Bangladesh Air Force
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bangladesh Air Force | |
---|---|
Active | 1971 - present |
Country | 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[hide] |
[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 | Czechoslovakia | trainer, light attack | L-39ZA | 32 | |
Antonov An-32 | Soviet Union / Ukraine | transport | 3 | ||
Bell 206L LongRanger | United States | utility helicopter | 206L | 12 | |
Bell 212 Twin Huey | United States | utility helicopter | |||
Cessna T-37 Tweet | United States | trainer | T-37B | 12 | |
Chengdu F-7 Airguard | China | fighter | F-7MG
F-7MP FT-7 |
24
36 16 |
multi-role,interceptor, air defence |
Fouga CM.170 Magister | France | trainer | CM.170 | 8 | Status ? |
Lockheed C-130 Hercules | United States | Transport | C-130B | 4 | by us aid |
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 | Soviet Union | fighter | MiG-29
MiG-29UB |
6
2 |
multirole air superiority fighter |
Mil Mi-17 | Russia | utility helicopter | Mi-17
Mi-171 Mi-172 |
32
16 8 |
|
Nanchang A-5 Fantan | China | attack | A-5C | 26 | bomber/ground attack |
Nanchang PT-6 | 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
- Bangladesh Air Force
- Bangladesh Army
- Bangladesh Navy
- 2006 in Bangladesh
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.bdmilitary.com/main/ranksmedals/ranks/ranks_airforce.htm
- ^ "", Aerospace Source Book 2008, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 28, 2008.
[edit] External links
- More about Bangladesh Air Force
- Bangaladesh Air Force Order of Battle Courtesy of Scramble
- Bangaladesh Air Force Gallery
- Bangaladesh Air Force & Aviation Forum
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