| History | |
|---|---|
 Indian Navy | |
| Name | INS Vinash |
| Commissioned | 20 January 1971 |
| Decommissioned | 15 January 1990 |
| Honours and awards | Karachi, 1971 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Vidyut-class missile boat |
| Displacement | 245 tons (full load) [1] |
| Length | 38.6 meters |
| Beam | 7.6 meters |
| Speed | 37+ knots |
| Complement | 30 |
| Armament |
|
INS Vinash (K85) (Destruction) was a Vidyut-class missile boat of the 25th Killer Missile Boat Squadron of the Indian Navy. [2] [3]
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Vinash was a part of the Operation Python strike force along with INS Talwar and INS Trishul. The strike force approached Karachi on 8 December 1971 in rough seas.
Vinash fired 4 SS-N-2B Styx missiles at various targets. The first missile struck the fuel tanks at Keamari Oil Farm. Another missile hit and sunk Panamian fuel tanker SS Gulf Star. The third and fourth missiles hit the Pakistan Navy fleet tanker PNS Dacca and the British merchant ship SS Harmattan, which were badly damaged. [4]
Operation Python and its preceding Operation Trident were successful. The Pakistani fuel reserves for the Karachi sector were destroyed and flames could be seen from 60 miles away. India established complete control over the oil route from the Persian Gulf to Pakistani ports. [5] Shipping traffic to and from Karachi, Pakistan's only major port at that time, ceased.
Lt. Cdr. Vijai Jerath, commanding officer of INS Vinash was awarded the Vir Chakra for the operation. [6]
HMS Charity was a C-class destroyer of the Royal Navy laid down by John I. Thornycroft and Company of Woolston, Southampton on 9 July 1943. She was launched on 30 November 1944 and commissioned on 19 November 1945. She was sold to the US Navy in 1958, for transfer to the Pakistan Navy as a part of the Military Aid Program.
The P-15 Termit is an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, its NATO reporting name was Styx or SS-N-2. China acquired the design in 1958 and created at least four versions: the CSS-N-1 Scrubbrush and CSS-N-2 versions were developed for ship-launched operation, while the CSS-C-2 Silkworm and CSS-C-3 Seersucker were used for coastal defence. Other names for this basic type of missile include: HY-1, SY-1, and FL-1 Flying Dragon, North Korean local produced KN-1 or KN-01, derived from both Silkworm variants and Russian & USSR P-15, Rubezh, P-20 P-22.
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Operation Trident was an offensive operation launched by the Indian Navy on Pakistan's port city of Karachi during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Operation Trident saw the first use of anti-ship missiles in combat in the region. The operation was conducted on the night of 4–5 December and inflicted heavy damage on Pakistani vessels and facilities. While India suffered no losses, Pakistan lost a minesweeper, a destroyer, a cargo vessel carrying ammunition, and fuel storage tanks in Karachi. Another destroyer was also badly damaged and eventually scrapped. India celebrates its Navy Day annually on 4 December to mark this operation. Trident was followed up by Operation Python three days later.
Operation Python, a follow-up to Operation Trident, was the code name of a naval attack launched on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi by the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. After the first attack during Operation Trident on the Port of Karachi, Pakistan stepped up aerial surveillance of its coast as the presence of large Indian Navy ships gave the impression that another attack was being planned. Pakistani warships attempted to outsmart the Indian Navy by mingling with merchant shipping. To counter these moves, Operation Python was launched on the night of 8/9 December 1971. A strike group consisting of one missile boat and two frigates attacked the group of ships off the coast of Karachi. While India suffered no losses, Pakistani fleet tanker PNS Dacca was damaged beyond repair, and the Kemari Oil Storage facility was lost. Two other foreign ships stationed in Karachi were also sunk during the attack.
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PNS Muhafiz was an Adjutant-class minesweeper of the Pakistan Navy. It was built by the United States for transfer to Pakistan. PNS Muhafiz was sunk by a missile from INS Veer of the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
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