in 1925, with single flight between Risalpur and
Ambala Air Force Station (now in
Haryana in India). In 1910 Risalpur had a former aerodrome and airfield of the
Royal Flying Corps, and later the
Royal Air Force. During the
First World War, the Royal Flying Corps established an airfield and a fighter conversion unit at Risalpur in British India. In the Second World War and by 1940, RAF Risalpur had become both an established training and an operational airfield of the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom. It officially became the airfield of the
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on 15 August 1947.
No. 31 Squadron RAF was stationed at Risalpur in 1919 and was used to bomb
Kabul and
Jalalabad in
Afghanistan and later conducted operations in
FATA against
Faqir of Ipi in
Waziristan, along with
No. 114 Squadron RAF of the Royal Air Force of
Britain. No. 31 Squadron RAF was formed at
Farnborough on 11 October 1915. Its first deployment was to Risalpur's Nowshera District of Pakhtunkhwa province (previously North-West Frontier Province), in
British India. With its BE2Cs and Farmans, during this time No. 31 Squadron RAF and No. 114 Squadron RAF took part in operations in the
Third Anglo-Afghan War and being part of
The Great Game, on the
North-West Frontier and FATA. The bombing was done to ensure the patency of the
Durand line border between
Afghanistan and British
India. In September 1919 BE2s of the Royal Flying Corps were replaced by
Bristol Fighters. The No. 31 Squadron RAF and No. 114 Squadron RAF bombing of Kabul and FATA stopped with the signing of the
Rawalpindi Agreement in
Rawalpindi (signed on 8 August 1919 and amended on 22 November 1921) between British India and
Afghanistan, celebrated as Afghanistan's National Day now. No. 114 Squadron RAF was disbanded by being re-numbered No 28 on 1 April 1920. But the
Waziristan campaign (1936–1939) continued in FATA and
Bannu Pakhtunkhwa against
Faqir of Ipi, which included the use of aircraft such as
Hawker Harts,
Westland Wapitis, and
Hawker Audaxs flying from Risalpur and Peshawar. The No. 31 Squadron RAF conducted air support in the FATA campaign against
Faqir of Ipi in
Mir Ali and in
Wanna, and in Pakhtunkhwa's district of Bannu. Trouble flared up on 23 July 1938, when a
lashkar launched a daring attack on the town of Bannu,
Mir Ali and
Wanna, killing up to 200 civilians and damaging a considerable amount of property. At the height of the campaign, some 60,000 regular and irregular troops were employed by the
British in an effort to bring in control an estimated 4,000 hostile tribesmen of FATA. In April 1939 the No. 31 Squadron RAF changed to the bomber and transport role. During 1941, the No. 31 Squadron RAF began to concentrate on transport duties with seconded
DC-2s. Returning to India the No. 31 Squadron RAF re-equipped with the
Dakota. After the Japanese invasion of
Burma, No. 31 Squadron RAF flew missions between
Calcutta and
Rangoon dropping supplies for the XIVth Army. After World War II the No. 31 Squadron RAF moved to
Java. In 1946 the Squadron was disbanded in Java and reformed at
PAF Base Masroor,
Maripur Karachi. At the end of 1947 No. 31 Squadron RAF was again disbanded, but reformed in July 1948 in
Britain. During
British rule, the
British Army's 14/20th
Hussars were garrisoned for two years at Risalpur, Nowshera Pakhtunkhwa until 1933. It is stated that the army of 14th/20th
Hussars stayed in Risalpur town of Nowshera Pakhtunkhwa until 1933. In fact, they never arrived for their tour of duty in British India until early in 1934. Upon arriving from
Egypt, where they had previously been stationed for two years, they disembarked in
Karachi and immediately traveled to the town of Risalpur in district Nowshera
North West Frontier Province and stayed there until late in 1936 whereupon they were transferred to
Lucknow. The
Royal Horse Artillery were also stationed at Risalpur Town of District Nowshera of Pakhtunkhwa. The airfield was formally established as PAF Station Risalpur, after the creation of
Pakistan on 15 August 1947 with 20 officers, 21 trainees, 23 senior non commissioned officers (SNCOs) and 257 airmen. The airfield comprised only a handful of men and some equipment. One month later, the Flying Training School was established here. Wing Commander
Asghar Khan, later to become the first Air Chief of the PAF, took over as the first Officer Commanding of the school, with Harvard and Tiger Moth aircraft in the inventory. Flt Lt M Khyber Khan, who later rose to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, and his student, Flight Cadet Akhtar, flew the first training sortie on 22 September 1947. On 13 April 1948, the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, visited Risalpur Flying Training School and raised its level to that of a college. Risalpur thus became the genesis of PAF pilots. It became the only military academy of Pakistan to be visited by Jinnah. At this ceremony, Jinnah took the General Salute at the parade. Fighter aircraft from
Peshawar Airbase, from the nearby
Peshawar district of Pakhtunkhwa performed aerobatics at the event. On 21 January 1967 President
Ayub Khan elevated the status of the Pakistan Air Force College, Risalpur to that of a
Pakistan Air Force Academy. Currently, it consists of five different components. At the heart of the Pakistan Air Force since its inception, the Pakistan Air Force Academy, Risalpur's Nowshera Pakhtunkhwa, has bred generations of officers for the PAF and other branches of the
Pakistani Armed Forces. The Pakistan Air Force Academy at Nowshera Pakhtunkhwa was established in 1947. == Demographics ==