1965 War Hero Alfred Cooke Dies At 87, Days After His Final NDTV Interview | Read

The air battle fought by Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke over West Bengal's Kalaikunda during the 1965 India-Pakistan war is regarded as one of the most remarkable fighter engagements of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Flight Lt Cooke recorded what became his final interview three days before he died at a hospital in Delhi. In a conversation with NDTV's Vishnu Som and Shiv Aroor in their podcast 'Ctrl+Alt+Defence', he gave a detailed account of the September 7, 1965 battle when he took on Pakistani Sabre jets attacking Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal. The podcast gives an unprecedented and detailed look at the events of the day when Flight Lt Cooke, flying a Hawker Hunter, single-handedly engaged Pakistani Sabres over the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal. Flight Lt Cooke shot down at least one Sabre and was officially credited with a second. He engaged a third aircraft before running out of ammunition, according to his account.