Sadruddin Mohammad Hossain, BP is a former chief of the

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army a ...

. AVM Sadruddin was the fifth chief of the Bangladesh Air Force from 9 December 1977 to 22 July 1981. He was the youngest air chief in the history of Bangladesh Air Force (at the age of 36).

Early life and education

Hossain was born in a wealthy

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

family of

Paltan Paltan is a thana (precinct) of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It is often said to be the center of Dhaka, dividing "Old Dhaka" and "New Dhaka". Paltan was made a thana in 2005 by then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. Paltan Thana was forme ...

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, Bengal Province of then British India. He received his primary-level education at

Pogose School Pogose Laboratory School and College, IER, Jagannath University () was established in Dhaka on June 12, 1848, as the first private school of the country by Armenians, Armenian merchant Nicholas Pogose, who was an ex-student of Dhaka Collegiate Sch ...

before being admitted at

PAF College Lower Topa PAF College Lower Topa is an all-boys military boarding school situated at Lower Topa, Murree which is located near Patriata in the Murree region of the Murree District of Pakistan. Situated on a hilltop, the institution is made up of a series o ...

Career

Upon graduating from Lower Topa Cadet College, he resumed his career as a fighter pilot in the

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

in 1956 and was commissioned as a pilot officer of No. 5 Squadron in 1959. Then, the fighters of his squadron were composed of mainly the

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

and the

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizont ...

. He was one of the top 20 cadets who was sent to the United States for advanced training in

Moody AFB Moody Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation near Valdosta, Georgia. Geography The base is mostly in northeastern Lowndes County, Georgia, with a portion in Lanier County. Georgia State Route 125 runs through the west ...

and also at

Luke AFB Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, and west of Phoenix. Luke AFB is a major train ...

between 1960 and 1962. Sadruddin is credited with at least two joint take downs of Indian Folland Gnats during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. He was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior 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. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

in 1968 and was posted as the commander of a three-aircraft flight under an attack squadron at

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi language, Punjabi/; ; ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Central Punjab, central Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 11th most populous city and ...

. In April 1971 he defected to

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

to participate in the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. He was a liaison officer between the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

and the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

and was stationed in Sector 6. After the Liberation War of 1971 between Bangladesh and Pakistan, he was promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior 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. Wing commander is immediately se ...

and placed in command of the Dhaka Airbase of the newly formed Bangladesh Air Force. His next appointment was as

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

and defence attaché at the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow, Russia, where he spent 3.5 years with his wife and children. After completing this assignment, Group Captain Sadruddin returned to Bangladesh in 1977 and was assigned as director of the Bangladesh Air Force Air Operations & Air Intelligence. He was promoted to

air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

and chief of the air staff in 1977.

Personal life

Hossain is married to Shahera Ahsan and have a daughter, Tahmina Ahsan, and two sons, Sarwaruddin Mohammad Hossain and Farid Hossain.

Awards and decorations

References

Living people Bangladesh Air Force air marshals Chiefs of Air Staff (Bangladesh) Mukti Bahini personnel Year of birth missing (living people) {{Bangladesh-mil-bio-stub