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{{Short description|Bengali war hero and Flying ace (1935-2013)}}
{{Short description|Bengali war hero and Flying ace (1935-2013)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2022}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox military person
| honorific prefix = Air Commodore
| honorific prefix = Air Commodore
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==Early life==
==Early life==
Alam born on 6 July 1935 to a family hailing from [[Calcutta]], [[British Raj|British India]]. Born and raised in [[Bengal]], Alam was a fluent [[Bengali language|Bengali]] speaker, it being his mother tongue. He was of mixed heritage: his maternal line was of [[Bengalis|Bengali]] origin and his paternal line was of [[Bihari Muslims|Bihari]] origin, having migrated from [[Patna]] and later settled in the [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]] province of [[British Raj|British India]] for a long time.<ref name="Nation">{{cite news|url=http://www.nation.com.pk/national/06-Sep-2013/knowing-mm-alam|title=Knowing MM Alam|work=The Nation|access-date=8 September 2014|date=6 September 2022}}</ref> His family migrated from [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] to [[East Bengal]] (which later became [[East Pakistan]] and then [[Bangladesh]]) following the creation of Pakistan in 1947.<ref name="Nation"/> It was in [[East Pakistan]] where Alam completed his secondary education, graduating from the Government High School in [[Dhaka]] in 1951. He joined the then Royal Pakistani Air Force (now [[Pakistan Air Force]]) in 1952, being commissioned on 2 October 1953.<ref name="The News International">[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-166043-Iconic-war-veteran-MM-Alam-passes-away Iconic war veteran MM Alam passes away], [[The News International]]. Retrieved on 19 March 2013.</ref> Alam's brothers are [[M. Shahid Alam]], an economist and a professor at [[Northeastern University, Boston|Northeastern University]],<ref>Institute for Policy Research & Development, [http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=30 Advisory Board] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404101927/http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=30 |date=4 April 2019 }}; [http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=6291 Dr. M. Shahid Alam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404101918/http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=6291 |date=4 April 2019 }}</ref><ref name=Aksan>Cihan Aksan, ''State of Nature'', [http://www.stateofnature.org/onIslam1.html On Islam: An Interview with M. Shahid Alam]</ref> and [[Mohammad Sajjad Alam|M. Sajjad Alam]], who was a particle physicist at [[SUNY Albany]].<ref>Department of Physics, [http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/department_physics.html M. Sajjad Alam].</ref>
Alam born on 6 July 1935 to a family hailing from [[Calcutta]], [[British Raj|British India]]. Born and raised in [[Bengal]], Alam was a fluent [[Bengali language|Bengali]] speaker, it being his mother tongue. He was of mixed heritage: his maternal line was of [[Bengalis|Bengali]] origin and his paternal line was of [[Bihari Muslims|Bihari]] origin, having migrated from [[Patna]] and later settled in the [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]] province of [[British Raj|British India]] for a long time.<ref name="Nation">{{cite news|url=http://www.nation.com.pk/national/06-Sep-2013/knowing-mm-alam|title=Knowing MM Alam|work=The Nation|access-date=8 September 2014|date=6 September 2013}}</ref> His family migrated from [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] to [[East Bengal]] (which later became [[East Pakistan]] and then [[Bangladesh]]) following the creation of Pakistan in 1947.<ref name="Nation"/> It was in [[East Pakistan]] where Alam completed his secondary education, graduating from the Government High School in [[Dhaka]] in 1951. He joined the then Royal Pakistani Air Force (now [[Pakistan Air Force]]) in 1952, being commissioned on 2 October 1953.<ref name="The News International">[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-166043-Iconic-war-veteran-MM-Alam-passes-away Iconic war veteran MM Alam passes away], [[The News International]]. Retrieved on 19 March 2013.</ref> Alam's brothers are [[M. Shahid Alam]], an economist and a professor at [[Northeastern University, Boston|Northeastern University]],<ref>Institute for Policy Research & Development, [http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=30 Advisory Board] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404101927/http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=30 |date=4 April 2019 }}; [http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=6291 Dr. M. Shahid Alam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404101918/http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=6291 |date=4 April 2019 }}</ref><ref name=Aksan>Cihan Aksan, ''State of Nature'', [http://www.stateofnature.org/onIslam1.html On Islam: An Interview with M. Shahid Alam]</ref> and [[Mohammad Sajjad Alam|M. Sajjad Alam]], who was a particle physicist at [[SUNY Albany]].<ref>Department of Physics, [http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/department_physics.html M. Sajjad Alam].</ref>


