Starting as the only submarine in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, Ghazi remained the Pakistan Navy's flagship submarine until she sank under mysterious circumstances near India's eastern coast while conducting naval operations en route to the Bay of Bengal.[17] While the Indian Navy credits Ghazi's sinking to its destroyerINSRajput,[18][19][20][21][22] the Pakistani military oversights and reviews stated that "the submarine sank due to either an internal explosion or accidental detonation of mines being laid by the submarine off the Visakhapatnam harbour".[23][24][25][26][27]
In 2010, it was revealed the Indian Navy destroyed all records of their investigations into this matter in 1980 after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[7][28][29][30] Nonetheless, Indian historians consider the sinking of Ghazi to be a notable event; as they have described the sinking as one of the "last unsolved greatest mysteries of the 1971 war."[27][31][32]
She was the only warship of the United States Navy to be named Diablo, which means "devil" in Spanish.:134–135[37] The submarine's assigned and issued insignia patch identified the caricature image of the devil running with a torpedo in the sea.[38]
After being commissioned at the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 31 March 1945, Diablo arrived at Pearl Harbor from New London, Connecticut on 21 July and sailed on her first war patrol on 10 August with instructions to stop at Saipan for final orders.[36] With the ceasefire, her destination was changed to Guam where she arrived on 22 August 1945.[1] On the last day of the month, she got underway for Pearl Harbor and the East Coast arriving at New York City on 11 October, except for a visit to Charleston, South Carolina in October where she remained at New York until 8 January 1946.[35]
From 15 January 1946 to 27 April 1949, Diablo was based in the Panama Canal Zone participating in fleet exercises and rendering services to surface units in the Caribbean Sea.[2] From 23 August to 2 October 1947, she joined the submarines Cutlass and Conger for a simulated war patrol down the west coast of South America and around Tierra del Fuego.[12] The three submarines called at Valparaíso, Chile, in September while homeward bound. Diablo sailed to Key West, Florida, for antisubmarine warfare exercises, from 16 November to 9 December 1947, and operated from New Orleans, Louisiana, for the training of naval reservists in March 1948.[12]
Diablo arrived at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, her new home port, on 5 June 1949, and participated in Operation Convex in 1951, and alternated training cruises with duty at the Sonar School at Key West.[1] Her homeport became New London in 1952 and she arrived there 17 September to provide training facilities for the Submarine School.[33]
From 3 May to 1 June 1954, she was attached to the Operational Development Force at Key West for tests of new weapons and equipment.[33] She participated in Operation Springboard in the Caribbean from 21 February to 28 March 1955, and continued to alternate service with the Submarine School with antisubmarine warfare and fleet exercises in the Caribbean and off Bermuda, as well as rendering services to the Fleet Sonar School and Operational Development Force at Key West.[35] Between February and April 1959, she cruised through the Panama Canal along the coasts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile for exercises with South American navies.[33] On 27 May 1960, she entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for an overhaul which continued until October 1960.[36]
The procurement and acquisition of Ghazi was a result of lengthy and complicated negotiation between the administrations of Pakistan and the United States.:57–60[39] Since the 1950s the Pakistan Navy had been seeking to procure imported submarines, initially negotiating with the Royal Navy and subsequently also with the United States Navy.:58[39]
Ghazi was the first submarine to be operated by a Navy in South Asia, becoming a serious threat to the Indian Navy.[39][40]:60 Contrary to popular perception, Ghazi technological feats were downgraded and extensively refitted its Fleet Snorkel under the Guppy program of the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Dockyard, and was mostly unmodernized when she joined the services of Pakistan Navy.:61[39] Naval historians had described Ghazi as an unarmed "clockwork mouse" used for training purposes.:61[37][39]:135–136 Nonetheless, the Indian Navy immediately was under the impression that it was militarized and an updated submarine that posed a serious threat.:59[39]
She was fitted with 14 vintage Mark-14 torpedoes which had the controversy and notoriety of its own during World War II.[3] On 4 September 1964 she arrived at the Naval Dockyard in Karachi and joined the Navy as its first long-range fast-attack submarine.[41] She was named and designated as Ghazi (lit. Holiest Warrior) by the Pakistan Navy in 1964.:136[37]
