The Breguet Br.1050 Alizé were French-made, carrier-based anti-submarine warfare aircraft, developed in the 1950s and equipped with a Thomson- CSF DRAA-2B search radar, installed in a retractable radome under the rear fuselage. Throughout their service they retained their original camouflage pattern consisting of extra dark sea grey on top surfaces, and sky S on undersurfaces and sides. The INAS 310 ‘Cobras’ flew 12 aircraft (reinforced by two spare aircraft from French Navy stocks) for reconnaissance purposes during the liberation of Portuguese-controlled Goa in 1961, and for anti-submarine purposes during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, when one was shot down by a Pakistani interceptor. The survivors were relegated to shore-based patrols in 1987, but still deployed in support of the IPKF, when they proved highly successful in combating speedboats hauling supplies for the LTTE. For such operations, the type was initially armed with up to six (three per wing) 127mm unguided rockets, but these were quickly replaced by much more convenient Matra F4 pods. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)