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Operation 'SOMNATH" 1965
It was a naval operation by the PN to attack the Indian coastal town of Dawarka on 7 September 1965. This was the first use of Pakistan Navy in any war It was one of the significant naval events of the 1965 Indo-Pak war,
Objectives
The mission objectives of Pakistan Navy are listed below:
On the night of 7 September, the Pakistan Navy launched its assault on Western Indian shores. Dwarka was chosen for its proximity 200 km (120 mi) from Karachi Port), its lower defences and historical relevance. The plan called for a fleet of 7 naval vessels of Pakistan to bomb the town of Dwarka. It was aimed at luring the heavy ships anchored in Bombay into attacking the Pakistani ships to enable the submarine PNS Ghazi lurking in the Arabian Sea to engage and sink the Indian ships. Accordingly, a fleet of seven ships comprising PNS Babur, PNS Khaibar, PNS Badr, PNS Jahangir, PNS Alamgir, PNS Shah Jahan and PNS Tippu Sultan set sail for Dwarka and bombarded the town.
The warships harbored in Bombay were under refit and were unable to sortie, nor did PNS Ghazi encounter the active combatants on the West coast.As per Pakistani sources, the objective to divert the Indian Air Force from attacking Pakistan's southern front worked as the Indian Air Force raids on the city of Karachi ceased. This was presumed to be due to lack of availability of the radar guidance, which the Pakistanis claimed was damaged in the attack. However, Indian sources reject this and say the radar was undamaged and Indian Air Force never engaged in any offensive operations in the area during the 1965 war.
The Indian Navy's official version of events states that, at around 23:55 hours, the Pakistani vessels fired on Dwarka for more than 20 minutes. The ships fired around 50 shells each, which included 5.25 inch rounds fired by the Pakistani cruiser PNS Babur. Smoke from the damage was visible to the Pakistani warships approximately 20 km away.
Naval command
The following is the list of commanding officers of the Operation Dwarka:
Operation Dwarka was a significant naval operation of the 1965 war,considered by some as a nuisance raid or of little strategic value. The Ministry of Defence had issued written instructions which ordered the Indian Navy "not to proceed two hundred miles beyond Bombay nor North of the parallel of Porbander".The lack of response by the Indian Navy to the attack on Dwarka led to questions being asked in Indian parliament and was considered a humiliation by Indian citizens and Navy personnel and a challenge to be answered by others.The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral B.S. Soman was restrained from retaliation for the Dwarka raid by the Defence Minister.Of the Indian Navy's 23 ships, ten were under refit in Bombay, including the Vikrant, the cruiser Delhi, three destroyers and two frigates. An Indian source explained this by saying that the Indian Government did not want to get into a naval conflict with Pakistan, but wished to restrict the war to a land-based conflict. The failure of INS Talwar to retaliate, then undergoing repairs to her condensers in Okha, has been lamented by Indian Vice Admiral N. Krishnan who said that no Government would blame a warship going into action, if attacked. PNS Ghazi continued to patrol Kachhh and Bombay coasts spotting aircraft positions when snorkeling.
The Dwarka raid is considered by Pakistani sources as being a prime reason for the Indian Navy's subsequent post-war modernization and expansion, with an increase in budget from US$ 240 million to US$ 590 million.The Dwarka raid, as per an Indian historian G. M Hiranandani, led to the procurement of missile boats by the Indian Navy from the Soviet Union for the Defense of Kutch.
It was a naval operation by the PN to attack the Indian coastal town of Dawarka on 7 September 1965. This was the first use of Pakistan Navy in any war It was one of the significant naval events of the 1965 Indo-Pak war,
Objectives
The mission objectives of Pakistan Navy are listed below:
- To draw heavy enemy units out of Bombay for the submarine PNS Ghazi to attack.
- To destroy the radar installation at Dwarka.
- To lower Indian morale.
- To divert Indian Air Force effort away from the north.
