Background
In 1971, the Port of Karachi housed the headquarters of the Pakistan Navy and almost the entire Pakistan Naval fleet was based at Karachi Harbour. It was also the hub of Pakistan's maritime trade. Pakistan Air Force's shore-based aircraft were tasked with providing uninterrupted cover to Karachi port, against any possible air strikes. It also gained significance as it was the only major seaport in West Pakistan. [3] [4]
Towards the end of 1971, there were rising tensions between India and Pakistan, and after Pakistan declared a national emergency on 23 November, the Indian Navy deployed three Vidyut-class missile boats in the vicinity of Okha, near Karachi, to carry out patrols. As the Pakistani fleet would also be operating in the same waters, the Indian Navy set a demarcation line which ships in their fleet would not cross. Later this deployment proved to be useful to gain experience in the region's waters. On 3 December, after Pakistan attacked Indian airfields along the border, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 officially began. [5]
Operation
Prelude
The Indian Naval Headquarters (NHQ) in Delhi along with the Western Naval Command planned to attack the strategically important Port of Karachi. [6] A strike group under Western Naval Command, was formed. This strike group was to be formed around the three Vidyut-class missile boats already deployed off the coast of Okha. However these had limited operational and radar range and to overcome this difficulty, it was decided to assign support vessels to the group. On 4 December, what was now designated as the Karachi Strike Group was formed and consisted of the three Vidyut-class missile boats: INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer, each armed with four P-15 Termit (SS-N-2B Styx) surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi), two Arnala-class anti-submarine corvettes: INS Kiltan and INS Katchall, and a fleet tanker, INS Poshak. [7] The group was under the command of Commander Babru Bhan Yadav, [9] the Commanding Officer of the 25th Missile Boat Squadron. (25-KS) [10]
On the night of 4/5 December, the Indian Navy launched Operation Trident with the Karachi Strike Group off the coast of Karachi. This operation saw the first use of anti-ship missiles in combat in the region and inflicted heavy damage on the Pakistanis. While India suffered no losses, Pakistan lost one minesweeper, one destroyer, a cargo vessel carrying ammunition, and fuel storage tanks in Karachi. [11] Another destroyer was also badly damaged and had, eventually, to be scrapped. The Pakistan Air Force retaliated against these attacks by bombing Okha Harbour, scoring direct hits on fueling facilities for missile boats, an ammunition dump, and the missile boats' jetty. The Indian Navy had anticipated this attack and had already moved the missile boats to other locations to prevent any losses.
Though the Indian Navy had strategic victory with Operation Trident, its main target, the oil storage facilities in Karachi were still operational as only one of the two missiles fired had hit them. This failure was later assessed as the result of confusion created between the commanding officers of the three missile boats. Furthermore, the Indians mistook tracer fire from the coastal artillery of Karachi as originating from Pakistani aircraft and retreated hurriedly before they could properly target the tanks. [12] 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. [11] Pakistani warships attempted to outsmart the Indian Navy by mingling with merchant shipping. To counter these moves, Operation Python was launched. [12]
Attack
On the night of 8/9 December 1971, at 10:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PKT), in rough seas, a small strike group consisting of the missile boat INS Vinash, equipped with four Styx missiles, and two multipurpose frigates, INS Talwar and INS Trishul, approached Manora, a peninsula south of the Port of Karachi. During their voyage, a Pakistani patrol vessel was encountered and sunk. The Indian Navy's official historian, Vice Admiral Hiranandani in his book Transition to Triumph, mentioned that while the group approached Karachi, Trishul's electronic surveillance revealed that the radar there had stopped rotating and was directed straight at the group, confirming that it had been detected. [13]
Around 11.00 pm (PKT), the group detected a batch of ships at a distance of 12 nmi (22 km; 14 mi). Vinash immediately fired all four of its missiles, the first of which struck the fuel tanks at the Kemari Oil Farm causing a heavy explosion. Another missile hit and sank the Panamanian fuel tanker SS Gulf Star. The third and fourth missiles hit the Pakistani Navy fleet tanker PNS Dacca and the British merchant ship SS Harmattan. Dacca was damaged beyond repair, while Harmattan sank. As Vinash had now expended all of its missiles, the group immediately withdrew to the nearest Indian port. [14]
Between Operations Trident and Python, and the Indian Air Force attacks on Karachi's fuel and ammunition depots, more than fifty percent of the total fuel requirement of the Karachi zone was reported to have been destroyed. The result was a crippling economic blow to Pakistan. The damage was estimated to be worth $3 billion, with most of the oil reserves [1] and ammunition warehouses and workshops destroyed. The Pakistan Air Force was also affected by the loss of fuel. [12]
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.
HMS Cadiz was a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was named after the Battle of Cádiz, in which the French besieged the Spanish town in 1810, which was eventually lifted in 1812 after the French defeat at the Battle of Salamanca.
A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They are similar in concept to the torpedo boats of World War II; in fact, the first missile boats were modified torpedo boats with the torpedo tubes replaced by missile tubes.
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 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.
Naval tactics and doctrine is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy ship or fleet in battle at sea during naval warfare, the naval equivalent of military tactics on land.
The Vidyut-class missile boats of the Indian Navy were an Indian variant of the Soviet Osa I class.
INS Veer (K82) (Brave) was a Vidyut-class missile boat of the Indian Navy.
INS Vinash (K85) (Destruction) was a Vidyut-class missile boat of the 25th Killer Missile Boat Squadron of the Indian Navy.
INS Nipat (K86) was a Vidyut-class missile boat of the Indian Navy. It was part of the 25th "Killer" Missile squadron.
'INS Nirghat (K89) was a Vidyut-class missile boat of the Indian Navy.
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.
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.
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.
PNS Zulfiqar was a River-class frigate of the Pakistan Navy, originally built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War as HMS Deveron. Zulfiqar was damaged beyond repair by friendly fire from aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) which mistook her for a missile boat of the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
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.
Commodore Babru Bhan Yadav, MVC, also known as B.B. Yadav, was a former Indian Navy Officer. He led the 25th Missile Boat Squadron during Operation Trident in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
The Western Fleet is a Naval fleet of the Indian Navy. It is known as the 'Sword Arm' of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered at Mumbai, Maharashtra on the west coast of India. It is a part of the Western Naval Command and is responsible for the naval forces in the Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.
Vice Admiral Elenjikal Chandy Kuruvila, PVSM, AVSM was a former Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the Fleet commander of the Western Fleet during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, for which he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. He later led the Southern Naval Area and then served as the chairman and managing director of Mazagon Dock Limited.
India 
Pakistan 
Indian Navy 
Pakistan Navy 
