No 12 Squadron was formed in March 50 with Squadron Leader A K
S Ahmed as its first commanding officer. It was at first a heavy
bomber squadron with 8 Halifax 4-engined WW II bombers and started
flying on 5 April with 2 MK VIII and 6 MK V1 aircraft. The squadron
was number-plated on 18 August 50 and all its aircraft were placed
in long term storage at RPAF Station Mauripur. The unit was reactivated
in 1951 and resumed operations in the month of August. In October,
the squadron took part in exercise 'Wise Owl' and carried out
practice bombing on Churna Island; parachute flare dropping was
also carried out during night practices.
In September 1953 the unit was converted into No 12
Composite Squadron with Squadron Leader Mukhtar Dogar as its Officer
Commanding. It was assigned a variety of tasks including VIP and
Air Headquarters communication flights on Viking and Dakota aircraft,
target towing for ack on Furies, and heavy bomber operations on
Halifax’s .
In early 1954 the squadron received 2 new Bristol Freighters
followed soon after by 2 Wayfarers and 2 Tempests. In May a Freighter
specially equipped for paratrooping was added to the fleet.
In February 57, the squadron flew its newly acquired
SA-16 Albatross maritime aircraft in a sea rescue exercise in
cooperation with the Navy. In November 58, the SA-16s participated
in the CENTO exercise 'Midlink' held at Karachi. The SA-16 that
was primarily meant for Sea Search and Rescue, was equipped with
special search radars and had an exceptionally long endurance.
In August 59, SA-16s participated in exercise 'Jet North' which
also involved the Navies of UK and New Zealand. In November, during
exercise 'Midlink-11', the squadron flew its longest ever non-stop
flight of 15.45 hours in an SA-16.
On 9 July 60, the squadron was moved from Mauripur
to Chaklala, where it was equipped with a Fokker F-27 aircraft
for the use of VIPs and visiting dignitaries. On 15 February 77,
the squadron received a DA-20 Falcon for VIP flights while in
October 78, a Piper Seneca-II belonging to the Atomic Energy Commission
was also assigned to the squadron for operation.
