INS Vikrant (from Sanskrit vikrānta, "courageous") was a of the Indian Navy. The ship was laid down as HMS Hercules for the British Royal Navy during World War II, but was put on hold when the war ended. India purchased the incomplete carrier in 1957, and construction was completed in 1961. Vikrant was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy and played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
In its later years, the ship underwent major refits to embark modern aircraft, before being decommissioned in January 1997. She was preserved as a museum ship in the Naval Docks in Mumbai until 2012. In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November 2014 after final clearance from the Supreme Court.
History and construction
In 1943 the Royal Navy commissioned six light aircraft carriers in an effort to counter the German and Japanese navies. At the time of suspension, she was 75 per cent complete.
The ship was armed with sixteen Bofors anti-aircraft guns, but these were later reduced to eight. At various times, its aircraft consisted of Hawker Sea Hawk and STOVL BAe Sea Harrier jet fighters, Sea King Mk 42B and HAL Chetak helicopters, and Breguet Br.1050 Alizé anti-submarine aircraft. The carrier fielded between 21 and 23 aircraft of all types. Vikrants flight decks were designed to handle aircraft weighing up to , but remained the heaviest landing weight of an aircraft. Larger lifts were installed later. The ship was equipped with one LW-05 air-search radar, one ZW-06 surface-search radar, one LW-10 tactical radar and one Type 963 aircraft landing radar with other communication systems.
Service
Early service
The Indian Navy's first aircraft carrier was commissioned as INS Vikrant on 4 March 1961 in Belfast by Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. It was piloted by Lieutenant Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani, who later served as admiral and Chief of the Naval Staff of India from 1984 to 1987. Vikrant formally joined the Indian Navy's fleet in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 3 November 1961, when she was received at Ballard Pier by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The ship had conducted several maritime exercises off the coast of Kochi and Kutch until May 1965,
An area of , confined by a triangle with a base of and sides of , was set up in the Bay of Bengal. Any ship in this area was to be challenged and checked. If found to be neutral, it would be escorted to the nearest Indian port, otherwise, it would be captured and taken as a war prize.
In the meantime, intelligence reports confirmed Pakistan was going to deploy the US-built . Ghazi was considered a serious threat to Vikrant by the Indian Navy, as Vikrants approximate position would be known by the Pakistanis once she started operating aircraft. Of the four available surface ships, INS Kavaratti had no sonar, which meant the other three ships had to remain in close vicinity, around close to Vikrant, without which the carrier would be completely vulnerable to attacks by Ghazi.
On 23 July, Vikrant sailed off to Cochin in company with the Western Fleet. En route, before reaching Cochin on 26 July, Sea King landing trials were carried out. After completion of the radar and communication trials on 28 July, she departed for Madras, escorted by Brahmaputra and Beas. The next major problem was operating aircraft from the carrier. The commanding officer of the ship, Captain (later Vice Admiral) Swaraj Prakash, was seriously concerned about flight operations. He was concerned aircrew morale would be adversely affected if flight operations were not undertaken, which could be disastrous. Naval Headquarters remained stubborn on the speed restrictions, and sought confirmation from Prakash whether it was possible to embark a flight of Alizé without compromising the speed restrictions. The speed restrictions imposed by the headquarters meant Alizé aircraft would have to land at close to stalling speed. Eventually the aircraft weight was reduced, which allowed several of the aircraft to embark along with a Seahawk squadron.
thumb|A Bréguet 1050 Alizé anti-submarine aircraft taking off from INS Vikrant|left|alt=A color photograph of an aircraft taking off from a ship while the crew onboard watch
By the end of September, Vikrant and her escorts had reached Port Blair. En route to Visakhapatnam, tactical exercises were conducted in the presence of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command. From Vishakhapatnam, Vikrant set out for Madras for maintenance. Rear Admiral S. H. Sarma was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and arrived at Vishakhapatnam on 14 October. After receiving reports that Pakistan might launch preemptive strikes, maintenance was stopped for another tactical exercise, which was completed during the night of 26–27 October at Vishakhapatnam. Vikrant then returned to Madras to resume maintenance. On 1 November, the Eastern Fleet was formally constituted, and on 13 November, the ships centred the new Vikrant Carrier Battle groupset out for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. To avoid misadventures, the plan was to sail Vikrant to a remote anchorage near Port Cornwallis, isolating it from combat. Simultaneously, deception signals would give the impression of Vikrant operating somewhere between Madras and Vishakhapatnam.Two Polnocny class LSTs, INS Guldhar and INS Gharial were repurposed as transports to supply fuel, ammunition and spare parts for the carrier's air wing and escorts. The SCI ship Deshdeep was chartered by the Navy to supply replenishments exclusively to the carrier under Operation Sangsar. Further strikes targeted Khulna and the Port of Mongla, which continued until 10 December, while other operations were flown to support a naval blockade of East Pakistan. Sea hawks also flew 24/7 Combat air patrol over the carrier.The Alizé also flew long range reconnaissance from the carrier.
