Vir Chakra awardee Alfred Tyrone Cooke, who took on 4 Pakistani jets, dies: Revisiting his 1965 dogfight heroics

The Kalaikunda dogfight, featuring Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke, is one of the most legendary chapters in the history of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the 1965 India-Pakistan war.

Awarded the Vir Chakra, the country’s third-highest wartime gallantry award, for his role in the air battle over West Bengal's Kalaikunda, Flight Lieutenant Cooke passed away on Friday in New Delhi at the age of 87. He had travelled from Australia to India for the Platinum Jubilee of the IAF’s 14 Squadron.

"His legendary dogfight over Kalaikunda remains a masterclass in aggressive air combat and unwavering resolve," the IAF said in a statement on his death.

On his passing, here is a look back at the legendary Kalaikunda dogfight, which immortalised Flight Lieutenant Cooke in the Indian military folklore.

The Kalaikunda air battle of 1965

On the morning of September 7, 1965, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a surprise raid on the Kalaikunda air station near West Bengal’s Kharagpur. The raid caught the IAF off guard and destroyed several aircraft on the ground.

Puffed by the success, Pakistan sent a second wave of aircraft for another attack. The PAF’s F-86 Sabre fighter jets came, but they had Squadron No. 14, known as the Bulls, waiting. Particularly two ‘Bulls’, Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke and his wingman, Flying Officer Subodh Chandra Mamgain.

Taking on a 1 to 4 fight

Outnumbered one vs four, the two IAF Hawker Hunter aircraft, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Cooke and Flying Officer Mamgain, were on combat air patrol nearby. They intercepted the incoming attackers and thus began one of the most legendary dogfights in IAF history, witnessed by students of IIT Kharagpur from the institute's rooftop.

As the engagement began at a dangerously low altitude, the formation split, and Flight Lieutenant Cooke found himself single-handedly facing four Pakistani fighters. Cooke engaged all four enemy jets in a high-speed, chaotic duel.

According to the footage from the gun camera of his aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Cooke fired upon and hit three of the four aircraft. He shot down the first Sabre, killing the pilot, and severely damaged two others.

By now, the IAF pilot was completely out of ammunition. But Flight Lieutenant Cooke stubbornly latched onto the tail of the fourth and the last Sabre, relentlessly chasing it through low-level breaks until the rattled Pakistani pilot was forced to abort the attack and flee back across the border to what was then East Pakistan.

While all this went on, Flying Officer Mamgain simultaneously outmanoeuvred the remaining jets. He shot down one Sabre and damaged another to successfully break up the strike.