On 17 September 1965 Ghazi made a surface contact and identified INS Brahmaputra and fired three World War II-era Mark 14 torpedoes and increased depth to evade counterattack.[3] According to submarine war logs three distinct explosions were heard at about the time when the torpedoes should have impacted but Brahmaputra was not sunk, neither had it been hit since the warship did not release depth charges nor had it detected the Sonar Emissions of the Ghazi.[3] No ships were sunk or damaged in the area and Ghazi safely reported back to base.[3]
Upon her return she won ten war awards including two decorations of Sitara-e-Jurat, one Tamgha-i-Jurat and the President's citations and six Imtiazi Sanads while her commander, Cdr. K.R. Niazi was decorated with the Sitara-e-Jurat and chief petty officers were decorated with the Tamgha-i-Jurat.[41][42] It is not known what Ghazi's target was or what the three mysterious explosions were since no inquiry report was ever submitted.[3]
After the war in 1965–66 an arms embargo was placed on both India and Pakistan, but was later waived by the United States, strictly based on the cash and carry method as Ghazi badly needing refitting.[3] In 1967 the Navy applied to renew another four-year lease deal which was duly approved by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Government but her material state and equipment continued to deteriorate.:108[16] The Navy then signed a deal with the Turkish Navy for a refit and mid-life update that was to be carried out at Gölcük in Turkey – the only facility to update the Tench-class submarines.[3]
During her submerged circumnavigation voyage she briefly stopped at Mombasa, Kenya for refueling and, in Maputo, Mozambique before making a farewell visit at Simon's Town, South Africa.[6] After passing the Cape of Good Hope, she made another stopover at Luanda, Angola for victualing and continued her journey towards Western Europe to stopover at Toulon, France, where she was greeted by the French Navy.[6] Her final stopover was at İzmir in Turkey and she continued submerged through the east coast of the Sea of Marmara to dock at the Gölcük Naval Shipyard, which was the only facility to upgrade the Tench-class based computers and other electromechanical equipment.[6] It took her two months to complete her circumnavigation of Africa and Europe.[6]
Refitting and mid-life upgrading of her military computers reportedly cost ~$1.5 million ($11.1 million in 2015–16).[3] The program started in March 1968 and completed in April 1970 and it is believed that the U.S-made ill-fitted World War II era Mk.14/Mk.10naval mines were bought "secretly" from Turkey.[3]
Under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Yousaf Raza, Ghazi returned to Karachi coast after successfully completing the submerged circumnavigation of Africa which was taken in order to undergo a refitting program and mid-life updates of her military computers on 2 April 1970.:108[16][6]
In August 1971 the Indian Navy transferred INS Vikrant, its aircraft carrier, to the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, which forced the Pakistan Navy to adjust its submarine operations.[3] Before 1971 there were several proposals made to the Ayub administration to strengthen the naval defence of East Pakistan, but none were made feasible and the Navy was in no position to mount a defence against approaching Indian naval advances.[41] After the defection of Pakistan Navy's Bengali officers and sailors to India, the Eastern Command (Pakistan) was under intense pressure to counter the insurgency and the advance of the Indian Army towards East Pakistan on three fronts.[41] The Yahya administration insisted the Navy attempt to reinforce the naval defence of the East while the Navy NHQ objected to the idea of deploying Ghazi in the total absence of a seaport, straying away from their original plan.[41] Many senior commanders had felt that the deployment of Ghazi was highly dangerous and impossible to achieve by sending the obsolete submarine behind enemy lines but deployment came when it became apparent that war was inevitable.[41]
Prior to her deployment Ghazi continued to experience equipment failures and reportedly had aging issues. Since it was the only submarine of the Pakistan Navy and had the range and capability to undertake operations in the distant waters controlled by India, Ghazi was pressed into operation to destroy or damage Vikrant.[44] On 14 November 1971 she quietly sailed 3,000 miles (4,800km) around the Indian peninsula from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal under the command of Zafar Muhammad, who commanded a submarine for the first time, with 10 officers and 82 sailors.[3][41]Ghazi was on a two-fold mission: the primary goal was to locate and sinkVikrant and secondary was to mine India's eastern seaboard, which was to be fulfilled irrespective of the accomplishment of the first.[3]
Another problem faced by PNS Ghazi was the poor conditions of maintenance facilities at Chittagong port in East Pakistan.[45]
Fate
The mysterious sinking of Ghazi took place on 4December 1971 during its hunt to find Vikrant and/or during the minelaying mission on the Visakhapatnam Port, Bay of Bengal.[44] The cause of the sinking is still unknown, and Indian and Pakistani sources have different views.
