Operation Dwarka | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the naval conflict of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Pakistan | India | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Commodore S. M. Anwar | Rear Admiral B. A. Samson | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Indian Navy | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 light cruiser (PNS Babur) 6 destroyers (PNS Khaibar, PNS Badr, PNS Jahangir, PNS Shah Jahan, PNS Alamgir, PNS Tippu Sultan) 1 submarine ( PNS Ghazi ) | Unknown (Ships did not leave port) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
None | Damage to Dwarka town [2] | ||||||
Operation Dwarka, codenamed as Operation Somnath, was a naval operation by the Pakistan Navy to attack the Indian coastal town of Dwarka on 7 and 8 September 1965. This instance was the first engagement by the Pakistan Navy in any of the Indo-Pakistan Wars. [a]
As the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 broke out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the armies and air forces of both nations were involved in intense fighting in the regions of Punjab and Kashmir. To relieve pressure on the southern front, Pakistan decided to send its navy to launch a strike on the Indian coast. The primary objective of the attack ostensibly was to destroy the radar station at Dwarka which was believed by Pakistani naval intelligence to have a Huff-Duff beacon to guide Indian bombers. [4] Pakistani high command also hoped to divert the operations of the Indian Air Force away from the north.
The mission objectives of the Pakistan Navy were: [5]
Many Pakistani sources describe the operation as at least partially successful, while many Indian ones dispute this. [6]
On the night of 7 September, the Pakistan Navy launched its assault on Western Indian shores. Dwarka was chosen for its proximity 200 km (120 mi) from the Karachi Port, its relatively weak defences and historical political prominence. The plan called for a fleet of seven naval vessels to shell the town of Dwarka. The attack was aimed at luring the heavy ships anchored in Bombay into attacking the Pakistani ships to enable the submarine PNS Ghazi lurking in the Arabian Sea to engage and sink the Indian ships. Accordingly, a fleet of seven ships comprising PNS Babur, PNS Khaibar, PNS Badr, PNS Jahangir, PNS Alamgir, PNS Shah Jahan and PNS Tippu Sultan set sail for Dwarka and bombarded the town. The bombardment continued past midnight. [7]
The Indian warships harbored in Bombay were under refit and were unable to sortie, nor did Ghazi encounter active combatants on the West coast. [8] According to Pakistani sources, the objective of diverting the Indian Air Force from attacking Pakistan's southern front worked as air raids on the city of Karachi ceased. This was presumed to be due also to the lack of availability of the radar guidance, which Pakistan claimed was damaged in the attack. [7]
The Indian Navy's official version of events is that, around 23:55 hours, the Pakistani vessels fired on Dwarka for more than 20 minutes. The ships fired around 50 shells each, which included 5.25 inch rounds fired by the Pakistani cruiser PNS Babur. The report adds that most shells fell between the temple and the railway station, which lay 3 km (1.9 mi) from the lighthouse. Some buildings were hit, with the Railway Guest House suffering significant damage along with a cement factory. Smoke from the damage was visible to the Pakistani warships, approximately 20 km (12 mi) away. [2]
The radar installation was shelled during the bombardment but neither was the radar damaged nor were there any casualties according to Indian sources. [6] The frigate INS Talwar was in nearby Okha Port undergoing repairs and did not intervene. [6] Hiranandani's history of the Indian Navy states that: [6]
Next morning she (INS Talwar) was directed to send a team to Dwarka to assess the damage. The team found that most of the shells had fallen on the soft soil between the temple and the radio station and failed to explode. The air attack damaged a railway engine and destroyed a portion of a railway guesthouse.
A total of 40 unexploded shells were also recovered intact. [2] The shells bore the mark "INDIAN ORDNANCE"; these were dated from the 1940s before the Partition of India into India and Pakistan. [2]
Radio Pakistan, however, transmitted that Dwarka was badly damaged. [2]
The following is the list of commanding officers of the operation:[ citation needed ]
For some, Operation Dwarka was a significant naval operation of the 1965 war, [5] [9] but others considered it a nuisance raid or of little strategic value. [10] [11] [12] The Indian Ministry of Defence had issued written instructions which ordered the Indian Navy "not to proceed two hundred miles beyond Bombay nor North of the parallel of Porbandar". [13] The lack of response by the Indian Navy to the attack on Dwarka led to questions being asked in the Parliament of India and a challenge to be answered by others. [14] [15] [16] The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral B.S. Soman was restrained from retaliation for the Dwarka raid by the Defence Minister. [13] Of the Indian Navy's 23 ships, ten were under refit in Bombay, including the INS Vikrant, the light cruiser INS Delhi, three destroyers and two frigates. [6] [17] An Indian source explained this by saying that the Indian government did not want to get into a naval conflict with Pakistan, but wished to restrict the war to a land-based conflict. [18] The failure of INS Talwar to retaliate, then undergoing repairs to her condensers in Okha, [19] has been lamented by Indian Vice Admiral N. Krishnan who said that no government would blame a warship going into action, if attacked. [15] [20] PNS Ghazi continued to patrol Kachchh and Bombay coasts spotting aircraft positions when snorkeling. [21]
The Dwarka raid is considered by Pakistani sources as being a prime reason for the Indian Navy's subsequent post-war modernization and expansion, with an increase in budget from ₹ 35 crore (equivalent to ₹23 billionorUS$280 million in 2023) to ₹115 crore (equivalent to ₹57 billionorUS$680 million in 2023). [15] The Dwarka raid, as per an Indian historian G. M Hiranandani, led to the procurement of missile boats by the Indian Navy from the Soviet Union for the Defense of Kutch. These were subsequently used by India in Operation Trident in the 1971 war. [22] However, he attributes the expansion of the Indian Navy in the period 1965 to 1975 to the post-1962 planned expansion of the Indian Navy with many ships being negotiated and purchased from the Soviet Union prior to the war. [23]
In 1998, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) financed and produced the historical dramatization film of the operation named, Operation Dwarka, 1965, which was based on this incident. The film was directed by Pakistani film director Qasim Jalali and it was written by Hameed Kashmiri. [24]
INSVikrant was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier 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.
