Tangail Air Drop- 1971 Indo - Pak War

Tangail Airdrop: Indo-Pak War 1971

On 11 Dec 71, Indian Air Force conducted an airdrop of troops which is considered the largest airborne assault operation in the post World War II period. 700 troops were dropped by 50 transport aircraft consisting of Dakotas, AN-12s, Packets and Caribous over an area known as Tangail in erstwhile East Pakistan aimed at cutting down the advance of enemy troops into Dacca before final of surrender of Pakistani forces on 16 December 1971.  The first soldier parachuted down at 4:30 PM and by 7:00 PM all 700 troops landed and regrouped to achieve their objective without a single casualty or a mishap.

This painting shows Dakotas then based at Jorhat that took part as pathfinders in the operations.