KARACHI: Air Commodore (retd) Mohammad Mahmood Alam passed away in Karachi this morning after a prolonged illness, DawnNews reported.

Alam, 78-years-old at the time of his death, is considered a hero of the 1965 Pakistan-India war.

Alam, popularly known as M.M. Alam, while piloting an F-86 Sabre, shot down five Indian war planes in less than a minute during the war and altogether, downed nine war planes in the aerial fighting. His record remains unbeaten.

Alam was later awarded the Sitara-i-Jurrat. He also became the first and only “Jet Ace” in one mission.

The war hero was born on July 6, 1935, in Calcutta, India and was the eldest of 11 siblings. No one in his family before him had been part of the military, and in fact, he joined the armed forces against his father’s will. He is popularly known as M.M. Alam and was nicknamed 'Little Dragon'. He retired in 1982 as an Air Commodore.

In December 2012, the air force legend had been transferred to the Pakistan Naval Station Shifa Hospital in Karachi due to illness.