On 16 November she was in contact with the Navy NHQ and Commander Khan charted the coordinates that reported that she was 400 kilometres (250mi) off Bombay.:82[46] On 19 November she was off to Sri Lanka and entered the Bay of Bengal on 20 November 1971.:82[46] Around this time the Top Secret files were opened as instructed and the hunt for INS Vikrant began on 23 November and PNS Ghazi was off to Madras where reportedly the Indian aircraft carrier was stationed, but she was 10days late and INS Vikrant was now actually somewhere near the Andaman Islands.:82[46][47] Unable to detect her target, PNS Ghazi's commanders became disillusioned about their hunt for Vikrant and turned back to Visakhapatnam to start laying mines off the harbour with a confidence that it would take a swipe at INS Vikrant or at least bottle up the Indian Navy's heavy units clustered in this major Indian naval base on the night of 2–3 December 1971."[41]
On 1 December 1971, Vice AdmiralNilakanta Krishnan briefed Captain Inder Singh, the commanding officer of INSRajput, that a Pakistani submarine had been sighted off the Sri Lankan coast and was absolutely certain that the submarine would be somewhere around Madras or Visakhapatnam.[48] He made it clear that once INS Rajput had completed refueling she must leave the harbor with all navigational aids switched off.[48]
According to Indian claims at 23:40 on 3 December 1971, taking on board a pilot, INS Rajput moved through the channel to the exit from Visakhapatnam.[48][49]
At midnight, shortly after passing the entrance buoy, the starboard lookout reported a breaker on the surface of the water right on the nose. According to the Indian Navy's claims, Captain Singh changed the course at full speed across the specified point and ordered to drop two depth charges, which was done.[48] The explosions were "stunning", and Rajput suffered a serious material concussion to its structure. However, visible results of this attack are not given.[48] INS Rajput for some time surveyed the area dumping bombs, no longer found any contact — either visual or acoustic. A few minutes later the destroyer continued her way to the coast of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).[48][49]
On the night of 4–5 December 1971, Ghazi sank with all 93 servicemen on board (11 officers and 82 enlisted[50]) under mysterious circumstances:157[44][51] off the Visakhapatnam coast, allowing the Indian Navy to effect a naval blockade of East Pakistan.:157[51]
According to Indian DNI's director Rear-Admiral Mihir K. Roy, Ghazi's existence was revealed when a signal addressed to naval authorities in Chittagong was intercepted, requesting information on a lubrication oil only used by submarines and minesweepers.[44][52]
Indian Navy intelligence tracked Ghazi with a codename issued as Kali Devi,[5] and the Indian Navy began to realize that the Pakistanis would inevitably be forced to send their submarine Ghazi to the Bay of Bengal, as the sole ship which could operate in these waters.[5]
Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan of the Eastern Naval Command had maintained that it was clear that Pakistan would have deployed Ghazi in the Bay of Bengal and a part of its plan was an attempt to sink the Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant.[3] At the same time concerted action was taken to disseminate misinformation designed to mislead the enemy about the true location of the aircraft carrier, and to foster confidence that the carrier was stationed at Visakhapatnam.[3][48] In particular the D 41 Rajput was instructed to move from Vishakhapatnam to Madras, sending signals as if it were the Vikrant.
