7th September 1965. Pakistan waged war on India. Trevor Keelor IAF was the first officer to shoot a Pakistani aircraft out of the sky. His brother Denzil was the next to destroy an enemy plane.
Then it was Flt Lt Alfred Cooke who took on two enemy aircraft in a dogfight in the skies, destroying both. He then went on to assist a comrade who was being pursued by the remaining intruders. Out of six enemy aircraft that entered Indian airspace that day and after Alfie Cooke's dogfight, the other four disappeared. Cooke was awarded the Vir Chakra from President Radhakrishnan for his gallantry and courage during the engagement. Alfie Cooke, and the Keelor brothers later emigrated to Australia. Here is a re-enactment from eyewitness accounts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQVRnQnpZwM&sns=em Roland Francis Toronto.
