On 3 December 1971, for the third time since the partition of British India in 1947, Pakistan and India went to war. In the words of the political scientist Sumit Ganguly, Pakistan’s pre-emptive air strikes on Indian air bases ‘failed miserably on all counts’. India retaliated with a combination of its own air strikes, naval bombardments, and land operations using tanks, artillery, paratroopers and six infantry divisions. The fighting, most of which took place in East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), showcased India’s military superiority over its neighbour and continued until 17 December when the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered a ceasefire. Pakistan’s President, Yahya Khan, recognising the resounding defeat of his forces, accepted the ceasefire, and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 ended.

Road transport in mountainous Kashmir was long and hazardous, and landslides and accidents could prevent movement between locations. The inefficiencies of this transport method, combined with the difficult terrain and the distances to be travelled, meant that an air transport element was necessary for the successful operation of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (Unmogip). The UN military observers on both sides of Kashmir’s Line of Control were reliant on this UN air element for logistic purposes. Field observers and their supplies were delivered to airstrips near their field stations; personnel and their dependants were transported throughout the theatre and to places like Delhi or Lahore for leave; headquarters officers were flown around to attend meetings with officials in New Delhi, Srinagar and Rawalpindi; and, if required, the air element would perform emergency medical evacuations of mission personnel. The Royal Canadian Air Force had provided this service, by way of a DHC-4 Caribou and crew of eight, for Unmogip since 1964 (a Twin Otter replaced the Caribou in July 1971).