page_title: Pakistan Air Force Academy
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Pakistan Air Force Academy / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945. A trainee pilot shoulders his parachute harness in front of Hawker Hurricane Mark Is at No. 151 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit, Risalpur, India.
context_page_description: The Pakistan Air Force Academy Asghar Khan is an accredited four-year military academy which provides undergraduate education to officer candidates for the Pakistan Air Force. The eligible and selected candidates from all over Pakistan are sent to PAF Academy Risalpur for flying training. It is located in the town of Risalpur in Nowshera District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, it is a premier cadet training institution of the Pakistan Air Force which offers academic professional degrees. Its role is the training of General Duty Pilots, Aeronautical and Avionics Engineers and the initial training of other Ground Branch cadets. Cadets of all branches join the academy following a recommendation by the Inter Services Selection Board of Pakistan and the Air Headquarters Special Selection Board for Short Service Commission candidates. Graduates of the Academy's four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree, and most are commissioned as flying officers in the Pakistan Air Force.
  The academy was created in 1910 and was a former airfield of the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force.
context_section_description: The history of Risalpur airbase dates back to 1910 when an airstrip was developed there. During the First World War, the Royal Flying Corps established a base at Risalpur. In December 1915 RAF's newly raised No. 31 Squadron was stationed here, which was later used against troublesome tribesmen of the Tribal areas along the Afghan border. The squadron flew B.E.2c and Farman biplane in ground support missions. On 24 May 1919, Handley Page V/1500 flew its first mission to attack Kabul from the airfield. In 1925 the air fleet of base was tasked to carry out a survey of the about four hundred square miles area of Ravi's old river bed for finding ancient sites. After First World War, the No. 11 Squadron of Royal Air Force equipped with Westland Wapiti was stationed at the base in 1928, that was also used in the operations in the tribal areas. The bombers of this squadron were used By 1940, Risalpur had become both a training and an operational base. During the Second World War, an operational training squadron was stationed at Risalpur, besides the base also conducted fighter conversion courses.
  After the departure of the British, Risalpur was like an abandoned airfield. The airfield was formally established after Pakistan became an independent nation on 15 August 1947 with 20 officers, 21 trainees, 23 senior non-commissioned officers (SNCOs) and 257 airmen. The base comprised only a handful of men and some equipment. About a month later, the Flying Training School was established at Risalpur, that carried out Initial, elementary and advanced flying training. In September 1947, six Harvard aircraft from Flying Training School of Ambala, that were transferred to Pakistan after partition, reached Risalpur. Wing Commander Asghar Khan, later to become the first Air Chief of the PAF, took over as the first Officer Commanding of the School, with Harvard and Tiger Moth aircraft in the inventory. Flt Lt M Khyber Khan, who later rose to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, and his student, Flight Cadet Akhtar, flew the first training sortie on 22 September 1947.
  During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the airfield was used to transport personnel and other equipment to the mountain terrain of Northern Areas. In March 1950, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, who was the first Head of state to visit Pakistan and a flyer himself, visited the academy. After fifty years of Jinnah's visit to the academy, a commemoration was held on 13 April 1997. Among other veterans, Air Marshal Asghar Khan also witnessed the ceremony who was the commandant at the time of the visit.
  On 13 April 1948, the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, visited Risalpur Flying Training School and raised its level to that of a college.  Risalpur thus became the genesis of PAF pilots. It became the only military academy of Pakistan to be visited by Jinnah. At this ceremony, Jinnah took the General Salute at the parade and fighter aircraft from Peshawar Air base performed aerobatics.
  During Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 a bomber squadron was stationed here after Peshawar Air Base was hit by IAF. On 21 January 1967 President Ayub Khan elevated the status of the PAF College, Risalpur to that of an academy.
caption: A trainee pilot in front of Hawker Hurricane of No. 151 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit at Risalpur
exif: {}