Maritime powers in the Indian subcontinent have possessed navies for many centuries. Indian dynasties such as the Chola Empire used naval power to extend their influence overseas, particularly to Southeast Asia. The Marakkar Navy under Zamorins during 15th century and the Maratha Navy of the Maratha Confederacy during the 19th and 18th centuries fought with rival Indian powers and European powers. The East India Company organised its own private navy, which came to be known as the Bombay Marine. With the establishment of the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the small navy was transformed into "His Majesty's Indian Navy", then "Her Majesty's Indian Marine", and finally the "Royal Indian Marine".
PNS/M Ghazi (S–130), SJ, was a Tench-class diesel-electric submarine, the first fast-attack submarine in the Pakistan Navy. She was leased from the United States Navy in 1963.
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.
Vice Admiral Ahmad TasnimHI(M) SJ & Bar SI(M) SBt is a retired three-star rank admiral of the Pakistan Navy who is known for his command of Hangor, a submarine that sank INS Khukri on 8 December 1971 during Pakistan's third war with India, off the coast of Diu, Gujarat.
Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas "Charles" Nanda, PVSM, AVSM was an Indian Navy admiral who served as the 6th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 March 1970 until 28 February 1973. He led the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and successfully executed a naval blockade of both West and East Pakistan, helping India achieve an overwhelming victory during the war. For the important role he played in the war, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award. Nanda is recognised as one of the most notable commanders in the history of the Indian Navy.
Karamat Rahman Niazi was a senior officer of the Pakistan Navy who served as the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) from 1979 to 1983 of the Pakistan Navy.
Commander Zafar Muhammad Khan was a Pakistani naval officer who was the Captain and Commanding Officer of the PNS Ghazi submarine during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The PNS Ghazi was sunk under mysterious circumstances while on a reconnaissance mine-laying mission in the approaches to the Indian port of Visakhapatnam and sank at about 00:10 hours. A total of 93 men, including 11 commissioned officers, and 82 non-commissioned officers lost their lives. In 1971, he was one of the naval officers who were posthumously awarded the Hilal-i-Jur'at for their actions.
The Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971 refers to the maritime military engagements between the Indian Navy and the Pakistan Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The series of naval operations began with the Indian Navy's exertion of pressure on Pakistan from the Indian Ocean, while the Indian Army and Indian Air Force moved in to choke Pakistani forces operating in East Pakistan on land. Indian naval operations comprised naval interdiction, air defence, ground support, and logistics missions.
Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli, PVSM was an Indian Navy admiral who served as the 7th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 March 1973 until 29 February 1976. Kohli served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-IN-C) of the Western Naval Command during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 and successfully led Indian Navy's Western Fleet in Operation Trident and Operation Python against the Pakistan Navy fleet in Karachi. His prior commands include those as the commanding officer of INS Mysore (C60) and INS Rana (D115).
Vice Admiral Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani, PVSM, AVSM, NM was a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from 1987 to 1989. Prior to that, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. He was the Commissioning Commanding Officer of the INS Rajput (D51), the lead vessel of the Rajput class destroyers. He was awarded the Nausena Medal for gallantry during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
INS Dwarka is a Forward Operating Base (FOB) of the Indian Navy and is located at Okha, Gujarat.
INS Brahmaputra (F31) was a Leopard-class frigate of the Indian Navy. She was built by the Scottish shipbuilder John Brown & Company and completed in March 1958. Brahmaputra served during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. She was scrapped in 1986.
Lt. Com. Bahadur Nariman KavinaVrC was a prominent Indian naval officer, who was commanding officer of the INS Nipat. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Kavina was the chief architect of attack on the Port of Karachi and led the successful attack on Pakistani Navy headquarters.
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