On this day: An IAF pilot took on four Pakistani Sabres and helped save Calcutta

Flight Lieutenant Alfred Cooke bravely engaged four Pakistani Sabres over Kalaikunda airbase. His outnumbered Hunter fought a chaotic, low-level dogfight with the enemy aircraft. Cooke’s gun camera film showed him hitting three of the four attacking Sabres. One Sabre was destroyed, and two others were damaged during the intense aerial combat. Despite the attack, Kalaikunda airbase remained operational throughout the remainder of the war. Flight Lieutenant Alfred Cooke bravely engaged four Pakistani Sabres over Kalaikunda airbase. His outnumbered Hunter fought a chaotic, low-level dogfight with the enemy aircraft. Cooke’s gun camera film showed him hitting three of the four attacking Sabres. One Sabre was destroyed, and two others were damaged during the intense aerial combat. Despite the attack, Kalaikunda airbase remained operational throughout the remainder of the war.