Yunus Hussain | |
|---|---|
| یونس حسین | |
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Khawaja Yunus Hussain 1 June 1935 Panipat, British Raj |
| Died | 6 September 1965 (aged 30) Halwara, India |
| Spouse |
Surayya Jabeen
(m. 1961; died 2021) |
| Relations | Mushaf Ali Mir (brother-in-law)[1] |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | RPAF College |
| Known for | Shooting down 2 IAF Hawker Hunters during the 1965 War |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  Pakistan Air Force |
| Years of service | 1958–1965 |
| Rank |  Flight lieutenant |
| Unit | No. 5 Squadron PAF |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | (2) Green Endorsements[a] Tamgha-e-Diffa (1960-62) Sitara-e-Jurat (posthumously, 1965)[3] |
| Service number | PAK/3857 |
Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain[b] (1 June 1935 — 6 September 1965) was a fighter pilot, aerobatic pilot, and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer. He shot down two Hawker Hunter aircraft of the Indian Air Force, including one piloted by F/O A.R. Gandhi over Halwara in the Indo-Pakistani Air War of 1965. Shortly after, Yunus was shot down in the same area by F/L Vinod Neb after mistakenly turning left into Neb's firing range. He is regarded as one of Pakistan's greatest war heroes.[4][5]
Born in Panipat, Yunus grew up in a financially struggling household. As the only child of his parents, his early life was marked by hardship, particularly in accessing basic amenities, including education. After the Partition of British India in 1947, his family relocated to Jhang, where he enrolled at Government High School Jhang City and completed his matriculation. He then pursued his Faculty of Science in Multan but was unable to continue further education due to financial constraints.
To support himself, Yunus took a job in Lahore but was reportedly restless and dissatisfied with it for years. Seeking a different path, he applied to the RPAF Selection Centre in Lahore but was initially rejected for being overage. However, amid rising tensions between Pakistan and India, the Air Force temporarily relaxed its eligibility criteria for volunteers. Yunus reapplied and was accepted into the RPAF College in 1956. Known for his intelligence and diligence, he rose to the position of Squadron Under Officer before being commissioned in 1958.
Yunus was twice awarded the Green Endorsement by Air Marshal Asghar Khan in recognition of his dedication to flying.[1] His passion and skill enabled him to achieve the fastest completion of 500 and later 1,000 flying hours in the PAF. In the early 1960s, he participated in the Bajaur Campaign.[1]
In Peshawar, on 27 October 1964, the PAF held an air show in honor of Air Marshal Omar Dhani of Indonesia.[6] A key highlight was the F-86 Sabre formation display by the "Sabres Nine – 1964" team, which included Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain among its members.[6]
The Tempest House at the PAF College Sargodha was renamed to Yunus House in 1967 and again on 26 March 2015 in his honour.[3][7] In 2016, the Pakistan Air Force launched the Yunusabad project at PAF Base Samungli in his memory, with the aim to eliminate illiteracy and eradicate poverty in the rural areas of Balochistan.[8]
In a December 2020 podcast, Yunus's colleague, retired Air Commodore Sajad Haider, said that Kaiser Tufail falsely told the Indian Air Force to credit Cecil Chaudhry instead of Yunus for Gandhi's plane getting shot down.[9][c] Sajad's Indian counterpart confirmed that Yunus had originally been credited before Kaiser Tufail went to him. When Sajad questioned Tufail on the lie, he said he wanted Cecil to be credited because Cecil was his senior. Sajad also added that Cecil had been lying his whole life and claiming Yunus' success for his own for 40 years. Further stating that the lie was concoted in order to glorify Sargodha pilots.[10]
- ^ a b c Qadri, Azam (2014). Sentinels in the Sky: A Saga of PAF's Gallant Air Warriors. PAF Book Club. pp. 57–60.
- ^ Sajad Haider (2009). Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing myths of Indo-Pak wars 1965 & 1971. Vanguard Books. ISBN 9789694025261.
- ^ a b "Yunus/Tempest House Brief History". PAF College Sargodha. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ Conventional Warfare in South Asia, 1947 to the Present (Kaushik Roy)
- ^ "WARART: An Artist With Wings". Dawn. 5 September 2008.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Shamimwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "PAF pays tribute to 1965 War Hero Flt Lt Younus Hussain (Shaheed)". Daily Times (Pakistan). 24 May 2023.
- ^ "Groundbreaking of Younusabad project held at PAF Base Samungli". Associated Press of Pakistan. 30 September 2016.
- ^ Agha H Amin (29 December 2020). "Air Commodore Syed Sajjad Haider on Cecil Chaudhry Rafiqui and the Myth of Jammed Guns" (Podcast). Spotify.
- ^ Pushpindar Singh Chopra, Ravi Rikhye (1991). Fiza'ya: Psyche of the Pakistan Air Force. Society for Aerospace Studies. p. 207.
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