All these activities were apparently successful in deceiving Ghazi when on 25 November 1971, the Navy NHQ communicated with Ghazi that stated: "Intel indicates carrier in port".[49]
Aftermath
On 26 November 1971, Ghazi was expected to communicate with the Navy NHQ to submit its mission report but did not communicate with its base.[53] The Navy NHQ repeatedly made frantic efforts to establish the communication and anxiety grew as days passed for her return to the base.[53] Before the naval hostilities broke out, commanding officers had started worrying about Ghazi's fate but the Navy NHQ senior command had replied to their junior officers that several reasons could be attributed to the failure of the submarine to communicate.[53]
On 9 December, the Indian Navy issued a statement about the fate of Ghazi. The first indication of Ghazi's fate came when a message from the Indian NHQ, claiming sinking of Ghazi on the night of 3 December, was intercepted.[53] The Indian NHQ issued the statement a few hours before the loss of INSKhukri, and prior to launch of second missile attack on Karachi port.[53]
Indian version
After the ceasefire in 1971, the Government of India undertook an investigation into the incident and immediately claimed that the submarine was sunk following the series of manoeuvres by the Indian Navy.[53] A submarine rescue vessel, INSKaranj was sent to check the debris and India later built a "Victory at Sea Memorial" on the coast near where Ghazi was sunk.[54] India credits the INS Rajput for sinking Ghazi and her crew were honored with gallantry awards for this event, but the actual details of Ghazi's sinking became unclear, as new narratives soon began to emerge after the war.[2]
The claim of sinking Ghazi has been the centre of controversy between the Indian authors, giving doubts in their theories of mysterious sinking of the submarine.[53] With Commodore Ranjit Roy testifying that "very loud explosion effects were heard at the beach that came from underwater."[53] Commodore Roy also concluded that "...at that time, how the Ghazi was sunk remained unclear as it does today."[53]
The official history of the Indian Navy, Transition to Triumph, authored by retired Vice-Admiral G.M. Hiranandani, gave an exhaustive account of the sinking of Ghazi. He quoted naval records and top naval officials who commanded operations on the eastern seafront as saying that INSRajput was sent from Visakhapatnam to track down Ghazi. The book also noted that the time of dropping of the charges, the explosion which was heard by the people of Visakhapatnam and that of a clock recovered from Ghazi, matched.[55] However, Admiral Hiranandani maintained that the submarine almost certainly suffered an internal explosion but its causes are debatable.[27]
Admiral Roy of India stated: "The theories propounded earlier by some who were unaware of the ruse de guerre (attempt to fool the enemy in wartime) leading to the sinking of the first submarine in the Indian Ocean gave rise to smirks from within our own (Indian) naval service for an operation which instead merited a Bravo Zulu (flag hoist for Well Done)".[52]
Admiral S. M. Nanda, Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy during the conflict, stated: "In narrow channels, ships, during an emergency or war, always throw depth charges around them to deter submarines. One of them probably hit the Ghazi. The blow-up was there, but nobody knew what it was all about until the fisherman found the life jacket".[56]
In 2003, the Indian Navy again sent its divers to overlook its investigation and the divers recovered some items including the war logs, official backup tapes from her computers, and mission files that were sent to the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. The divers who studied the wreckage confirmed that the submarine must have suffered an internal explosion which blew up its mines and torpedoes.[57] Another theory suggests an explosion of hydrogen gas which built up inside the submarine while its batteries were being charged underwater.[27]
In 2010, Lieutenant-GeneralJ. F. R. Jacob of Eastern Command mentioned in an article that "Ghazi was destroyed in an accident in which Indian Navy was not involved. There were many opinions from authors of the Indian side who also shared this scepticism of the Indian Navy’s official stance."[58] Jacob also stated in the article that the Indian Navy had no information about the sinking of Ghazi until they were informed by the local fishermen the next day.[30]
