THE FIRST KILL

The date is 4 December 1971, and the pilots of number 37 squadron of the Indian Air Force are raring for action. Just the previous night, the Pakistan Air Force attacked Indian air bases in an attempt to cripple the Indian Air Force in a decisive strike. An attempt, that failed. Pakistan had also been committing atrocities against the Bengali population, while all the Indian armed forces could do was watch. However, the Pakistani Air Strikes are the perfect excuse for India to jump into the fray and help the Bangla people in their struggle for freedom from their Pakistani Overlords. For the pilots of the Indian Air Force, this also means a chance to Repay the Pakistan Air Force, with interest. Join us, as we talk to Air Marshal Harish Masand, then a young Flying Officer, who scored the Indian Air Force’s First Kill over the Skies of Dacca, on that cold December morning. He would go on to take part in other operations, including the strike on the Governor’s house in Dacca, a strike that would result in breaking the will of the Pakistani leadership, and hasten their surrender to India.