| One
fine morning in 1957, the Government of India
decided to purchase HMS Hercules ship. It is now
46 years since India acquired this grand ship
from the British. It was renamed ‘Vikrant’
and commissioned on January 16, 1961. It served
gloriously for more than 36 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, Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru received it on November 3, 1961. From that
day onwards up to her decommissioning, it visited
Trincomalee, Singapore, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran,
Japan 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 INDIA.
The most important role of the Vikrant commenced
on December 3, 1971, The 1971 war was the first,
and only, occasion when the Indian political leadership
exhibited a proper understanding of the use of
military power for achieving a clear national
aim.
The Indian Prime Minister,
Mrs. Indira Gandhi, decided that the Navy would
be given the strategic task of denying both East
and West Pakistan access to war supplies. The
aim in short was a complete naval blockade of
both parts of Pakistan. The bigger aim was of
course to ensure that the conflict was not perpetuated
beyond the time required to capture a chunk of
East Pakistani territory.
The Indian Navy's best
and biggest warship at that time was its sole
aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, a carefully preserved
World War II vintage carrier built in Britain.
Ideally, a task force centered around the Vikrant
should have been used to block Karachi, which
at that time was West Pakistan's sole deep water
port. However, one of Vikrant’s main boilers
was out of operation and the ship could not maintain
the kind of speed required for maneuvering in
a situation where the air threat would be considerable.
It was decided that the Vikrant would be used
to blockade the ports in East Pakistan, and destroy
the riverine craft used by the Pakistanis there.
The day war was declared,
the Vikrant, which had been anchored off the northern-most
tip of the Andaman & Nicobar chain of islands,
moved towards the principal East Pakistani port,
Chittagong. The Pakistanis, having learnt that
Vikrant was positioned in the Bay of Bengal, dispatched
one of their submarines, PNS Ghazi, to the east.
The Pakistani submarine thought it could sneak
into Vizag harbour, the principal naval port in
the Indian East Coast. It was, however, detected
and sunk before it could cause any damage. The
Vikrant continued unhindered. Rear Admiral (retired)
P.D.Sharma, who was then an aviator aboard the
Vikrant, recalls what it was like:
"Fighter pilots practice for years and when
they finally get an opportunity to see real action,
it is thrilling - it is the moment one has been
waiting for all one's life. And it was so for
us aboard the Vikrant on 4th December 1971...
"The first sortie
was mounted against Cox's Bazaar. Eight Sea Hawks
went in led by the squadron commander. I was in
the second sortie, which attacked Chittagong.
This was in the afternoon of the 4th because it
took some time for the Vikrant to close in the
range to Chittagong.
"We went in low
level, pulled up and carried out repeated attacks
on the airfield. In the first attack itself we
inflicted considerable damage. We withdrew for
the night and sailed towards the Mangla-Khulna
area. Our next attacks were on those harbours.
Then we came back to Chittagong. And by the time
we were through with that area, especially Chittagong
harbour, Chittagong airfield and the approaches
to Chittagong, the scene was something to be seen.
The place had been devastated. There were ships
that had turned turtle, there were half-sunk ships
by the quay side, the airfield was pockmarked
with craters and no ship could even think of approaching
the place."
Commissioned 4 March
1961 as INS Vikrant. Refitted for Sea Harrier
operation 1979-1982. In her 36 years of commission,
INS Vikrant steamed 4,99,066 nautical miles, the
equivalent of 15 times around the world. Decommissioned
late 1997. Extant India and subject to a campign
to preserve her for posterity - the only Wartime
constructed British aircraft carrier to be under
possible preservation
General Characteristics
-
Displacement:
15,700 tons standard, 19,500 tons full load
-
Length:
192 meters (630 feet) waterline, 213.3 meters
(700 feet) extreme
-
Beam: 24.4 meters (80
feet) waterline, 39 meters (128 feet) extreme
-
Draft: 7.3 meters
(24 feet)
-
Propulsion: Parsons
geared steam turbines, 4 Admiralty three-drum
boilers, 2 shafts, 40,000 hp, 23 knots
-
Range 12,000 miles
at 14 knots
-
Crew: 1075 usual,
1340 wartime
-
Armor: none
-
Armament: 16x40mm Bofors antiaircraft
guns, later reduced to eight.
Aircraft:
-
6 Westland Sea King Mk42B
-
3 Westland Sea King Mk42C
-
Fixed Wing 6 BAe Sea Harriers
FRS.51
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