Peter Christy (1937 – 6 December 1971), SJ, was a PAF bomber pilot and

weapon systems officer A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigi ...

(WSO). A

B-57 Canberra The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twin-engined tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1953. The B-57 is a license-built version of the British English Electric ...

navigator, Christy was officially

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

in December 1971, and is presumed dead by the

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...

. He was posthumously honored by the Pakistani government with the

Sitara-e-Jurat Sitara-e-Jurat (, Star of Courage) is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for gallantry or distinguish ...

in 1971.

Education

Christy was born in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

then-

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

in 1937. His father was Maula Bakhsh Christy. He attended

St Patrick's High School, Karachi St Patrick's High School is a Catholic primary and secondary school located in Saddar Town, Sindh, Karachi, Pakistan. Founded by the Jesuits in 1861, the school is the second-oldest school in Karachi.Ali, G. and Ali, M. St. Patrick’s: A journ ...

. His teachers described him as an intelligent student, and he scored well in his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

. He was a Christian.

Career

In 1962, Christy joined the Pakistan Air Force as a

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

. He attained the ranks of flight officer and then flight lieutenant. After flying as a B-57 Canberra navigator in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he became a squadron leader in 1968. By 1971, Christy had begun working for

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport ...

(PIA). He left in December 1971 to volunteer to fight in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. He was assigned the role of navigator and, on December 6, tasked with bombing

Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city and the headquarters of Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch, some west of the state capital, Gandhinagar. The city was the capital of Nawanagar State, Na ...

. He did not return from the mission and on December 8 was declared missing in action.

Aftermath

The Government of Pakistan posthumously awarded him the third highest military award, the

(Star of Courage), in 1971. According to the IAF, Christy was killed in action when plane was shot down IAF's

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

. However, India's Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment. On 6 September 2004, Christy was honoured by the Pakistan Television (PTV) in a program sponsored by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

References

External links

Chronological Listing of Pakistani

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christy, Peter 1937 births 1970s missing person cases 1971 deaths Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action Military personnel from Karachi Military personnel missing in action Missing person cases in India Pakistan Air Force officers Pakistan Air Force personnel Pakistani aviators Pakistani Christians Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat Shot-down aviators St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni

Education

Career

Aftermath

See also

References

External links