FS Hussain

Air Commodore Fuad Shahid Hussain (born March 19, 1920; died 9 April 1965), better known as FS Hussain, F.S., King of Fury, (He was given this nickname for mastering the Hawker Sea Fury aircraft.)

At an airshow in honour of The Shah's first visit to Pakistan in 1950, Hussain performed aerobatic manoeuvers in an Hawker Sea Fury. The Shah, who was impressed, requested to meet him and ordered his court poet to write a poem in his honour.

Personal life Fuad married Zarina and they had two children, son Zahid Hussain and daughter Ambreen, who died in 2005. Zahid is a businessman in Pakistan and founder of the organisation, KOPAF, a support group for the children of Pakistan Air Force personnel.

In the Journal of the Pakistan Air Force (1988), Squadron Leader MT Khan wrote: "in his physical handsomeness he (Fuad) resembled the first Station Commander of Drigh Road, Group Captain Charles Elworthy".

Service years Royal Indian Air Force (1944-1947) Officers of No. 4 Sqn: AIK Suares, Toric Zachariah, Leslie Prince Foster, FS Hussain, Rusi Cawasji Bahadurji, and Devaiah SubiaSitting: Muthukumarasami Balan, Andrew Wiseman with a stray dog, and Joseph Anthony Martin, Miho, Ibaraki, 1945 Commissioned into the Royal Indian Air Force on 4 September 1944, after graduating from the 26 Pilot Course of the Initial Training Wing in Poona, Hussain was attached to the No. 151 OTU in Risalpur.

On 23 May 1945, he took off in a Spitfire VIII. After landing in Peshawar, he taxied into the Hurricane IIC of Flying Officer Bal Bhagwan Marathe at excessive speed from dispersal with extensive skin damage to the main plane and propeller.

Pakistan Air Force (1947-1969) Nascent years After the Partition of British India, he was amongst the few Muslim officers who opted for the Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF), and ultimately joined the No. 5 Sqn which formed on 15 August 1947 at Peshawar, where he equipped a Hawker Tempest aircraft and did his first solo flight.

On 21 March 1948, an air show in Lahore was organised to help promote the RPAF amongst Pakistanis. Flight Lieutenants Abdul Naeem Aziz and Abdur Rahim Khan, Flying Officers Masroor Hosain and Fuad Shahid Hussain took part in the formation. In the book "PAF Over the Years," Mushaf Ali Mir wrote that in his early days as a Flying Officer, Hussain's mastery of low-level aerobatics became legendary in the Air Force. He wrote: "manoeuvring just a few feet above the ground in a Hawker Fury, his propeller wash kicking up dust on the runway, or just missing the tree tops in a graceful 8-point roll, he made it all look like child's play."

At the first Pakistan Day parade in Lahore in 1948, he disguised himself as a mess hall attendant and rushed towards an aircraft, pretending to hijack it in an attempt to impress the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The radio commentator, who was in on the plan, added suspense. Hussain acted like a novice pilot, pulling off risky moves and pretended that he was about to crash into the ground several times. Near the end of the performance, he flew close to Jinnah, saluting him while he was inverted.

By April 1949, he won the first position in the Pilot Attack Instructors course at the Central Gunnery School Leconfield as a Category "A" Pilot Attack Instructor, while setting a commonwealth record in air-to-air shooting. The Commandant of the school remarked that Hussain achieved the finest result in the air ever experienced at the school.

In May 1949, No. 5 Sqn and No. 9 Sqn faced each other for the first Perry-Keene Trophy, in an inter-squadron armament competition. No. 5 Sqn was victorious and the team consisted of Squadron Leader Aziz ur Rehman Khan, Flight Lieutenant Fuad Shahid Hussain, and Flying Officers Imtiaz Hussain Agha and Stefan Tronczyński.

In Peshawar, on 12 December 1949, the RPAF held a performance to support its welfare fund, attended by over 50,000 people. Hussain was among several pilots who performed. He flew a Hawker Sea Fury and his first act was a roll while climbing vertically, known as a "vertical Charlie". He then executed a series of half rolls, rocket loops, eight-point rolls, slow and successive rolls, and demonstrated inverted flying. His performance garnered loud applause from the spectators.

On 5 February 1950, Flight Lieutenant Hussain was one of the pilots who participated in the RPAF's 'At Home' air display in Lahore Cantonment, organised by Wing Commander S.A. Joseph, which was attended by approximately 100,000 people. Hussain drew loud applause as he piloted a Hawker Sea Fury, climbing 8,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. The crowd held its breath as he masterfully handled the fighter, performing a series of fast, slow, square, and half rolls at speeds exceeding 500 mph.

That year on 2 March at PAF Base Risalpur, he took off in a Hawker Sea Fury and performed an aerobatic display in honour of The Shah of Pahlavi Iran. The Shah who was an amateur pilot, was deeply impressed by Hussain's manoeuvres executed incredibly close to the ground, and requested for a personal meeting with Hussain and later ordered his court poet to write a poem in his honour.

