INS Vikrant (R11) (formerly HMS Hercules
(R49)) was a Majestic
-class light aircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
of the Indian NavyThe Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
.
Her keel was laid down on 12 November 1943 by Vickers-Armstrong on the TyneThe River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
and she was launched on 22 September 1945.
Vikranta
is SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
for "stepped beyond, taking wide strides, courageous, bold, strong", from vi-
= "apart" and kram- = "to stride".
History
Completion work was carried out in
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
but construction was suspended after the end of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and she was laid up for possible future use. Her pennant was changed from R49 to R11.
In January 1957 she was sold to
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and construction was completed at
Harland and WolffHarland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
with an extensively modernized design, including an angled deck with steam catapults, a modified island, and many other improvements.
The Indian high commissioner to the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, commissioned her as INS Vikrant
on 4 March 1961 while she was still at BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The name Vikrant
was taken from SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
vikrānta
meaning "stepped beyond", i.e. "courageous", "victorious". Her pennant was once again R11 in the Indian Navy. Captain Pritam Singh was the first commanding officer of the carrier. She formally joined the Indian fleet at BombayMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
on 3 November 1961, when she was received at Ballard Pier by Prime Minister Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
and other high-ranking dignitaries.
The Vikrants initial air wing consisted of British
Hawker Sea HawkThe Hawker Sea Hawk was a British single-seat jet fighter of the Fleet Air Arm , the air branch of the Royal Navy , built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its origins stemmed from earlier Hawker piston-engined fighters, the Sea Hawk became the...
fighter-bombers and a French
Alize|-See also:-References:*Michell, Simon. . Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994-95. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7.-External links:*...
anti-submarine aircraft. On 18 May 1961 the first jet landed on board, piloted by Lieutenant (later Admiral) R H Tahiliani.
In 1965,
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
claimed that it had sunk the
Vikrant. At the time, however, the ship was under refit in
dry dockA drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
.
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|-See also:-References:*Michell, Simon. . Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994-95. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7.-External links:*...
. These modifications turned out to be valuable, enabling the
Vikrant to enter combat despite the cracked boiler against
East PakistanEast Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
. Stationed off the Andaman & Nicobar islands along with Indian naval ships, INS
Brahmaputra and INS
Beas, the
Vikrant redeployed towards
ChittagongChittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
at the outbreak of hostilities. On the morning of 4 December 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
KhulnaKhulna is the third largest city in Bangladesh. It is located on the banks of the Rupsha and Bhairab rivers in Khulna District. It is the divisional headquarters of Khulna Division and a major industrial and commercial center. It has a seaport named Mongla on its outskirts, 38 km from Khulna...
and
Mongla- Overview :It was formerly located at Chalna, about 11 miles upstream on the Pusur River, but it is now located 48 km south of Khulna city, as established in 1954. The port is situated at the confluence of the Pashur River and the Mongla River...
. A
PTIPress Trust of India is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 450 Indian newspapers and has a staff of about 2,000 writers spread across 150 offices nationwide...
message is supposed to have read, "Chittagong harbour ablaze as ships and aircraft of the Eastern Naval Fleet bombed and rocketed. Not a single vessel can be put to sea from Chittagong." Air strikes continued until 10 December 1971.
Given naval intelligence that indicated the intent of the
Pakistan NavyThe Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
to break through the Indian naval blockade using camouflaged merchant ships, the Sea Hawks struck shipping in the
ChittagongChittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
and
Cox's BazarCox's Bazar is a town, a fishing port and district headquarters in Bangladesh. It is known for its wide sandy beach which is the world's longest natural sandy sea beach. It is an unbroken 125 km sandy sea beach with a gentle slope. It is located 150 km south of Chittagong. Cox’s Bazar...
harbors, sinking or incapacitating most merchant ships there.
The
PNS GhaziPNS Ghazi was Pakistan Navy 's first ever submarine, leased from United States in 1963. It saw action in the 1965 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan. The submarine could be armed with up to 28 torpedoes and, in later years, was re-fitted in Turkey for mine-laying capability...
submarine was deployed to sink the INS
Vikrant. However,
Ghazi sank off
VisakhapatnamVisakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
harbor under mysterious circumstances. During the war, the crew of
Vikrant earned two Mahavir Chakras and 12
Vir ChakraVir Chakra is an Indian gallantry award presented for acts of bravery in the battlefield. Award of the decoration carried with it the right to use Vr.C. as a postnominal abbreviation Vir Chakra is an Indian gallantry award presented for acts of bravery in the battlefield. Award of the decoration...
s.
Subsequent service
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 HarrierThe British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval VTOL/STOVL jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft, a development of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar"...
s 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. Following her decommissioning,
Vikrant was marked for preservation as a
museum shipA museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
in Mumbai, although a lack of funding has prevented progress on the ship's conversion for this role.. Similarly, speculation that the ship would be made into a training ship in 2006 came no nothing.
Vikrant is open to the public by the Indian Navy for short periods, but as of April 2010, the
Government of MaharashtraGovernment of Maharashtra is the government for the state of Maharashtra in Western India.It is an elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the legislative assembly for a 5 year term.-Ministers:...
has been unable to find an industrial partner to operate the museum on a permanent, long-term basis.
She is
the only World War II-era British-built aircraft carrier to be preserved as a museum.
See also
External links