Dated 13th December 1971 , Monday

Rupees 0.25 Paise

DEC 13 : NAYACHOR SECTOR:-  After the initial success of blunting the Pakistani Army's offensive in the Rajasthan sector, The Indian Army's counter-offensive in the Rajasthan sector has resulted in huge tracts of enemy territory falling in our hands. In a major battle today, Troops of 11 Inf Division under Maj Gen R D Anand, attacked and occupied the major town of Parbat Ali.

Parbat Ali is the last remaining stronghold that stood between the Division and the key city of Nayachor. The position was held by

enemy troops forming a screening position for the main garrison at Nayachor which was held by two

Infantry Battalions and Armour.  The town was infact approached on Dec 8th. but the time was spent in reconsolidating and resupplying the forward troops. Resupply of forward troops is a major task as there are no roads or duckboard tracks to sustain the advance. Thus any build up to an  attack in this area is slow and cumbersome. An attempt to outflank the Parbat Ali feature a couple of days back was checked by the Pakistanis.

This forced our troops to plan better. The culmination of the planning came in the  ..[Read Full Story]

Dec 13 WESTERN SECTOR: Sources have confirmed that Wg Cdr H S Gill, whose MiG-21 detachment was in the news yesterday for shooting down the F-104 Starfighter over Kutch, has been shot down near the Pakistani Radar station of Badin.

Wg Cdr Gill was leading a mission of four MiG-21s in the area which also had the pilot of yesterday's encounter Flt Lt B B Soni in it. His aircraft was seen impacting a sand dune after being hit by AA fire and the accompanying pilots reported no sign of ejection or a parachute.

In a separate incident a Mystere IVa was shot down over the Haveli area by AA fire. Sqn Ldr J D Kumar has been killed . The Haveli area is home to a concentration of Pakistani Armoured Forces and the AA Defences in this area are believed to be very strong.
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Previous Issues

Dec 13, Jaisalmer:  December 12th 1971 was Flt Lt. Kukke (pronounced "Cookie") Suresh's 30th birthday. At six foot someting, handsome, grey-green eyed Suresh could have passed for a movie star with a horde of screaming girls behind him. He woke up that morning conscious that it was his birthday, and that the IAF was in the middle of a war.

He wondered what sort of birthday gift this curious set of circumstances would bring him. Suresh was in Jamnagar that morning. Already, his squadron of Hunters, commanded by Wg. Cdr. Conquest had made history in a way that matched the commanding officer's name. Shortly before the war they were OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) - but had become 122 Operational Squadron for the war.

Sqn Ldr F J Mehta and Flt Lt Kukke Suresh, who shot  down two Sabrejets today over Talhar

On the first day of the war, Wg. Cdr Conquest had led the attacks that that set the Karachi oil tanks ablaze, and devastated airfields at Masroor and Drigh road. Suresh .... [Read Full Story]

Dec 13: WESTERN SECTOR Unconfirmed reports have been mentioning that Troops of 36 Inf   Division in Shakargarh sector had launched an attack on the Shakargarh town in the later hours of today evening.

It is clear that soldiers from 4 Grenadiers supported by a squadron of tanks from 14 Horse are in the area and fierce fighting is reported. It is not clear however if this fighting is an attack on the Pakistani Stronghold of Shakargarh or if it is just a probing attack to test the defences.

The Corps Commander, Lt Gen K K Singh, MVC is also reported to be in the area on a forward visit. He is also expected to visit the other two divisions in the area the 39th and the 54th.

12 Dec : Bay of Bengal: Once the wind conditions improved, INS Vikrant was again ready to carry out her airstrikes. Vikrant steamed northward in order to launch a Seahawk attack with optimum ammo, by reducing fuel. From 0600 onwards,29 Seahawk strikes armed with rockets and 500 lb bombs were carried out in and around Chittagong which received the Navy's undivided attention.

The large concentration of targets necessitated multiple strikes to wipe them out. The first strike resulted in 6 direct hits on the runway, making it unserviceable. The second strike was aimed at shipping in

Sea Hawk Fighters being launched

the harbour. two merchant ships leaving the ....[Read Full Story]

Dec 13, Barielly: Anyone visiting the No.44 Squadron flying the Antonov-12 transport aircraft would be forgiven for thinking that these transport pilots are away from the dangers of the frontline and that their flying is not half as exciting as that of pilots in the Combat Squadron. Reactions of people coming to know of this squadron's role in this war have ranged from total surprise to skepticism  about the truth.

This squadron does not use its transport aircraft in the traditional role, but uses it to carry bombs and go after enemy targets! Believe it or not, the Squadron had already carried out numerous missions deep into

enemy territory flying in pitch darkness and successfully undertaken carpet bombing missions. Leading this team of pilots is Wing Commander...[Read Full Story]