Polly Shah

Air Commodore
Polly Shah
SQA
پولی شاہ
Personal details
BornSyed Mansoor Ahmad Shah
11 March 1926
British India
Died7 February 2013(2013-02-07) (aged 86)
Karachi, Pakistan
Children3
EducationSherwood College
St. Anthony High School, Lahore
Government College, Lahore (dropped out, joined RIAF)
Air Command and Staff College
Military service
Branch/service Royal Indian Air Force (1945-1947)
 Pakistan Air Force (1947-1972)
Years of service
1945-1972
Rank Air Commodore
CommandsNo. 12 Squadron PAF
PAF Station Chaklala
PAF Station Peshawar
PAF Station Masroor
Battles/wars
AwardsSee list

Syed Mansoor Ahmad Shah[a] (11 March 1926 – 7 February 2013) also known as Polly Shah and SMA Shah,[1] was among the pioneer officers of the Pakistan Air Force, a military strategist, fighter pilot and Air Commodore. He was also an author and published a memoir about his career titled "The Gold Bird: Pakistan and Its Air Force, Observations of a Pilot" in 2002.

Early life

Syed Mansoor Ahmad Shah was born on 11 March 1926[2] to Major Dr. Habibullah Khan and Captain Dr Enid Flora Shah,[3] their only son.[4]

Shah received his early schooling at Sherwood College and St. Anthony High School, Lahore. He became the first Muslim from the Punjab Province (British India) to have topped the Senior Cambridge examination in 1943.[5]

While at the Government College, Lahore, he joined the Royal Indian Air Force.[5]

Personal life

Shah had two sisters.[4]

Shah married Sibiha in 1951, and they had three children, two daughters: Farida and Sonia, and a son, Daud Shah.[3]

Service years

Royal Indian Air Force

Syed Mansoor Ahmad Shah was commissioned into the Royal Indian Air Force on 9 April 1945 as part of the 31 Pilot Course and subsequently proceeded to No. 1 (Indian) Service Flying Training School RAF until 30 July 1945 for advanced training. The pilots also attended the 44 Fighter Course at No. 151 Operational Training Unit from 15 August to 30 November 1945.[6] He also won the Best Flying Progress Trophy.[3]

Flying Officer Shah was attached to No. 12 Sqn RIAF as a squadron pilot from 15 February 1946 to 29 August 1947.[4]

Pakistan Air Force

Following the Partition of British India in August 1947, Flying Officer Shah opted for the Royal Pakistan Air Force.[2] He flew the first sortie in the India–Pakistan war of 1947–1948[7] and was described as the "opening batsman" of the war by fellow pilot Sajad Haider.[8][9] [10]

He attended the Air Command and Staff College and received the Air University Badge in December 1956.[3]

In April 1958, Wg Cdr Shah was appointed Officer Commanding No. 12 Sqn. He was then appointed Director of Training in January 1960. He later served as Commander PAF Station Chaklala in January 1963. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Training) in November 1965, commanded PAF Station Peshawar in July 1967 and PAF Station Masroor in May 1968. He assumed the role of Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) in April 1970, a position he held until January 1971, when he was succeeded by Air Vice Marshal Zafar Chaudhry. He was reappointed to the same role in August 1971.[11]

He was also chosen to command PAF Base Dacca in November 1971 but suspended flights between East and West Pakistan prevented his appointment and he continued to serve in his previous role.[3] He was among three officers who were in the race to become the next Chief of Air Staff in 1972.[3] However, when President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reorganised the Pakistan Armed Forces, Shah was among 43 officers who were retired.[12]

Later life

After retiring, Shah joined Agricultural Aviation, a crop spraying company and worked there for the next 10 years.[4]

Death

He died on 7 February 2013, at the age of 87.[4]

Published work

Mansoor Shah (2002). The Gold Bird: Pakistan and Its Air Force, Observations of a Pilot. Oxford University Press.