His family moved to [[West Pakistan]] in 1971, after the liberation of [[Bangladesh]].<ref name="Nation"/> Being the eldest of his 11 siblings, Alam did not marry as he had to assume the responsibilities of the upbringing of his family.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} Some of his younger brothers became distinguished in various academic careers.<ref name="The News International" />
His family moved to [[West Pakistan]] in 1971, after the liberation of [[Bangladesh]].<ref name="Nation"/> Being the eldest of his 11 siblings, Alam did not marry as he had to assume the responsibilities of the upbringing of his family.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} Some of his younger brothers became distinguished in various academic careers.<ref name="The News International" />
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During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], Alam claimed to have scored an [[Flying ace#Ace in a day|"ace in a day"]] on 7 September 1965, with a total of 5 kills. His actions have placed him at the top of the hall of fame list at the [[Pakistan Air Force]] (PAF) Museum in Karachi. During the war, he was posted at [[Sargodha]].
During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], Alam claimed to have scored an [[Flying ace#Ace in a day|"ace in a day"]] on 7 September 1965, with a total of 5 kills. His actions have placed him at the top of the hall of fame list at the [[Pakistan Air Force]] (PAF) Museum in Karachi. During the war, he was posted at [[Sargodha]].


According to the PAF, in a single sortie on 7 September 1965, Alam downed five aircraft in less than a minute, establishing a world record.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/september/alam.htm |title=Alam's Speed-shooting Classic |publisher=Defencejournal.com |last=Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail |author-link=Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail |access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="Fricker">{{cite book|last=Fricker|first=John|title=Battle for Pakistan: the air war of 1965|year=1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPttAAAAMAAJ |pages=15–17 |isbn=9780711009295}}</ref><ref name="Polmar">{{cite book|last1=Polmar|first1=Norman|title=One hundred years of world military aircraft|url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_v6d0|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-59114-686-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_v6d0/page/354 354]|first2=Dana |last2=Bell|quote=Mohammed Mahmood Alam claimed five victories against Indian Air Force Hawker Hunters, four of them in less than one minute! Alam, who ended the conflict with 9 kills, became history's only jet "ace-in-a-day."}}</ref><ref name="Nordeen's Indo-Pak 1965 Conflict">{{cite book|last=O' Nordeen|first=Lon|title=Air Warfare in the Missile Age|url=https://archive.org/details/airwarfareinmiss00nord|url-access=registration|year=1985|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-0-87474-680-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/airwarfareinmiss00nord/page/84 84–87]}}</ref>  Regarding the last four, he stated: "Before we had completed more than about{{Sic|}} 270 degrees of turn, at around 12 degrees per second, all four Hunters had been shot down."<ref name="Fricker" /> In 1978, when he gave a speech at a Karachi university, he said that he saw a spiritual force coming from the sky.<ref name="Rakshak">[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1965War/Chapter5.html 30 Seconds Over Sargodha – The Making of a Myth: 1965 Indo-Pak Air War, Chapter 5] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207194926/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1965War/Chapter5.html |date=7 February 2010 }}, [[Bharat Rakshak]]</ref>
