FS Hussain

F.S. Hussain
SBt TPk
Prince of Pilots
King of Fury
ایف ایس حسین
Gp Capt F.S. during the 1965 war
Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Training)
AHQ (PAF)
In office
1968 – 9 April 1969
Commander PAF Station Mauripur
In office
December 1961 – January 1964
Chief Inspector of Flight Safety
Pakistan Air Force
In office
25 April 1959 – December 1961
Officer Commanding Flying Wing
PAF Station Mauripur
In office
1956–1958
Officer Commanding
No. 11 Squadron PAF
In office
April 1953 – July 1955
Preceded byAbdur Rahim Khan
Succeeded byZafar Masud
Officer Commanding
No. 5 Squadron PAF
In office
November 1951 – April 1953
Preceded byJulian Kazimierz Żuromski
Succeeded bySalahuddin
Personal details
Born
Fuad Shahid Hussain

20 July 1924
Lucknow, British India
Died9 April 1969(1969-04-09) (aged 44)
CMH Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
Cause of deathComplications from nuclear radiation
Spouse
Zarina
(m. 1943)
Children2
EducationLa Martinière College, Lucknow
Initial Training Wing, Poona
Central Gunnery School Leconfield
Day Fighter Leaders School
German Air Force Officer Training School
RAF Staff College, Andover
Imperial Defence College
Nickname(s)FS Hussain
F.S.
Prince of Pilots
The King of Fury
Military service
Branch/service Royal Indian Air Force (1944-47)
 Pakistan Air Force (1947-69)
Years of service1944-69
Rank Air Commodore
UnitNo. 5 Squadron PAF (1947)
AFS Ambala (1946-47)
No. 151 OTU (1945-46)
Commands
Battles/wars
AwardsGolden Eagle Award
Sitara-e-Basalat (1957)
Tamgha-e-Pakistan (1961)

Air Commodore Fuad Shahid Hussain SBt TPk (Urdu: فواد شاہد حسین; 20 July 1924 – 9 April 1969) better known as FS Hussain, F.S., King of Fury,[a] and the Prince of Pilots, was among the pioneering officers of the Pakistan Air Force, a fighter pilot, aerobatic pilot, and one-star rank air officer. During World War II, his squadron was part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Imperial Japan, stationed on an aircraft carrier. While there, FS as an aerial photographer, was tasked with capturing images of the bombed-out cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, unaware of the radiation exposure risks at that time, which eventually led to his death while in service, as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Training) at the PAF Headquarters.[1][2]

In his early days as a Flying Officer, Syed Masood Akhtar writes that FS' remarkable mastery of low-level aerobatics became legendary in the RPAF. "Whether he was flying a Hawker Fury just a few feet above the ground, kicking up dust on the runway with his propeller wash, or gracefully executing a B-point roll just above the treetops, he made it "all seem like child's play.” By the early 1950s, he was rapidly gaining fame throughout Pakistan and internationally as "F.S.", becoming a role model for fighter pilots in the RPAF.[3] [check quotation syntax] Due to his remarkable flying skills, he was selected for a course at the Central Gunnery School Leconfield where he topped the Pilot Attack Instructors’ Course as a Category "A" Pilot Attack Instructor in April 1949, setting a Commonwealth air-to-air and air-to-ground shooting record. The Commandant of the school lauded him, saying, “This officer who is a member of the Royal Pakistan Air Force, for combat flying, is outstanding in every way. He achieved the finest result in the air ever experienced in the Central Gunnery School, Leconfield England.”[4][5]

On 12 March 1950 at Risalpur, he took off in a Hawker Sea Fury and performed an aerobatic display in honor of The Shah of Pahlavi Iran. The Shah who was an amateur pilot, was deeply impressed by Hussain's manoeuvres executed incredibly close to the ground, and requested for a personal meeting with FS and later ordered his court poet to write a poem in honor of FS.[6][7]

FS left a lasting impression at the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, where his daredevil solo aerobatics enthralled the crowd. After the performance, former MRAF Arthur Tedder remarked, “A generation of pilots is yet to be born, who will try to achieve the standards already perfected by Flt Lt FS Hussain of the RPAF.”[8]

He rose to fame once more on 22 December 1956, captivating the Karachi crowd with his signature slow roll and inverted pull-up performed at low altitude, flying solo at 600 mph. In the audience was China's Premier Zhou Enlai, who was on his inaugural official visit to Pakistan. Witnessing Hussain's spectacular aerobatics, Premier Zhou Enlai was so impressed that he requested Prime Minister H. S. Suhrawardy, for a personal meeting with F. S. Hussain to commend him for his extraordinary performance.[9]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "List of Pioneering Officers as on 15th August, 1947". Archived from the original on 16 March 2016.
  2. ^ Flight International. 1969. p. 24. Air Commodore F. S. Hussain died recently at the age of 45; his last appointment was as Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Training) at PAF Headquarters. In 1951, as a flight lieutenant, he had headed the RAF Fighter Weapons Course at Leconfield with the highest air-to-air and air-to-ground gunnery scores ever achieved by a Commonwealth pilot. He continued his long association with the Royal Air Force and was a graduate of the West Raynham Fighter Leaders' School, the Staff College and IDC.
  3. ^ Hussaini, Syed Masood Akhtar (2002). PAF Over the Years. p. 18.
  4. ^ Pakistan. 1948. p. 108.
  5. ^ The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News. Vol. 76. 1949. p. 121.
  6. ^ Khan, Mohammad Ayub (1966). Ayub, Soldier and Statesman. p. 408.
  7. ^ Sprigg, Theodore Stanhope; Marsh, William Lockwood; Bracken, C. P.; Whittle, W. C. M. (1967). Who's who in British Aviation.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sentinels was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Air Commodore FS Hussain: The pioneer of PAF aerobatics". 23 March 2019.