In 2010, it was reported that the Indian Navy had destroyed all records of the sinking of the submarine Ghazi.[28][29][30] Vice Admiral G. M. Hiranandani, who was tasked with writing the official history of the navy, said that he was unable to obtain any old files regarding Ghazi sinking.[59] One of the retired navy officer who saw action in 1971 said that the destruction of the Ghazi papers and those of the army in Kolkata depicts the many instances when Indian war history has been deliberately falsified. He further stated that 'We have enough heroes. In the fog of war, many myths and false heroes may have been created and many honest ones left unsung'.[7]
In 2011, former Indian naval chief, Admiral Arun Prakash quoted in the national security conference that [Ghazi] had sunk under mysterious circumstances, "not by INS Rajput as originally claimed."[60][61] Parkash later published an article in Indian media in 2021 in which he stated that PNS Ghazi sank due to an internal explosion.[62]
It was only on 10 February 1972, when the incident was officially recognised by the Government of Pakistan and then-PresidentZulfikar Bhutto met with the grieving families and loved ones of the officers and sailors who served in Ghazi, and told them that they may have all perished due to this incident as many of the slain family members were pushing for repatriation to the Government of Pakistan as they were keeping the hope alive that they may have survived and rescued by India.[53]
The Naval Intelligence conducted its own investigations and its military oversights stated that Ghazi sank, when the mines it was laying, were accidentally detonated.[64] Pakistani military oversights into this incident were not immediate. Instead, the Naval Intelligence took time to conclude its investigations that went on for several years.[3] Over the decades, the military oversights were kept hidden and were not known to the public until 1990s when the Navy made an announcement over the completion of its insights into this incident.[3][41] Following this announcement, Pakistan addressed the problems connecting the electromechanical failures, computer problems, and Mk.14 torpedoes' "circular deep running" once launched from the firing ship.[3]
Pakistan never accepted the theory from the Indian Navy but provided its alternative insights into this disaster based on the investigations on the Mark 14 torpedoes and other vintage military equipment installed in Ghazi.[3] According to the Pakistan Navy's investigation, there were two probable reasons connecting to this mishappening:
*Detonation of a mine inside the submarine: This was often cited by the Pakistan Navy as the World War II-era Mk.10/Mk.14 torpedoes may have deep "circular" run, failing to straighten its run once set on its prescribed gyro-angle setting, and instead, to run in a large circle, thus returning to strike the firing ship.[41][64][65][66]
Another theory from foreign experts, also favoured by Pakistan, is that the explosiveshock waves from one of the depth charges set off the torpedoes and mines (some of which may have been armed for laying) stored aboard the submarine.[48][53] The Navy NHQ counter-argued: Ghazi itself may have inadvertently passed over the mines during the mine laying operations; patrolling Indian vessels or Indian depth charges might also have tripped the count mechanism of one or more mines.[53] Credibility is added to this story by the later discovery made by Indian Coast Guard divers in 2003, that the damaged parts of the submarine had been blown inside out.[48][67]
From information found in the investigation conducted on the cause of the loss of the American submarine USS Cochino, it is possible that the lead-acid battery vented explosive hydrogen gas while charging underwater.[68]:215 Henceforth the hydrogen gas, if not properly vented, could have accumulated into an explosive concentration.[68]:215
In addition, the NI's investigations also exposed the deployment of Ghazi when it was indicated that there was no indication that Ghazi's crew had ever practiced with mines, and most of its crew including its commanding officer were relatively new to the submarine for the magnitude of this type of deployment.[3] As opposed to the U.S. Navy service which had restricted to the personnel of 81, the Ghazi's complement was about 93, the award, Star of Courage, acknowledged that were there were 12 extra personnel aboard the boat at the time of its sinking.[69] An increase in the sub's total complement would put a strain on the logistical capabilities of a patrol because it reduces its duration.
