INS Vikrant

INS Vikrant, the first aircraft carrier of Indian Navy, was decommissioned on January 31, 1997. The ship which played a key role during 1971 Indo-Pak war has now been converted into a maritime museum and anchored off the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

The word Vikrant means valiant or powerful, and the crest of the carrier showed a combination of bows and arrows portraying the fighter planes taking off the carrier to strike the enemy. The motto Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah was taken from Rig Veda which means ‘I completely defeat those who dare to fight with me’.

Vikrant was originally known as HMS Hercules — was to be one of the six Majestic-class light fleet aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. Her keel was laid down November 12, 1943 by Vickers-Armstrong, of Tyne, England, and she was launched September 22, 1945

In January 1957 she was sold to India, and construction was completed at Harland and Wolff with an extensively modernized design, including an angled deck with steam catapults, a modified island, and many other improvements.

The Vikrant’s initial air wing consisted of British Hawker Sea Hawk fighter-bombers and a French Alize anti-submarine aircraft. On 18 May 1961 the first jet landed on board, piloted by Lieutenant (later Admiral) R H Tahiliani.

India became an aircraft carrier nation with the commissioning of INS Vikrant. It was brought to Bombay on November 3, 1961 and later formed part of the Indian Fleet as a fully operational carrier. It was a light fleet carrier. The first active operation in which Vikrant took part was for the liberation of Goa in December 1961. The first warlike operation of Vikrant was the Indo-Pak war of 1965. In 1965 Pakistan claimed that they had sunk her. At the time, however, Vikrant was in the dry dock undergoing her periodical refit.

In June 1970, the Vikrant was immobilized at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, due to a crack in a water drum of one of the boilers. In March 1971 she was put through trials without use of the damaged boiler by routing steam from the forward machinery to the steam catapult. This enabled her to launch both the Sea Hawks as well as the Breguet Alizé.These modifications turned out to be invaluable, enabling the Vikrant to enter combat despite the cracked boiler against East Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

As soon as the engineering department managed to flash up the unserviceable second boiler and the carrier could give sustained speed of 18 knots for the Hawk squadron also to embark and so they too started flying from the carrier. The grit, devotion and the spirit to achieve the impossible gave one and all total confidence to take on all and sundry. The Carrier with its aircraft was itching to go into action. It was then middle of November 1971. Our ‘Iron Lady’, Prime Minister Madam Indira Gandhi gave the indication to our Chiefs that India may have to go to war with Pakistan. In the mean time Vikrant was quietly moved to Port Blair in Andaman Islands and finally positioned in Port Cornwallis Lagoon. On third December evening Pakistan’s Air Force struck many Indian airfields. Vikrant received orders to sail and strike enemy airfields in East Pakistan at the earliest.

There is no doubt that many of the strikes by Vikrant’s aircraft not only hit many vital targets on shore, damaged and sank many ships and crafts, it instilled fear in the enemy.

Stationed off the Andaman & Nicobar islands along with Indian naval ships, INS Bramhaputra and INS Beas, the Vikrant redeployed towards Chittagong^[9] at the outbreak of hostilities. On the morning of December 4, 1971, the eight Sea Hawk aircraft on the Vikrant launched an air raid on Cox’s Bazaar from 60 nm (nautical miles) away. That evening, the air group struck Chittagong Harbor. Future strikes targeted Khulna and Mongla. A PTI message is supposed to have read, “Chittagong harbor ablaze as ships and aircraft of the (Pakistan) Eastern Naval Fleet bombed and rocketed. Not a single vessel can be put to sea from Chittagong.” Air strikes continued until December 10, 1971.

Given naval intelligence that indicated the intent of the Pakistan Navy to break through the Indian Naval blockade using camouflaged merchant ships, the Sea Hawks struck shipping in the Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar harbors, sinking or incapacitating allmerchant ships there.

She was considered important enough by the Pakistanis that they sent the submarine Ghazi all the way to the Bay of Bengal to sink the INS Vikrant.The destroyer INS Rajput Located PNS Ghazi on her Radar and engaged her.Rajput deployed Depth Charges in the identified location of PNS Ghazi.The Submarine was destroyed even before she could spot INS Vikrant.

Vikrant and her aircraft made sure that no supply could reach the enemy by sea. The escape route of Pakistani land forces from East Pakistan by sea was completely cut off. These factors undoubtedly helped substantially to hasten the surrender of Pakistani troops.

Vikrant was given an extensive refit, including new engines and modernization between 1979 and 3 January 1982. Between December 1982 and February 1983 she was refitted again to enable her to operate BAe Sea Harriers which replaced the Sea Hawk. After the retirement of the Breguet Alizé from carrier service in 1989, she received a ‘ski jump’ for more efficient use of her Sea Harriers.

Vikrant was India’s only carrier for over twenty years, but by the early 1990s she was effectively out of service because of her poor condition. Even following major overhauls she was rarely put to sea. She was formally decommissioned on 31 January 1997 and is preserved as a museum at Mumbai.

The Mighty Aircraft carrier INS Viraat now protects the Indian Ocean and Continues to Spread fear among the enemy,the same fear which INS Vikrant had started.