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Source~~> The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum - Lead Article
.
.
Part--1
.
.
HMS Hercules, a 20000-tonne aircraft carrier,
was still under construction in the United
Kingdom when Germany and Japan surrendered
after World War II. Admiral White Hall laid off the
ship in Garelockhead Scottish lakes near Glasgow
at anchorage in a preserved state. To maintain all
metal and wooden parts under vacuum
conditions, powerful machines were employed in
the cocooned ship.
One fine morning in 1957, the Government of
India decided to purchase this ship. It is now 46
years since this grand ship was acquired from
the British by India. It was renamed Vikrant and
commissioned on January 16, 1961. It served
gloriously for more than 30 years as a flagship of
India. On January 31, 1997, it was decided to
decommission it and convert it into a floating
naval museum.
On arrival at Mumbai for the first time, it was
received by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on
November 3, 1961. From that day onwards up to
her decommissioning, it visited Trincomalee,
Singapore, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lakshadweep, Iran
and several other countries, showing our flag as
a gesture of goodwill. During this period,
thousands of VIPs and foreign dignitaries visited
the ship.
On these visits, the overseas Indians were elated
to see and touch the great ship which symbolised
the strength and maritime glory of their
motherland. The most important role of the
Vikrant commenced on December 3, 1971, when
hostilities against Pakistan commenced. Vikrant
gave a star performance in these operations. Her
Alizes and Seahawk aircrafts pounded ships and
harbour structures relentlessly at Coxs Bazar, Hat
Hazar, Dohazari and Chittagong, causing
extensive devastation and rendering all harbour
facilities useless. This superb feat hastened the
final surrender of the Pakistani forces. The
hundreds of sorties launched by the steam
catapult from the angled flight deck had a
devastating effect on the enemys morale.
On decommissioning, all sensitive equipment has
been removed from the vessel, anchored near
oyster rock in Mumbai. The public can have a
close look at the flight deck, deck-landing mirror
site which costed more than a crore each, the
aircraft lift which can raise 400 persons at a time
and the aircraft arresting wires, etc.
Besides, this aircraft carriers name has been
associated with a historical happening to which
much publicity has not been given so far. This
episode relates to the failed but well-planned
attack of Pakistani submarine PNS Gazi just before
the commencement of the 1971 war. The news
of the deployment of Indias flagship Vikrant in
the Bay of Bengal made Karachi plan a
devastating pre-emptive move against INS
Vikrant. The enemy planned that PNS Gazi would
rush to the Bay of Bengal and target the Indian aircraft carrier.
.
The INS Vikrant played a crucial role in the 1971 operations against Pakistan.
---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------
.
Part~~2
.
.
The deployment of the submarine PNS Gazi was
kept secret as a measure of utmost strategic
caution. Vikrant took its position in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands. Thus, she was away from
the direct gaze of the enemy intelligence as well
as the international media. The strategists at
Karachi guessed that Vikrant, deployed in the Bay
of Bengal, was likely to visit the prime naval base
at Vishakhapatnam for logistics and other support
or to seek harbour protection there. PNS Gazi,
therefore, chose to wait under the surface in a
fully dived condition outside Vishakhapatnam
harbour. Subsequent analysis of the sequence of
events by defence specialists later confirmed this.
Those days, I was on duty with the Eastern Naval
Command. On declaration of war at 7.30 pm,
December 3, 1971, the destroyer INS Rajput was
ordered to leave for the Chittagong area, with full
despatch. As she raced northwards, she fired
depth charges on both sides. This was done as a
matter of utmost caution in the theatre of war
waters likely to have enemy submarine presence.
At that time, the captain of the destroyer did not
realise that the routine firing of depth charges had
grievously damaged the Pakistani submarine
beneath. It was a prize trophy, the eventual
finding of which was to be a historical and
glorious achievement for the Indian Navy.
Within 40 hours, a fisherman operating close to
the Bimlipattam coast reported finding a lifebouy
with PNS Gazi painted on it and some other
floating debris. These were personally taken to
the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Naval
Command, Vice-Admiral N. Krishnan, who
rewarded the fisherman suitably. In order to
verify this, a team of divers was sent to the spot.
Divers confirmed that the Pakistani submarine
was in fact lying badly damaged on the seabed
and there was no sign of life on board. It was
essential to recover the ship’s log book from the
sunken and dead submarine tilting on one side to
ascertain the motive of the enemy ship and the
route followed by her in reaching there. After
weeks of preparation and at a hefty cost, divers
retrieved the ship’s logbook as well the famous
tapes containing the Pakistani Prime Minister’s
speeches.
These, along with some other artifices, are now
displayed in the Naval Museum at
Vishakhapatnam. The divers, while going around
the ship’s silhouette lying on the seabed and
covered with mild coral growth, had noticed that
some of the ship’s crew had attempted to
wrongly come out of the submarine through the
conning tower hatch. The Indian Government
also decided that no bodies of dead naval
personnel on board were to be removed ashore.
The precise point where the submarine is lying
has been marked on sea navigational charts by a
marker bouy. Many visitors like to have a look at
the sunken hull but every trip is a costly affair.
The rescue vessel INS Nireekshak, commissioned
recently, makes the underwater trips more
organised but the cost is still beyond the reach of
the common man. While the Gazi lies silent in a
dark and dingy seabed, the Vikrant is majestically
awaiting a new role in Mumbai .