According to the PAF, in a single sortie on 7 September 1965, Alam downed five aircraft in less than a minute, establishing a world record.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/september/alam.htm |title=Alam's Speed-shooting Classic |publisher=Defencejournal.com |last=Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail |author-link=Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail |access-date=15 November 2011}}</ref><ref name="Fricker">{{cite book|last=Fricker|first=John|title=Battle for Pakistan: the air war of 1965|year=1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPttAAAAMAAJ |pages=15–17 |isbn=9780711009295}}</ref><ref name="Polmar">{{cite book|last1=Polmar|first1=Norman|title=One hundred years of world military aircraft|url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_v6d0|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-59114-686-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_v6d0/page/354 354]|first2=Dana |last2=Bell|quote=Mohammed Mahmood Alam claimed five victories against Indian Air Force Hawker Hunters, four of them in less than one minute! Alam, who ended the conflict with 9 kills, became history's only jet "ace-in-a-day."}}</ref><ref name="Nordeen's Indo-Pak 1965 Conflict">{{cite book|last=O' Nordeen|first=Lon|title=Air Warfare in the Missile Age|url=https://archive.org/details/airwarfareinmiss00nord|url-access=registration|year=1985|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-0-87474-680-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/airwarfareinmiss00nord/page/84 84–87]}}</ref>  Regarding the last four, he stated: "Before we had completed more than about{{Sic|}} 270 degrees of turn, at around 12 degrees per second, all four Hunters had been shot down."<ref name="Fricker" /> In 1978, when he gave a speech at a Karachi university, he said that he saw a spiritual force coming from the sky.<ref name="Rakshak">[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1965War/Chapter5.html 30 Seconds Over Sargodha – The Making of a Myth: 1965 Indo-Pak Air War, Chapter 5] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207194926/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1965War/Chapter5.html |date=7 February 2010 }}, [[Bharat Rakshak]]</ref>


His claims have been contested by retired [[Pakistan Air Force|PAF]] [[Air commodore|Air Commodore]] Sajad S. Haider and the Indian Air Force, which denied losing five Hawker Hunter aircraft on the said day,<ref name="Nordeen's Indo-Pak 1965 Conflict"/><ref name=avhist>''Pakistan's Sabre Ace'' by Jon Guttman, Aviation History, Sept 1998.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/Flight_of_the_Falcon_Sajad_S_Haider|title=Flight of the Falcon- Demolishing Myths of Indo Pak Wars 1965-1971|last=Haider|first=Sajad S.|publisher=Vanguard Books Pvt Ltd.|year=2009|isbn=9789694025261|location=Lahore, Pakistan|pages=[https://archive.org/details/Flight_of_the_Falcon_Sajad_S_Haider/page/n4 69]|quote=<blockquote>It is tactically and mathematically very difficult to resurrect the incident in which all five Hunters in a hard turn were claimed to have been shot down in a 270-degree turn in 23 seconds.</blockquote>}}</ref> Also, the fact that no verifiable [[gun camera]] footage of his kills was ever made public by the Pakistani authorities, further casts doubt on his claim.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bowman|first=Martin W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jliqCwAAQBAJ&q=gun%20camera%20footage%20of%20Alam%20kill&pg=PT196|title=Cold War Jet Combat: Air-to-Air Jet Fighter Operations, 1950–1972|date=2016-01-30|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=978-1-4738-7462-6|language=en}}</ref>
His claims have been contested by retired [[Pakistan Air Force|PAF]] [[Air commodore|Air Commodore]] Sajad S. Haider and the Indian Air Force, which denied losing five Hawker Hunter aircraft on the said day,<ref name="Nordeen's Indo-Pak 1965 Conflict"/><ref name=avhist>''Pakistan's Sabre Ace'' by Jon Guttman, Aviation History, Sept 1998.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/Flight_of_the_Falcon_Sajad_S_Haider|title=Flight of the Falcon- Demolishing Myths of Indo Pak Wars 1965-1971|last=Haider|first=Sajad S.|publisher=Vanguard Books Pvt Ltd.|year=2009|isbn=9789694025261|location=Lahore, Pakistan|pages=[https://archive.org/details/Flight_of_the_Falcon_Sajad_S_Haider/page/n4 69]|quote=<blockquote>It is tactically and mathematically very difficult to resurrect the incident in which all five Hunters in a hard turn were claimed to have been shot down in a 270-degree turn in 23 seconds.</blockquote>}}</ref> Also, the fact that no verifiable [[gun camera]] footage of his kills was ever made public by the Pakistani authorities, further casts doubt on his claim.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bowman|first=Martin W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jliqCwAAQBAJ&q=gun%20camera%20footage%20of%20Alam%20kill&pg=PT196|title=Cold War Jet Combat: Air-to-Air Jet Fighter Operations, 1950–1972|date=2016-01-30|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=978-1-4738-7462-6|language=en}}</ref>
