Pakistan Air Force Museum
Pakistan Air Force Museum Faisal (Urdu: پاک فضائیہ متحف) is an Air Force museum and park situated near Karsaz Flyover on Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.[1]
پاک فضائیہ متحف | |
Captured Indian Folland Gnat from 1965 war on display at the PAF Museum Gallery. | |
Location within Karachi | |
Location | Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 24.8720°N 67.0974°E |
Type | Military |
Collection size | Airforce equipment, captured and retired aircraft, paintings. |
Website | http://www.pafmuseum.com.pk |
A majority of the aircraft, weapons and radar are displayed outside in the park but the main museum features all major fighter aircraft that have been used by the Pakistan Air Force. The museum also houses the Vickers VC.1 Viking aircraft used by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, and a Folland Gnat of the Indian Air Force, that landed in Pasrur town, Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. Also on display are the scale models of some World War I, World War II and some more modern aircraft and photo galleries of almost all the squadrons of Pakistan Air Force.[2][3]
History
The museum was established in 1990 in two unused hangars in a remote part of the Base. The museum was expanded significantly from its humble beginnings in the period 1999–2004. Additions include children playing areas, rides, and eateries.
Management
The museum is managed by a committee headed by the Air Officer Commanding Southern Air Command; however, it is managed and run by the deputy chairman. Recently the museum has been renamed as Historical Archives Section and given additional responsibilities for maintaining some documented history of the PAF. The current director / deputy chairman of the museum is Gp Capt Rizwan Idris. However, the museum was developed by Wing Commander Syed Salman Ahmed.
Gallery
- Mirage III Aircraft
- F-6 Aircraft
- Archives Gallery
- At night
Selected exhibits
Some of the aircraft that are preserved in the museum are:
- Martin B-57 Canberra
- De Havilland Tiger Moth
- North American Harvard
- Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
- North American F-86 Sabre
- Dassault Mirage 5
- Shenyang F-6
- Lockheed T-33
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
- Auster Autocar
- Antonov An-26
- Antonov An-12
- A-26 Invader
- U-9 Aero Commander
- Vickers Viking
- Folland Gnat
- Kaman HH-43 Huskie
Besides those from PAF inventory, visitors can see the captured Folland Gnat of Indian Air Force and Afghan Air Force Mig 21 and Iraq Air Force, Antonov An-12.
A statue of Indian Airforce's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman along with the parts of the fuselage and tail of his Mig-21 aircraft are also on display in a gallery named Operation Swift Retort.[4]
See also
References
- Air Chief inaugurates martyrs monument at PAF Museum Karachi, The Nation (newspaper), Published 7 September 2015, Retrieved 14 September 2017
- Pakistan Air Force Museum at Karachi displays a captured Folland Gnat of the Indian Air Force, defence.pk website, Published 2 December 2016, Retrieved 14 September 2017
- Japanese sailors visit PAF Museum, Dawn (newspaper), Published 8 September 2012, Retrieved 14 September 2017
- "Statue of Indian pilot Abhinandan installed in Karachi's PAF Museum". Dawn. 13 November 2019.