.
.
Part--1
.
.
HMS Hercules, a 20000-tonne aircraft carrier,
was still under construction in the United
Kingdom when Germany and Japan surrendered
after World War II. Admiral White Hall laid off the
ship in Garelockhead Scottish lakes near Glasgow
at anchorage in a preserved state. To maintain all
metal and wooden parts under vacuum
conditions, powerful machines were employed in
the cocooned ship.
One fine morning in 1957, the Government of
India decided to purchase this ship. It is now 46
years since this grand ship was acquired from
the British by India. It was renamed Vikrant and
commissioned on January 16, 1961. It served
gloriously for more than 30 years as a flagship of
India. On January 31, 1997, it was decided to
decommission it and convert it into a floating
naval museum.
On arrival at Mumbai for the first time, it was
received by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on
November 3, 1961. From that day onwards up to
her decommissioning, it visited Trincomalee,
Singapore, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lakshadweep, Iran
and several other countries, showing our flag as
a gesture of goodwill. During this period,
thousands of VIPs and foreign dignitaries visited
the ship.
On these visits, the overseas Indians were elated
to see and touch the great ship which symbolised
the strength and maritime glory of their
motherland. The most important role of the
Vikrant commenced on December 3, 1971, when
hostilities against Pakistan commenced. Vikrant
gave a star performance in these operations. Her
Alizes and Seahawk aircrafts pounded ships and
harbour structures relentlessly at Coxs Bazar, Hat
Hazar, Dohazari and Chittagong, causing
extensive devastation and rendering all harbour
facilities useless. This superb feat hastened the
final surrender of the Pakistani forces. The
hundreds of sorties launched by the steam
catapult from the angled flight deck had a
devastating effect on the enemys morale.
On decommissioning, all sensitive equipment has
been removed from the vessel, anchored near
oyster rock in Mumbai. The public can have a
close look at the flight deck, deck-landing mirror
site which costed more than a crore each, the
aircraft lift which can raise 400 persons at a time
and the aircraft arresting wires, etc.
Besides, this aircraft carriers name has been
associated with a historical happening to which
much publicity has not been given so far. This
episode relates to the failed but well-planned
attack of Pakistani submarine PNS Gazi just before
the commencement of the 1971 war. The news
of the deployment of Indias flagship Vikrant in
the Bay of Bengal made Karachi plan a
devastating pre-emptive move against INS
Vikrant. The enemy planned that PNS Gazi would
rush to the Bay of Bengal and target the Indian aircraft carrier.
.
The INS Vikrant played a crucial role in the 1971 operations against Pakistan.
---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------
.
Part~~2
.
.
The deployment of the submarine PNS Gazi was
kept secret as a measure of utmost strategic
caution. Vikrant took its position in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands. Thus, she was away from
the direct gaze of the enemy intelligence as well
as the international media. The strategists at
Karachi guessed that Vikrant, deployed in the Bay
of Bengal, was likely to visit the prime naval base
at Vishakhapatnam for logistics and other support
or to seek harbour protection there. PNS Gazi,
therefore, chose to wait under the surface in a
fully dived condition outside Vishakhapatnam
harbour. Subsequent analysis of the sequence of
events by defence specialists later confirmed this.
Those days, I was on duty with the Eastern Naval
Command. On declaration of war at 7.30 pm,
December 3, 1971, the destroyer INS Rajput was
ordered to leave for the Chittagong area, with full
despatch. As she raced northwards, she fired
depth charges on both sides. This was done as a
matter of utmost caution in the theatre of war
waters likely to have enemy submarine presence.
At that time, the captain of the destroyer did not
realise that the routine firing of depth charges had
grievously damaged the Pakistani submarine
beneath. It was a prize trophy, the eventual
finding of which was to be a historical and
glorious achievement for the Indian Navy.
Within 40 hours, a fisherman operating close to
the Bimlipattam coast reported finding a lifebouy
with PNS Gazi painted on it and some other
floating debris. These were personally taken to
the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Naval
Command, Vice-Admiral N. Krishnan, who
rewarded the fisherman suitably. In order to
verify this, a team of divers was sent to the spot.
Divers confirmed that the Pakistani submarine
was in fact lying badly damaged on the seabed
and there was no sign of life on board. It was
essential to recover the ship’s log book from the
sunken and dead submarine tilting on one side to
ascertain the motive of the enemy ship and the
route followed by her in reaching there. After
weeks of preparation and at a hefty cost, divers
retrieved the ship’s logbook as well the famous
tapes containing the Pakistani Prime Minister’s
speeches.
These, along with some other artifices, are now
displayed in the Naval Museum at
Vishakhapatnam. The divers, while going around
the ship’s silhouette lying on the seabed and
covered with mild coral growth, had noticed that
some of the ship’s crew had attempted to
wrongly come out of the submarine through the
conning tower hatch. The Indian Government
also decided that no bodies of dead naval
personnel on board were to be removed ashore.
The precise point where the submarine is lying
has been marked on sea navigational charts by a
marker bouy. Many visitors like to have a look at
the sunken hull but every trip is a costly affair.
The rescue vessel INS Nireekshak, commissioned
recently, makes the underwater trips more
organised but the cost is still beyond the reach of
the common man. While the Gazi lies silent in a
dark and dingy seabed, the Vikrant is majestically
awaiting a new role in Mumbai .
