Muhammad Mahmood Alam
Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam  (; 6 July 1935 – 18 March 2013) was a Pakistani fighter pilot officially claimed by the Pakistan Air Force for having downed five Indian Air Force Hawker Hunter aircraft in 1 minute during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 on 7 September 1965.

He was a F-86 Sabre flying ace as per Pakistan Air Force records. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat, the nation's third highest military award with Bar for his actions.

Early life
Alam was born on 6 July 1935 to a well-educated family of Calcutta, British India. Born and raised in Bengal, Alam was a fluent Bengali speaker, however his paternal line was of Urdu-speaking Bihari origin; having emigrated from Patna and settled in the Bengal province of British India for a long time. The family migrated from Calcutta to eastern Bengal which became East Pakistan, now Bangladesh following the formation of Pakistan in 1947. It was in East Pakistan, where Alam completed his secondary education, graduating from the Government High School in Dhaka in 1951. He joined the then Royal Pakistani Air Force (now Pakistan Air Force) in 1952, being commissioned on 2 October 1953. Alam's brothers are M. Shahid Alam, an economist and a professor at Northeastern University, and M. Sajjad Alam, a particle physicist at SUNY Albany.

His family moved to Pakistan in 1971, after the secession of East Pakistan. Being the eldest of his 11 siblings, Alam did not marry as he had to assume the responsibilities of the upbringing of his family. Some of his younger brothers became distinguished in various academic careers.

Service with the Pakistan Air Force

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Alam claimed to have scored an "ace in a day" on 7 September 1965, with a total of 5 kills. His actions have placed him at the top of the hall of fame list at the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Museum in Karachi. During the war, he was posted at Sargodha.

According to the PAF, in a single sortie on 7 September 1965, Alam downed five aircraft with four in less than a minute, establishing a world record.  Regarding the last four, he stated: "Before we had completed more than about 270 degrees of turn, at around 12 degrees per second, all four Hunters had been shot down." In 1978, when he gave a speech at a Karachi university, he said that he saw a spiritual force coming from the sky.

His claims have been contested by retired PAF Air Commodore Sajad S. Haider and the Indian Air Force, which denied losing five Hawker Hunter aircraft on the said day, . Also, the fact that no verifiable gun camera footage of his kills was ever made public by the Pakistani authorities, further casts doubt on his claim.

Later years 
In 1967, he was appointed Squadron Commander of the first squadron of Dassault Mirage III fighters procured by the PAF. In 1982, he retired as an Air commodore and took up residence in Karachi.

Death
Alam was admitted to Pakistan Naval Station Shifa Hospital in Karachi where he died on 18 March 2013, aged 77. He was being treated for respiratory problems for 18 months. Alam's funeral prayer was performed at the PAF Base Masroor, where he served some of the significant years of his career. Alam was buried at the Shuhuda (Martyrs) Graveyard, located at PAF Masroor Airbase. Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, Air Chief Marshal (Ret.) Farooq Feroz Khan, Sindh corps commander Lt. Gen Ijaz Chaudhry, Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) Director-General Maj. Gen. Rizwan Akhter, Base Commander PAF Base Masroor Air Commodore Usaid ur Rehman, many war veterans of the 1965 war and Alam's closest colleagues attended the funeral. One of the younger brothers of the deceased, Zubair Alam, was also present.

Memorials
M. M. Alam Road, a major road in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan is named in honour of the flying ace of Pakistan Air Force, Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam, running from Main Market to Gulberg. The road runs parallel to famous Main Boulevard thus providing an alternate route and is a commercial hub with many restaurants, fashion boutiques, shopping malls, beauty saloons and décor stores. M.M. Alam Road hosts a variety of flamboyant restaurants in modern Lahore. On 20 March 2014, on account of his first death anniversary, the PAF Airbase Mianwali was renamed after him as PAF Base M.M. Alam.

See also
 Aviators who became ace in a day
 8-Pass Charlie
 Saiful Azam

References

Further reading
 History of PAF – Government of Pakistan
 "Laying the Sargodha Ghost to rest." Vayu Aerospace Review. November 1985

1935 births
2013 deaths
Pakistan Air Force officers
Pakistani flying aces
Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat
Military personnel from Karachi
Military personnel from Kolkata
Pakistani aviation record holders
People from Dhaka
Pakistani people of Bihari descent
Pakistani test pilots
Pakistani Muslims