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==Memorials==
==Memorials==
[[M. M. Alam Road]], a major road in [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]] is named in honour of the [[ace in a day|flying ace]] of [[Pakistan Air Force]], Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam, running from Main Market to [[Gulberg, Lahore|Gulberg]]. The road runs parallel to famous Main Boulevard thus providing an alternate route and is a commercial hub with many restaurants, fashion boutiques, shopping malls, beauty saloons and décor stores. M.M. Alam Road hosts a variety of flamboyant restaurants in modern Lahore.<ref>{{cite web|last=Haq |first=Shahram |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/88625/urban-planning-M.M-Alam-road-to-be-heart-of-new-business-district/ |title=Urban planning: MM Alam Road to be heart of new business district&nbsp;– The Express Tribune |date=11 December 2010 |publisher=Tribune.com.pk |access-date=20 January 2022}}</ref> On 20 March 2014, on account of his first death anniversary, the PAF Airbase Mianwali was renamed after him as [[PAF Base M.M. Alam]].<ref name="Dawn: Renaming">{{cite news|title=Pakistan not sending troops to Bahrain or Saudi: PM|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1094412/pakistan-not-sending-troops-to-bahrain-or-saudi-pm|access-date=20 March 2014|newspaper=Dawn|date=20 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Desk |first=Web |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/685226/paf-honours-ace-pilot-mm-alam-renames-mianwali-air-base-after-him/ |title=PAF honours ace pilot MM Alam, renames Mianwali air base after him – The Express Tribune |publisher=Tribune.com.pk |date=27 February 2014 |access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Imaduddin |url=http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/1-front-top-news/163520-paf-mianwali-base-renamed-as-mm-alam-airbase.html |title=PAF Mianwali Base renamed as M.M. Alam Airbase |publisher=Brecorder.com |access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewstribe.com/2014/03/20/pm-nawaz-sharif-names-paf-base-mianwali-after-mm-alam/ |title=PM Nawaz Sharif names PAF base Mianwali after MM Alam |publisher=The News Tribe |access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref>
[[M. M. Alam Road]], a major road in [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]] is named in honour of the [[ace in a day|flying ace]] of [[Pakistan Air Force]], Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam, running from Main Market to [[Gulberg, Lahore|Gulberg]]. The road runs parallel to famous Main Boulevard thus providing an alternate route and is a commercial hub with many restaurants, fashion boutiques, shopping malls, beauty saloons and décor stores. M.M. Alam Road hosts a variety of flamboyant restaurants in modern Lahore.<ref>{{cite web|last=Haq |first=Shahram |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/88625/urban-planning-M.M-Alam-road-to-be-heart-of-new-business-district/ |title=Urban planning: MM Alam Road to be heart of new business district&nbsp;– The Express Tribune |date=11 December 2010 |publisher=Tribune.com.pk |access-date=20 January 2012}}</ref> On 20 March 2014, on account of his first death anniversary, the PAF Airbase Mianwali was renamed after him as [[PAF Base M.M. Alam]].<ref name="Dawn: Renaming">{{cite news|title=Pakistan not sending troops to Bahrain or Saudi: PM|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1094412/pakistan-not-sending-troops-to-bahrain-or-saudi-pm|access-date=20 March 2014|newspaper=Dawn|date=20 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Desk |first=Web |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/685226/paf-honours-ace-pilot-mm-alam-renames-mianwali-air-base-after-him/ |title=PAF honours ace pilot MM Alam, renames Mianwali air base after him – The Express Tribune |publisher=Tribune.com.pk |date=27 February 2014 |access-date=21 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Imaduddin |url=http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/1-front-top-news/163520-paf-mianwali-base-renamed-as-mm-alam-airbase.html |title=PAF Mianwali Base renamed as M.M. Alam Airbase |publisher=Brecorder.com |access-date=21 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewstribe.com/2014/03/20/pm-nawaz-sharif-names-paf-base-mianwali-after-mm-alam/ |title=PM Nawaz Sharif names PAF base Mianwali after MM Alam |publisher=The News Tribe |access-date=21 March 2014}}</ref>


== Awards and Decorations ==
== Awards and Decorations ==
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