A submarine threat was misidentified on the 7th of December against the carrier, resulting in no missions being flow that day.On 10 December, Vikrant aircrews provided air support for amphibious landings by Indian army commandos west of Cox's bazaar.Her escorts also intercepted and captured two Pakistani troopships carrying about 2000 soldiers as reinforcements from the Baluch light infantry regiment.On 14 December, the Sea Hawks attacked the cantonment area in Chittagong, destroying several Pakistani army barracks. Medium anti-aircraft fire was encountered during this strike. Simultaneous attacks by Alizés continued on Cox's Bazar. Vikrant approached upto 60nmi from Chittagong for a final attack run, in coordination with the Indian Air Force. Air strikes by Vikrants aircraft accounted for an additional 100,776 tonnes of Pakistani shipping sunk and destroyed,including both pre-planned and oppurtunity shipping targets at Cox's Bazaar, Chittagong, Khulna, Chalna, Mongla, Do Harisal, Barisal, Chiringa and Bakarganj as well as airfields, AA positions, oil fields, ammunition dumps, harbours and troop positions. The crew of Vikrant earned two Maha Vir Chakras and twelve Vir Chakra gallantry medals for their role in the war.
Later years
thumb|A Sea King helicopter acting as a [[plane guard with INS Vikrant|alt=A color photograph of an helicopter flying above an aircraft carrier]]
Vikrant did not see much service after the war, and was given two major modernisation refits—the first one from 1979 to 1981 and the second one from 1987 to 1989. In the first phase, her boilers, radars, communication systems and anti-aircraft guns were modernised, and facilities to operate Sea Harriers were installed. In the second phase, facilities to operate the new Sea Harrier Vertical/Short Take Off and Land (V/STOL) fighter aircraft and the new Sea King Mk 42B Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopters were introduced. A 9.75-degree ski-jump ramp was fitted. The steam catapult was removed during this phase. in 1991, Vikrant again underwent a six-month refit, followed by another fourteen-month refit in 1992–94. She remained operational thereafter, flying Sea Harriers, Sea Kings and Chetaks until her final sea outing on 23 November 1994. In the same year, a fire was also recorded aboard. In January 1995, the navy decided to keep Vikrant in "safe to float" state. She was laid up and formally decommissioned on 31 January 1997.
Squadrons embarked
During her service, INS Vikrant embarked four squadrons of the Naval Air Arm of the Indian Navy:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Squadron
! style="width:10%; "| Name
! Insignia
! style="width:13%; "|Aircraft
!Notes
|-
| rowspan=2|INAS 300 || rowspan=2|White Tigers || rowspan=2|<!-- 50px --> || Hawker Sea Hawk||Operated during the 1971 war, and phased out in 1978.
|-
|BAE Sea Harrier||Introduced in 1983, with the first Harrier landing on the ship's deck on 20 December 1983, operated until the ship was decommissioned in late 1997.
|-
| INAS 310 || Cobras || || Breguet Alizé||Operated during the 1971 war, and phased out in 1987, with the last Alizé flown off on 2 April 1987.
|-
| INAS 321 || Angels || <!-- 50px --> || Alouette III/<br />HAL Chetak||The Alouettes/Chetaks were first embarked in 1960s, and operated until the ship was decommissioned in 1997.
|-
| INAS 330 || Harpoons || || Westland Sea King||Introduced into the Indian Navy in 1974, the Sea Kings operated on Vikrant from 1991, and remained until the ship was decommissioned in 1997.
|}
Commanding officers
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col" style="width: 20px;" | S.No
! scope="col" style="width: 200px;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width: 150px;" | Assumed office
! scope="col" style="width: 150px;" | Left office
! scope="col" style="width: 500px;" | Notes
|-
|1
|Captain P. S. Mahindroo
|16 February 1961
|16 April 1963
|Commissioning CO. Later Chief of Materiel.
|-
|2
|Captain Nilakanta Krishnan
|17 April 1963
|16 November 1964
|Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
|-
|3
|Captain V. A. Kamath
|16 November 1964
|4 November 1966
|Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Area during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Founding Director General of Indian Coast Guard.
|-
|4
|Captain Jal Cursetji
|4 November 1966
|8 December 1967
|Later Chief of the Naval Staff.
|-
|5
|Captain E. C. Kuruvila
|8 December 1967
|5 December 1969
|Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Later Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Area.
|-
|6
|Captain Kirpal Singh
|5 December 1969
|15 January 1971
|Later Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet.
|-
|7
|Captain S. L. Sethi
|15 January 1971
|30 June 1971
|Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.
|-
|8
|Captain Swaraj Parkash
|1 July 1971
|24 January 1973
|Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and Director General of Indian Coast Guard.
|-
|9
|Captain M. K. Roy
|3 January 1974
|8 February 1976
|Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.