In 2006, Pakistan, citing their evidences, rejected India's claim of sinking Ghazi and termed the claims as "false and utterly absurd".[4]
Neutral witnesses and assessments
An independent testimony stems from an Egyptian naval officer who was at that time serving on an Egyptian submarine which was undergoing refit in the harbour. He has confirmed the occurrence of a powerful explosion in the vicinity of the harbor late at night. There were no naval ships, as reported by this officer, outside the harbor at that time and it was not until about an hour after the explosion that two Indian naval ships were observed leaving harbor.[70][71]
Some independent writers and investigators maintained Ghazi was sunk mysteriously not by two depth charges alone, Ghazi may have sunk either by the hydrogen explosion produced when the batteries were charging, or by the detonation of a mine, or either by the sea floor impact while trying to avoid the depth charge released by INS Rajput.[3][27][5]
In 2012, Pakistani investigative journalists from The Express Tribune who were affiliated with the Express News USA based in Washington D.C. were able to get in touch with Diablo's retired and now-aged former US Navy crew members who were allowed to study the sonar pictures and sketches of the sunken vessel where they believed that: "an explosion in the Forward Torpedo Room (FTR) destroyed the Ghazi."[58] This view is also shared by Indian journalist Sandeep Unnithan, who specializes in military and strategic analysis.[58][72]
Recovery of sunken vessel
In 1972, both the United States and the Soviet Union offered to raise the submarine to the surface at their expense.[52] The Government of India, however, rejected these offers and allowed the submarine to sink further into the mud off the fairway buoy of Visakhapatnam.[52]
In 2003, Indian Navy divers recovered a few items from the submarine and brought up six bodies of Pakistani servicemen when they blasted their way into the submarine.[27] All six servicemen were given military honorary burial by the Indian Navy. Items recovered were the back-up tapes of the radar computers, war logs, broken windshield, top secret files, as well as one of the bodies of a petty officermechanical engineer (POME) who had a wheel spanner tightly grasped in his fist.[27] Another sailor had in his pocket a letter written in Urdu to his fiancée.[27]
In 2003, additional photos were released by the Indian Navy of the vessel.[27]
In 1972, Ghazi and her serving officers as well as crew members were honoured with gallantry awards by the Government of Pakistan.[8][73] After the war, PresidentRichard Nixon forgave the remaining debt of Ghazi to Pakistan when the U.S. Navy's CNO Admiral Elmo Zumwalt visited Admiral Mohammad Shariff in Calcutta in 1972.:219–226[52] In addition, she remained the first and to-date the only U.S.-built submarine to have served in the Pakistan Navy, although in successive years, only surface warships had been acquired through transfers from the United States as Pakistan worked towards building its own long-range submarines, the Agosta 90B, through a technology transfer from France.[74]
At the Naval Dockyard in Karachi, a 'Ghazi Monument' was built to perpetuate the memory of the submarine and its 93 men.[69] In 1974, the naval base, PNSZafar, was commissioned and constructed in the memory of Commander Zafar Muhammad Khan that now serves as the headquarter for Northern Naval Command.[69] In 1975, the Navy acquired the Albacora-class submarine from the Portuguese Navy and named it Ghazi (S-134), in memory of PNS Ghazi.[75]
Her loss to the Pakistan Navy through an accident was a watershed and a significant event, leading the Navy's engineering to the implementation of a rigorous submarine safety programme.[53]
In 1998, the Inter-Services Public Relations produced and released the film, Ghazi Shaheed which starred Shabbir Jan as commander of Ghazi, and Mishi Khan as Commander's wife; the film is based on the events involving Ghazi's mission and the lives of men who served in Ghazi.[76] Another movie, Untold Stories: Ghazi and Hangor were sponsored and released by the ISPR to commemorate Ghazi and her crew during their missions in 1971.[73] In 2017, an Indian film was based on this submarine attack named The Ghazi Attack.
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.
PNS/M Hangor (S-131) was a Daphné-class diesel-electric submarine that served in the Pakistan Navy from 1969 until its decommissioning in 2006. It is the first submarine to sink a ship after World War II.
The Pakistan Navy (PN) is the uniform naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The President of Pakistan is the Supreme Commander of the Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral commands the navy. The Pakistan Navy operates on the coastline of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. It was established in August 1947, following the independence of Pakistan from the United Kingdom.