By the early 1950s, he was rapidly gaining fame throughout Pakistan and internationally as "F.S.", and became a role model for fighter pilots in the Air Force. Additionally, Hussain was appointed Flight Commander of the squadron and tasked with operationalising the aircraft and training the crew. He also formed the first jet aerobatic team, known as the Paybills, who showcased their skills in a performance at the end of 1952.

In June 1953, F.S. left a lasting impression at the Coronation of Elizabeth II, where his daredevil solo aerobatics enthralled the crowd. After the performance, former Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur Tedder remarked, "A generation of pilots is yet to be born, who will try to achieve the standards already perfected by Flt Lt FS Hussain of the RPAF."

Despite not having the chance to participate in the World record loop of 1958, he received an appreciation letter from Air Vice Marshal Asghar Khan for training the pilots who achieved the feat.

During the six months prior to July 1960, flying accidents in the PAF reached an all-time low, with only one accident involving a loss of life and several units and squadrons not experiencing any mishaps at all. Air Marshal Asghar Khan congratulated Chief Inspector Group Captain F.S. Hussain for this achievement, expressing personal satisfaction with his inspection reports. Emphasising the need to maintain and exceed the safety standards, Khan announced plans to introduce further measures, which included creating an accident research section in the Chief Inspectorate of the PAF to explore various issues. Hussain's half-yearly report, presented at the PAF Headquarters, revealed that fatal accidents had been reduced to one, involving a Harvard aircraft from Quetta, with no major mishaps in jets, transport planes, or training aircraft despite increased flying hours.

From December 1961 to January 1964, Hussain commanded PAF Station Mauripur. Among his students were MM Alam, Alauddin Ahmed, Yunus Hussain, Muniruddin, Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui, Saiful Azam, Nazir Latif, and others.

1965 War

With the onset of the war, Group Captain F.S. Hussain was now a senior commander at AHQ. Air Marshal Nur Khan, the Commander-in-Chief, formed a committee led by FS Hussain to review and improve operational plans.

The committee was tasked with gaining local air superiority to support the Pakistan Army and prevent the Indian Air Force (IAF) from aiding the Indian Army, recommending methods to neutralise the IAF's numerical superiority, plan for efficient defence of air bases and maximum support for the army, propose strategies for enemy harassment without compromising PAF effectiveness, and ensure logistical plans supported operational goals. Later that year, he attended the Imperial Defence College and graduated in 1968. On his return to Pakistan, he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Training) at the AHQ in December 1968.

Years later, his family moved to the United Kingdom. Sometime afterwards, Air Commodore Riffat Mahmud, Director General Medical Services of the Pakistan Air Force, took FS Hussain's blood samples to the United States during a visit to United States Air Force medical facilities. The PAF had been unable to identify the cause of Hussain's kidney failure. However, the US medical specialist identified the slides as characteristic of radiation poisoning. Mahmud later informed Hussain's family of this diagnosis during his visit to London.

In the book, "Shamsheer Se Zanjeer Tak," (Retd) Colonel Mirza Hassan Khan recalled that F.S. Hussain was assigned to fly him to Gilgit in an emergency when enemy Indian fighter aircraft were present in the sky during the India–Pakistan war of 1947–1948. He described how they encountered six enemy fighters en-route and how Hussain "bravely flew the Harvard at a very low level", just above the River Indus, through treacherous high mountains. At a dangerous point, Hussain instructed Khan to get ready to jump out of the plane. Khan added that he had never seen anyone as brave as pilot F.S. Hussain.

In the book, "Flight of the Falcon," (Retd) Air Commodore Sajad Haider wrote: "FS Hussain, the greatest fighter pilot PAF ever had. He would loop an Attacker or F-86 inverted all the way, and at Karachi flying club we witnessed him do these very crazy manoeuvres in a Tiger Moth bi-plane, spin it from 2000 feet and scare the crap out of us. But every second and inch during manoeuvres, he was in total control. God bless his soul."

(Retd) Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhry in his memoir, "Mosaic of Memory," wrote: "FS was totally dedicated to his profession and had only one desire and ambition in life: to stay in the flying business. Thus, when he started developing a physical disorder rather early in life, his reaction was to conceal it and to ignore it so that it should not lead to his being removed from flying status- a situation he was simply not prepared to accept. His love for flying far exceeded his concern for his own well-being; he simply could not imagine a life without the thrill of flying and, therefore, continued to pretend that all was well. The insidious malady remained untreated and, tragically, by the time it became obvious, it had already passed the stage of treatment. The Prince of Pilots died when still short of 45-leaving the PAF and the world of flying so much the poorer."

Effective dates of promotion

Awards and decorations

PAF GD(P) Badge RED (More than 3000 Flying Hours)Golden Eagle Award (Pakistan)(Exceptional Fighter Pilot)Sitara-e-Basalat (Star of Valour)1957Tamgha-i-Pakistan (Member of the Order of Pakistan)1961Tamgha-e-Diffa (Defence Medal)

1. 1947–1948 War Clasp

2. Bajaur Campaign ClaspSitara-e-Harb 1965 War (War Star 1965)Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War (War Medal 1965)Pakistan Medal (1953)