ALAM / HALIFAX
BRIEF HISTORY
Alam House came into being on 01 September, 1968, as a result of the merger of PAF College Lower Topa into PAF College Sargodha. The House was established on the first floor of the Odeon Block and named Alam House after the daring war hero of 1965 war and Top Gun of his own class, Squadron Leader Muhammad Mahmud Alam, SJ (Bar). The House was re-established in 1993 with a new name Halifax after the name of an obsolete bomber aircraft acquired by the Pakistan Air Force in 1949. The House was renamed again on 26 March, 2015 as Alam House.
ALAM SQUADRON : 1968- 1990
HALIFAX HOUSE : 1993-2015
ALAM HOUSE : 26 March, 2015 till to date
AIR CDRE M M ALAM, SJ WITH BAR
Name : Muhammad Mahmood Alam
Pak No : 1492
Father's Name : Muhammad Masood Alam
Date of Birth : 06 July, 1935
Place of Birth : Calcutta, India
GD (P) Course : 15 GD (P)
Date of Commission : 2 Feb, 1953
Date of Retirement : May, 1982
Date of Demise / Burial : 18 March, 2013 PAF Graveyard, Masroor
Gallantry Award : SJ with Bar
Squadron Leader Muhammad Mahmud Alam emerged from 1965 War as Pakistan's top scoring fighter ace. As a Squadron Commander of No 11 Squadron in 1965, he was already a notable leader and highly experienced pilot. He also excelled in gunnery competition as a skill that without a doubt contributed greatly to his becoming the first and the only jet ace in one mission. During this war, he was involved in various dogfights while flying his F-86 Sabre fighter. He shot down nine Indian aircraft in air-to-air combat, including six Hawker Hunter fighters. In one mission on 7 September 1965, Alam downed five Indian aircraft in less than a minute, the first four within 30 seconds, establishing a world record, with total of nine aircraft downed in the war. For his exceptionally good performance during the war, he was awarded Sitara-i-Jurrat with Bar
HALIFAX AIRCRAFT
Country : UK
Company : Handley Page
Type : Bomber Aircraft
Power Plant : Four B Hercules 100, 14 Cylinder Radial Air Cooled Engines
Maximum Thrust : 4 x 1650 hp
Armament/Payload
Guns : 9 x 30 inch MGs
Bombs : 14,500 lbs in Bomb Bay with Auto Loading Winches
NAV AIDS & FIRE : Wireless Telephony Direction Finding LoopControl System
Performance
MAX Speed : 270 ph
MAX Ceiling : 20,000 ft
Range : 3,000 miles
Crew : 7 Persons
Halifax Role in PAF
Soon after independence, 8 Handley page Halifax bombers were acquired by the Pakistan Air Force in 1949. These aircrafts carried out some vital supply dropping operations at night, in the northern areas of Pakistan, especially at Skardu. These night missions were indispensable to the Kashmir War because the area was within the range of Indian fighters, which precluded day operations. It had a loaded weight 55000 lbs. The aircraft served in No. 12 Squadron for bomber and transport missions. The Halifax was phased out in 1954.