During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Indian and Pakistani Air Forces engaged in large-scale aerial combat for the first time. In the air war, which took place in September, both air forces conducted thousands of defensive and offensive sorties over Indian and Pakistani airspace. Both India and Pakistan claimed victory in the air war; Pakistan claimed to have destroyed 104 Indian aircraft and lost 19, and India claimed to have destroyed 73 Pakistani aircraft and lost 35 of its own. The air war ended in a stalemate.
Background
The war began in early August 1965, and fighting was initially confined mainly to the ground. As hostilities progressed, however, both sides began air operations. Although India and Pakistan had fought in the First Kashmir War, shortly after the partition of India in 1947, that war was more limited in scale than the 1965 conflict; air operations had been largely confined to interdiction, re-supply and troop transport. One Indian fighter aircraft had intercepted a Pakistani transport in the earlier war, but there was no significant air-to-air combat. During the 1965 conflict, however, the Pakistan Air Force flew a total of 2,364 sorties; the Indian Air Force flew 3,937 sorties.
Main battle
The aerial phase of the war began on 1 September 1965, when the Indian Air Force (IAF) responded to an urgent call for air strikes against the Pakistani Army (which had begun Operation Grand Slam. The IAF quickly launched 26 aeroplanes (12 de Havilland Vampires and 14 Dassault Mystère IVs) to blunt the Pakistan Army's offensive in Chhamb. The IAF's 45th Squadron was tasked with close air support of Indian troops. The squadron, recently moved from Pune to Pathankot after the 220th Squadron was merged into it, was commanded by S. K. "Marshal" Dhar. Group Captain Roshan Suri painted a grim picture of the Indian Army's position at Akhnoor and the Pakistan Army's armoured thrust at Chhamb, on the Tawi River near Jammu. Twenty-eight aircraft (12 Vampires and 16 Mysteres) were used, and the first planes took off at 17:19 hours. The planes flew in formation and strafed Pakistani tanks and ground targets, although friendly fire was also later reported. When the Indian aircraft were sighted, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) scrambled two F-86 Sabres (flown by S/L Sarfraz Rafiqui of the No. 5 Squadron and F/L Imtiaz Bhatti of No. 15 Squadron) to intercept. In the ensuing dogfight over Chhamb, where Rafiqui took on the flight leader and wingman and Bhatti went after the element leader and element wingman, the IAF lost all four of its Vampires; they were flown by Squadron Leader Aspi Kekobad Bhagwagar (flight leader), Flight Lieutenant Vijay Madhav Joshi (element leader), Flight Lieutenant Satish Bharadwaj (element wingman) and Flight Lieutenant (later Group Captain) Shrikrishna Vishnu Phatak (wingman). Both Pakistani pilots claimed two aircraft kills each.
The IAF withdrew about 130 Vampires and over 50 Ouragons from front-line service. Although India's use of fixed-winged Vampires was later criticized, eight of the 12 Vampires successfully completed their tasks; 14 Mysteres returned unscathed, and the IAF claimed success in slowing the Pakistan Army's momentum. Both sides supported their ground forces on 2 September, but no major aerial engagement was observed.