Eric G. Hall
Eric G. Hall | |
|---|---|
| အဲရစ်ဂေါ်ဒွန်ခန်းမ | |
Hall as a Wing Commander, c. 1952 | |
| Director General Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan | |
| In office March 1976 – 6 March 1978 | |
| Appointed by | Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| President | Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry |
| Deputy | M.Y. Wazirzada |
| 9th Commandant PAF Staff College | |
| In office October 1974 – 30 June 1975 | |
| Air attaché to Embassy of Pakistan, Washington, D.C. | |
| In office June 1972 – October 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Saeedullah Khan |
| Succeeded by | Sajad Haider |
| 8th Chief of Staff Pakistan Air Force | |
| In office 1 April 1970 – 3 June 1972 | |
| Preceded by | S. A. Yusaf |
| Succeeded by | Saeedullah Khan (as Deputy Chief of Air Staff) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Eric Gordon Hall 12 October 1922 |
| Died | June 17, 1998 (aged 75) Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Resting place | Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Silver Spring, Maryland) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | No. 1 (I) SFTS RAF Central Flying School RAF Staff College, Andover |
| Awards | See list |
| Nickname | The Heavy Hitter |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Royal Indian Air Force (1943-1947) Pakistan Air Force (1947-1975) |
| Years of service | 1943–1975 |
| Rank | Air Vice Marshal |
| Unit | No. 6 Squadron PAF |
| Commands | PAF Staff College PAF Station Masroor PAF Station Chaklala PAF Station Drigh Road No. 6 Squadron PAF |
| Battles/wars | |
Eric Gordon Hall (12 October 1922 — 17 June 1998) also known as Eric G. Hall and E.G. Hall, was a transport pilot, fighter pilot, aerobatic pilot, and a two-star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force. He served as its eighth and last Chief of Staff from 1970 to 1972, and retired in 1975 as Commandant of the PAF Staff College. Subsequently, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed him as the Director General of Civil Aviation, where he served from 1976 to 1978. He was also a businessman.
Born in Rangoon, Hall and his younger brother undertook the journey to British India on foot following the Japanese invasion of Burma, after the women in their family were airlifted. They walked for weeks through the jungles of Myitkyina to finally arrive in Dibrugarh. On his arrival, Hall was hospitalised for the injuries he had sustained from the journey. Afterwards, he joined the Royal Indian Air Force in 1943.
Deployed to Burma in a fighter-recon squadron, he participated in aerial operations against Japanese forces in World War II. After the Partition of British India, he opted to join the Royal Pakistan Air Force in 1947. Among its pioneer officers, he joined the team which assisted Wing Commander Asghar Khan to establish the RPAF Flying Training School. By 1958, he served as an instructor on the directing staff of the PAF Staff College, which he also helped establish and was appointed as the Assistant Commandant of the college on his promotion to Group Captain in 1960.
At the onset of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Hall was the Commander of PAF Station Chaklala and pioneered the idea of converting C-130 Hercules transport aircraft into heavy bombers, enhancing their capacity to carry 13,000 kg (28,000 lb) of explosives with modifications. Although the C-130 was unarmoured and lacked the ability to tolerate any Ack-ack, Hall volunteered to lead the first bombing mission on the heavily guarded Kathua bridge, on 11 September. This strike significantly hampered the Indian advance into the Chumb sector. The success of the mission prompted the Pakistan military leadership to approve 13 further bombing runs using the modified C-130s including precision-weapons strikes on Indian weaponry along the BRB Canal. For his leadership, Hall was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat and nicknamed "The Heavy Hitter".