Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan has sent out a letter condoling the family of Captain Saiful Azam, 80, who passed away in Bangladesh on Monday.
As a young 25 year old captain of the Pakistan air force, Saiful Azam joined his Jordanian and Iraqi air force colleagues in defending the skies of Jordan and Iraq during the Arab-Israeli War in 1967, where he downed four Israeli fighter planes.
“The Group Captain remains a legend in Jordan, for his gallantry in supporting the Jordanian Air force during the ‘Six Day’ Arab Israeli War in 1967, when he helped defend the skies of Jordan, and we will always be grateful to him,” added the letter.
Previously, he had acquitted himself with gallantry having also destroyed an Indian fighter plane during the Indo-Pak War of 1965. Group Captain Saiful Azam served in the Pakistan air force from 1960 to 1971, and with the Bangladesh air force (BAF) from 1971 to 1979.
He is believed to be the only fighter pilot in the world who served in the theatre of war with four different air forces – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan, and Iraq. He received gallantry awards from Jordan, Iraq and Pakistan.
Saiful Azam was awarded “Top Gun” by the US air force in April 1961 after his training at the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. In 2001 he was again honoured by the US air force as one of the 22 “Living Eagles” of the world.
After his retirement from the BAF, Group Captain Azam served as his country’s director of the Civil Aviation Authority for two terms. He later became a member of parliament.