Awards and decorations

  • PAF GD(P) Badge RED (More than 3000 Flying Hours)

Notes

  1. ^ Urdu: سید منصور احمد شاہ

References

  1. ^ Who's who in British Aviation. English Universities Press for Temple Press. 1967. p. 19.
  2. ^ a b "Pioneering Officers: See Flying Officers". Pakistan Air Force. Archived from the original on 15 March 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Air Commodore (retd) M Adnan Khan (6 February 2019). "Air Cdre Mansoor A Shah: a superb pilot, brilliant strategist". The News International.
  4. ^ a b c d e AVM Hamid Khwaja. "Service Record for Air Commodore Syed Mansoor Ahmad Shah 3104". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b M. Rasheed Khan (12 March 2013). "Polly Shah's last flight". Dawn.
  6. ^ "31 Course". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  7. ^ Muhammad Yusuf Saraf (2015). Kashmiris Fight for Freedom Vol 2 (1947-1978). Vol. 2 (2 ed.). p. 288.
  8. ^ Sajad Haider (17 February 2013). "PAF's Kashmir Hero". Dawn.
  9. ^ "Flashback: August 15, 1947". The Express Tribune. 26 August 2014. Described by fellow pilots as the 'opening batsman' of the 1948 war over Kashmir, he did some pinpoint para-dropping over very difficult terrain in Kashmir, flying a four-engine Halifax bomber. He was an important member of the cavalcade which formed the nucleus of PAF in its embryonic phase under Air Marshal Asghar Khan's command. He passed away last year at the age of 87.
  10. ^ (Retd) Air Marshal Shabbir Hussain Syed; (Retd) Squadron Leader M. Tariq Qureshi (1982). History of the Pakistan Air Force, 1947-1982. Pakistan Air Force. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-19-648045-9. The sortie was led by Flying Officer (later retired as Air Commodore) Syed Mansoor Shah (popularly known as Polly Shah). Here is his story: "It was fortunately one of the rare bright clear mornings when the two planes took off with a load of rice, atta and sugar in double gunny bags of approximately 80 lbs each for a free drop at Bunji. On reaching the Dropping Zone (DZ) I started my first dropping run from north to south at a height of 150 ft. above the ground. On a dropping run a pilot has to concentrate on the ground features below in order to drop at the right place; he does not normally look around or upward. After completing the first run, I circled round for the second one thinking that the second aircraft was following behind. About half way down the second run, I was horrified to observe by mere chance a trail of gunny bags dropping in a line straight towards me from the opposite direction. I looked up to discover their source. For a moment I was shaken rigid to find that the second aircraft flying in opposite direction at a height of about 300 ft. above me was merrily releasing its load. I would not have lived to tell the story if I had not thrust open my throttles and yanked my aircraft violently out of the way of the lethal stream of gunny bags. While doing so I got perilously close to a hillock. However, all is well that ends well. The lead reversed itself and I followed my No. 2 at a safe distance to complete our mission. The percentage of recoverable stores was reported to be about 50 percent. Subsequent free drops were much more successful, the recovery of stores often being as high as 90 percent". Only one aircraft was retained for succeeding sorties, the second one having been released for numerous other trans- port commitments. Encouraged by the success of the first sortie our single-aircraft air supply service shuttled back and forth daily from dawn to dusk. Zigzagging its way between the lofty hills, groping through occasional rain, winter fog, and, on clear days, blinding glare of sunshine reflecting from snow, dodging a cumulus here and nimbus there, our lonely missionary delivered the goods to our freedom fighters.
  11. ^ The Story Of The Pakistan Air Force: A Saga Of Courage And Honour. Shaheen Foundation, Pakistan. 1988. p. 671, 672, 673, 675, 676, 680.
  12. ^ Hasan Askari Rizvi (2000). Military, State, and Society in Pakistan. Springer. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-230-59904-8.

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