On the night of 7 September, the Pakistan Navy launched its assault on Western Indian shores. Dwarka was chosen for its proximity 200 km (120 mi) from Karachi Port), its lower defences and historical relevance. The plan called for a fleet of 7 naval vessels of Pakistan to bomb the town of Dwarka. It was aimed at luring the heavy ships anchored in Bombay into attacking the Pakistani ships to enable the submarine PNS Ghazi lurking in the Arabian Sea to engage and sink the Indian ships. Accordingly, a fleet of seven ships comprising PNS Babur, PNS Khaibar, PNS Badr, PNS Jahangir, PNS Alamgir, PNS Shah Jahan and PNS Tippu Sultan set sail for Dwarka and bombarded the town.
The warships harbored in Bombay were under refit and were unable to sortie, nor did PNS Ghazi encounter the active combatants on the West coast.As per Pakistani sources, the objective to divert the Indian Air Force from attacking Pakistan's southern front worked as the Indian Air Force raids on the city of Karachi ceased. This was presumed to be due to lack of availability of the radar guidance, which the Pakistanis claimed was damaged in the attack. However, Indian sources reject this and say the radar was undamaged and Indian Air Force never engaged in any offensive operations in the area during the 1965 war.
The Indian Navy's official version of events states that, at around 23:55 hours, the Pakistani vessels fired on Dwarka for more than 20 minutes. The ships fired around 50 shells each, which included 5.25 inch rounds fired by the Pakistani cruiser PNS Babur. Smoke from the damage was visible to the Pakistani warships approximately 20 km away.
Naval command
The following is the list of commanding officers of the Operation Dwarka:
- Commodore S.M. Anwar, OTC - Officer Commanding of Operation Dwarka and the Commander Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK)
- Captain MAK Lodhi - Commanding Officer of PNS Babur, the cruiser.
- Captain A Hanif - Commanding Officer of PNS Khaibar, the destroyer.
- Commander IH Malik - Commanding Officer of PNS Badr, the frigate.
- Commander KM Hussain - Commanding Officer of PNS Jahangir, the destroyer.
- Commander Iqbal F. Quadir - Commanding Officer of PNS Alamgir, the destroyer.
- Commander SZ Shamsie - Commanding Officer of PNS Shah Jahan, the destroyer.
- Commander Amir Aslam - Commanding Officer of PNS Tippu Sultan, the destroyer.
- Commander Karamat Rahman Niazi - Commanding Officer of PNS Ghazi, the submarine.
Operation Dwarka was a significant naval operation of the 1965 war,considered by some as a nuisance raid or of little strategic value. The Ministry of Defence had issued written instructions which ordered the Indian Navy "not to proceed two hundred miles beyond Bombay nor North of the parallel of Porbander".The lack of response by the Indian Navy to the attack on Dwarka led to questions being asked in Indian parliament and was considered a humiliation by Indian citizens and Navy personnel and a challenge to be answered by others.The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral B.S. Soman was restrained from retaliation for the Dwarka raid by the Defence Minister.Of the Indian Navy's 23 ships, ten were under refit in Bombay, including the Vikrant, the cruiser Delhi, three destroyers and two frigates. An Indian source explained this by saying that the Indian Government did not want to get into a naval conflict with Pakistan, but wished to restrict the war to a land-based conflict. The failure of INS Talwar to retaliate, then undergoing repairs to her condensers in Okha, has been lamented by Indian Vice Admiral N. Krishnan who said that no Government would blame a warship going into action, if attacked. PNS Ghazi continued to patrol Kachhh and Bombay coasts spotting aircraft positions when snorkeling.
The Dwarka raid is considered by Pakistani sources as being a prime reason for the Indian Navy's subsequent post-war modernization and expansion, with an increase in budget from US$ 240 million to US$ 590 million.The Dwarka raid, as per an Indian historian G. M Hiranandani, led to the procurement of missile boats by the Indian Navy from the Soviet Union for the Defense of Kutch.
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