Fifth death anniversary of war hero MM Alam being observed today

'Little Dragon' credited with downing 5 enemy aircraft in less than a minute during 1965 war with India

The fifth death anniversary of the 1965 war hero Muhammad Mahmood Alam is being observed across the nation today, Radio Pakistan reported.

MM Alam is remembered for his remarkable show of brilliance on 7 September 1965 for establishing a world record of downing five Indian aircraft in less than a minute, the last four within thirty seconds.

The fighter was nicknamed 'Little Dragon' for his skills.



In a total, he downed as many as nine Indian aircraft in the aerial fighting and damaged two others in his F-86 Sabre fighter.

Alam was a North American Aviation F-86 Sabre flying ace and an air commodore, who served with the Pakistan Air Force. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat (“The star of courage”).



MM Alam, was born on July 6, 1935 in a well-educated family of Calcutta in then British India. He completed his secondary education from Government High School in Dhaka In 1951. Alam joined the PAF in 1952 and was granted commission on October 2, 1953.

His major appointments included air gunnery and tactical instructor at Fighter Leader School, commanding officer of PAF squadrons No 11, No 5 and No 26, director operation research, assistant chief of the air staff (flight safety) and assistant chief of the air staff (plans) at the headquarters. Alam retired as an air commodore in 1982.

Muhammad Mahmood Alam died in Karachi on 18 March 2013 at the age of seventy-seven years.

This article originally appeared on Radio Pakistan