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.
Vice Admiral Ahmad TasnimHI(M) SJ & Bar SI(M) SBt is a retired three-star rank admiral in the Pakistan Navy who is notable for his command of the Hangor, a submarine, that sank the INS Khukri on 8 December 1971 during the third war with India, off the Diu, Gujarat in India.
Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas 'Charles' Nanda, PVSM, AVSM was an Indian Navy admiral who served as the 7th 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. He is one of the most notable commanders of the Indian Navy.
Admiral Tariq Kamal KhanNI(M) HI(M) SI(M) LoM, is a retired four-star rank admiral and a former diplomat who served as a Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of Pakistan Navy from being appointed in 1983 until retiring from his service in 1986.
Admiral Karamat Rahman NiaziNI(M) HI(M) SJ was a senior officer of Pakistan Navy who served as the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) from 1979 to 1983 of Pakistan Navy.
Commander Zafar Muhammad Khan was a naval officer in the Pakistan Navy who was the Captain and Commanding Officer of PNS Ghazi 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 Hilal-i-Jur'at for their actions.
The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocean and the naval establishments on the east coast of India.
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.
Ghazi Shaheed is a 1998 thriller drama film based on the disasters that befell the PNS Ghazi on Bay of Bengal. It was directed by Kazim Pasha and stars Shabbir Jan as Commander Zafar Khan and Adnan Jilani as Lieutenant-Commander Pervez Hameed. The film was financed and produced by the ISPR and the Navy and was filmed mostly in the Arabian Sea.
Ghazi is a 2017 Indian war film written and directed by Sankalp Reddy. The film is produced in the Telugu film industry, and is shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi languages, with the latter titled as The Ghazi Attack. The film stars Kay Kay Menon, Atul Kulkarni, Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu and Satya Dev. The film grossed over ₹345 million (US$4.3 million) on a budget of ₹150 million (US$1.9 million).
The Victory at Sea Memorial is an Indian memorial constructed after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 which is dedicated to the Indian Navy and the Eastern Naval Command sailors. It was constructed in 1996. It is located on Beach Road, Visakhapatnam.
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.
The Eastern Fleet is a Naval fleet of the Indian Navy. It is known as the 'Sword Arm' of the Eastern Naval Command and called the Sunrise Fleet. It is headquartered at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on the east coast of India. It is a part of the Eastern Naval Command and is responsible for the naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocean.
Vice Admiral Swaraj Parkash, PVSM, MVC, AVSM was a Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the Captain of the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 for which he was decorated with India's second-highest military decoration, the Maha Vir Chakra. He later served as the second Director General of the Indian Coast Guard from 1980 to 1982.
Vice Admiral Mihir Kumar 'Micky' Roy, PVSM, AVSM was a flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.
Rear Admiral Arun Auditto, AVSM, NM was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He was decorated with a gallantry award during the Liberation of Goa. A pioneer submariner in the Indian Navy, he was the commissioning Commanding Officer of the Kalvari-class submarine INS Kursura (S20), which he commanded during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He later commanded the submarine base INS Virbahu and the Whitby-class frigate INS Trishul (F143). After promotion to flag rank, he served as the Fortress Commander, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (FORTAN) and as the first Flag Officer Submarines, before retiring in 1988.
↑ "The truth behind the Navy's 'sinking' of Ghazi". Sify News website. 25 May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010. After the war, however, teams of divers confirmed that it was an internal explosion that sank the Ghazi.
1 2 3 4 Till, Geoffrey (2004). Seapower: a guide for the twenty-first century. Great Britain: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 179. ISBN0-7146-8436-8. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
1 2 3 Mulki, Muhammad Abid (27 May 2012). "Warriors of the waves". The Express Tribune. Pakistan: The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
↑ Lodhi, Lieutenant-General S.F.S. (January 2000). "An Agosta Submarine for Pakistan". www.defencejournal.com. Defence Journal, General Lodhi. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
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