air to ground weapon delivery, 'Kilo Flight' successfully bombed Fuel storage in Chittagong and Narayangonj area and thus the journey of BAF had commenced. Bangladesh Air Force History</ref>

After liberation in 1971,. equipment was donated from India and included: C-47 Dakotas, DHC-3s and Alouette Helicopters. Despite the lack of aircraft, the Pakistan Air Force prior to 1971 had a large number of Bengali pilots, many of them distinguishing themselves, this provided the Bangladesh Air Force with a good number of trained pilots and technicians.

[edit] Installations

BAF Headquarters is located in Dhaka. There are many bases set up all over the country. Interestingly, BAF Bases Bashar (Dhaka), Zahurul Haque (Chittagong) and Matiur (Jessore) are named after National and Air Force heroes. Other major bases are BAF Base Pahar Kanchanpur (Tangail), BAF Base Shamshernagar (Sylhet). Recently a new base is set up at Bogra.

[edit] Officer Ranks

(in decreasing order)[1]

Rank
Marshal of the Air Force
Air Chief Marshal
Air Marshal
Air Vice Marshal
Air Commodore
Group Captain
Wing Commander
Squadron Leader
Flight Lieutenant
Flying Officer
Pilot Officer

[edit] Aircraft

Aircraft Origin Type Versions In service[2] Notes
Aero L-39 Albatros Flag of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia trainer, light attack L-39ZA 32
Antonov An-32 Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union / Flag of Ukraine Ukraine transport 3
Bell 206L LongRanger Flag of the United States United States utility helicopter 206L 12
Bell 212 Twin Huey Flag of the United States United States utility helicopter
Cessna T-37 Tweet Flag of the United States United States trainer T-37B 12
Chengdu F-7 Airguard Flag of the People's Republic of China China fighter F-7MG
F-7MP
FT-7
24
36
16
multi-role,interceptor, air defence
Fouga CM.170 Magister Flag of France France trainer CM.170 8 Status ?
Lockheed C-130 Hercules Flag of the United States United States Transport C-130B 4 by us aid
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union fighter MiG-29
MiG-29UB
6
2
multirole air superiority fighter
Mil Mi-17 Flag of Russia Russia utility helicopter Mi-17
Mi-171
Mi-172
32
16
8
Nanchang A-5 Fantan Flag of the People's Republic of China China attack A-5C 26 bomber/ground attack
Nanchang PT-6 Flag of the People's Republic of China China trainer PT-6 grounded

[edit] Markings

The basic dimensions of the Bangladesh Air Force badge, motto, ensign, and roundel are similar to that of many Commonwealth nations. Their basic colors are blue, green and red.

[edit] List of Air Force Chief

  • Air Vice Marshal Abdul Karim Khondoker
  • Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Ghulam Tawab
  • Air Vice Marshal Khademul Bashar
  • Air Vice Marshal Abdul Gafoor Mahmud
  • Air Vice Marshal Sultan Mahmud
  • Air Vice Marshal Sadruddin Ahmed
  • Air Vice Marshal Momtaz Uddin Ahmed
  • Air Vice Marshal Altaf Hossain Chowdhury(4th June 1991 - 3rd June 1995)
  • Air Vice Marshal Jamal Uddin Ahmed(4th June 1995 - 3rd June 2001)
  • Air Marshal Jamal Uddin Ahmed (3rd June 2001 - 3rd June 2001)
  • Air Vice Marshal Rafiqul Islam(4th June 2001 - 7th April 2002)
  • Air Vice Marshal Fakhrul Azam(8th April 2002 - 7th April 2007)
  • Air Vice Marshal Shah Mohammed Ziaur Rahman(8th April 2007 - 22nd May 2007)
  • Air Marshal Shah Mohammed Ziaur Rahman (23rd May 2007 onward)

With effect from 23 May 2007, The rank of Air Chief was elevated from Air Vice Marshal to Air Marshal.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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