No. 6 Squadron (Pakistan Air Force)
| No. 6 Squadron Antelopes |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1947—Present |
| Country |
 Pakistan
|
| Branch |
 Pakistan Air Force
|
| Role | Airlift |
| Part of | No. 35 Composite Air Transport Wing PAF Northern Air Command |
| Airbase | PAF Base Chaklala |
| Nickname(s) | Antelopes |
| Mascot(s) | A standing antelope. |
| Anniversaries | August 14 |
| Aircraft | C-130 Hercules |
| Engagements |
1947 Indo-Pakistani War 1965 Indo-Pakistani War 1971 Indo-Pakistani War |
| Battle honours |
 4× Sitara-i-Juraat 1× Imtiazi Sanad 2× Tamgha-i-Jurat |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Air Vice-Marshal Eric Gordan Hall Air Vice-Marshal Allan Perry-Keene Air-Commodore Mukhtar Dogar Air-Commodore Nazir Latif |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Transport |
Douglas Dakota Bristol Freighter C-130 Hercules |
No. 6 Squadron, nicknamed the Antelopes, is a transport squadron of the Pakistan Air Force.
The squadron was formed without any aircraft or equipment on 14 August 1947 at Maripur, Karachi, under its first commanding officer, Flight Lieutenant M. J. Khan. On 16 August 1947, Air Officer Commanding Air Vice Marshal visited the squadron and commissioned it for heavy airlifting and airborne operations. The PAF acquired a Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft on 22 October 1947 and later obtained Bristol Freighter, Tiger Moth, and Auster AOP.9 aircraft. On 29 June 1948, a detachment of the squadron provided a guard of honour at Mauripur for Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah on his arrival from Quetta. On 9 September 1948, three Dakota aircraft performed a flypast at the Quaid-e-Azam's funeral ceremony.
No. 6 Squadron had been a Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) unit until 14 August 1947, the date of Pakistan's independence, when it was transferred to the Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF). The squadron was stationed at Peshawar and inherited one serviceable Douglas Dakota from the RIAF, along with two pilots, three navigators and three signallers. The RPAF initiated a three-phase program to increase the numbers of personnel and equipment, and by the end of the first phase on 31 March 1948, a total of eight Dakota transports were in service; the number was increased to twenty over the next 12 months. During this period, the squadron carried out regular supply drops in Azad Kashmir for troops and villages that had been cut off by snow. Dakota pilots had to fly between the region's mountains, because their fully loaded aircraft had a ceiling of around 10,000 ft, while the surrounding mountain peaks were 16,000–20,000 ft high. In November 1948 the squadron dropped 40,000 kg of supplies while operating from Risalpur and Peshawar. On 4 November 1948 a Dakota was attacked by two Hawker Tempest fighters of the Indian Air Force, but Flying Officer Mukhtar Dogar managed to evade the fighters.
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