|-
|10
|Captain R. H. Tahiliani
|8 February 1976
|26 December 1977
|Later Chief of the Naval Staff.
|-
|11
|Captain J. C. Puri
|26 December 1977
|5 March 1979
|
|-
|12
|Captain R. D. Dhir
|5 March 1979
|15 June 1979
|
|-
|13
|Captain S. Bose
|15 June 1979
|2 April 1981
|
|-
|14
|Captain Arindam Ghosh
|2 April 1981
|27 August 1982
|Later Fortress Commander, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
|-
|15
|Captain KASZ Raju
|27 August 1982
|19 November 1984
|Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.
|-
|16
|Captain S. K. Gupta
|19 November 1984
|17 March 1986
|
|-
|17
|Captain P. A. Debrass
|17 March 1986
|8 August 1988
|Later Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area.
|-
|18
|Captain B. S. Karpe
|11 October 1988
|22 October 1989
|
|-
|19
|Captain R. N. Ganesh
|22 October 1989
|3 January 1991
|Later Fortress Commander, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.
|-
|20
|Captain Raman Puri
|3 January 1991
|25 June 1992
|Later Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.
|-
|21
|Captain R. C. Kochchar
|25 June 1992
|7 September 1994
|Later Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area.
|-
|22
|Captain K. Mohanan
|7 September 1994
|7 August 1995
|
|-
|23
|Commander H. S. Rawat
|20 July 1996
|31 January 1997
|Last Commanding Officer.
|}
Museum ship
thumb|INS Vikrant preserved as a museum ship in [[Mumbai with aircraft visible on the flight deck]]
thumb|INS Vikrant builder's plate
thumb|INS Vikrant ship's bell
Following decommissioning in 1997, Vikrant was earmarked for preservation as a museum ship in Mumbai. Lack of funding prevented progress on the ship's conversion to a museum and it was speculated Vikrant would be converted into a training ship. In 2001, the ship was opened to the public by the Indian Navy, but the Government of Maharashtra was unable to find a partner to operate the museum on a permanent, long-term basis and the museum was closed after it was deemed unsafe for the public in 2012.
Scrapping
thumb|Vikrant being scrapped at Mumbai
In August 2013, Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, Commander-in-Chief of Western Naval Command, said the Ministry of Defence would scrap the ship as she had become very difficult to maintain and no private bidders had offered to fund the museum's operations. On 3 December 2013, the Indian government decided to auction the ship. The Bombay High Court dismissed a public-interest lawsuit filed by Kiran Paigankar to stop the auction, stating the vessel's dilapidated condition did not warrant her preservation, nor were the necessary funds or government support available. In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction to a Darukhana ship-breaker for . The Supreme Court of India dismissed another lawsuit challenging the ship's sale and scrapping on 14 August 2014. Vikrant remained beached off Darukhana in Mumbai Port while awaiting the final clearances of the Mumbai Port Trust. On 12 November 2014, the Supreme Court gave its final approval for the carrier to be scrapped, which commenced on 22 November 2014.
On 7 April 2022, an FIR against an ex-MP Kirit Somaiya, his son Neil and others was registered, on charges of alleged cheating and criminal breach of trust linked to the collection of funds up to Rs. 57 crore for restoring the decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The Trombay Police booked them under Section 420 (cheating and dishonesty including delivery of property), Section 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and Section 34 (common intentions) of the Indian Penal Code. According to the complaint, the father and son duo collected the money in 2013–14 in the name of restoring Vikrant, but the funds collected were spent on personal use. Somaiya was leading the front of attacking the government's intent of commercializing the decommissioned ship by handing it to private players.
Legacy
In memory of Vikrant, the Vikrant Memorial was unveiled by Vice Admiral Surinder Pal Singh Cheema, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command at K Subash Marg at the Naval Dockyard of Mumbai on 25 January 2016. The memorial is made from metal recovered from the ship.
In February 2016, the Indian automobile manufacturer Bajaj unveiled a new motorbike made with metal from Vikrants scrap and named it Bajaj V in honour of Vikrant.
The navy has named its first home-built carrier INS Vikrant in honour of INS Vikrant (R11). The new carrier is built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, and will displace . The keel was laid down in February 2009 and she was launched in August 2013 under the premiership of then PM Dr. Manmohan Singh. The ship was commissioned on 2 September 2022 by PM Narendra Modi.
In popular culture
The decommissioned ship featured prominently in the film ABCD 2 as a backdrop while it was moored near Darukhana in Mumbai.
After the decommissioning of INS Vikrant, Mumbai-based artist Arzan Khambatta was approached by veterans who had served on the warship to create a sculpture in its memory. Using actual metal from the ship, Khambatta crafted a tribute that now stands at Lion Gate, a historic naval entrance in Mumbai.
See also
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
External links
- Mission Vikrant 1971: A search for our heroes
- Sons of Vikrant by Bajaj