History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Deveron |
Builder | Smith's Dock Co Ltd |
Laid down | 16 April 1942 |
Launched | 12 October 1942 |
Commissioned | 2 March 1943 |
Fate | Transferred to India as HMIS Dhanush in 1945 |
India | |
Name | HMIS Dhanush |
Commissioned | 1945 |
Decommissioned | 1947 |
Fate | Transferred to Pakistan as PNS Dhanush |
Pakistan | |
Name | PNS Zulfiqar |
Namesake | Sword |
Builder | Smiths Dock Co. in South Bank in England |
Laid down | 16 April 1942 |
Launched | 12 October 1942 |
Identification | Pennant number: F265 changed to F262 in 1963 |
Fate | Damaged beyond repair December 1971. Scrapped in 1983 [1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | River-class frigate |
Displacement |
|
Length | 91.9 m (301 ft 6 in) |
Beam | 11.2 metres (37 ft) |
Draught | 3.8 metres (12 ft) |
Propulsion | 2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) |
Speed | 20 kn (37 km/h) maximum |
Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) |
Complement | 150, 20 officers, 130 enlists |
Armament |
|
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. [2]
Following service in the Second World War, Deveron was transferred to the Royal Indian Navy in 1945 and was renamed HMIS Dhanush. [3] On Partition she was transferred to the Royal Pakistan Navy and converted into a survey vessel, as well as being renamed Zulfiqar. [4] The conversion meant the rear 4-inch gun was removed. Her pennant number was changed from F265 to 262 in 1963. [5]
In June 1953 she attended the Coronation Review of Queen Elizabeth II at Spithead. [6]
She was decommissioned in 1983.
The Pakistan Navy, on high alert as a result of the first missile attack (Ops: Trident), raised a number of false alarms in the ensuing days about the presence of Indian Navy vessels off Karachi. One such false alarm was raised by a PIA Fokker Friendship reconnaissance aircraft carrying naval observers, in the early hours of 6 December 1971 which reported a Pakistan Navy frigate as a missile boat of the Indian Navy, in the area west of Cape Monze on the Pakistani coast. [2]
The Pakistan Air Force, giving air support to the Pakistan Navy at Karachi, had received the report. Clearance was given to attack by Cdre. A. W. Bhombal from the Pakistan Navy. [2]
At 0645 hrs, the F-86 jets were scrambled which strafed the vessel before it was identified as the Pakistan Navy's own frigate Zulfiqar. [7] During the aerial attack Zulfiqar was hit by more than 900 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition, killing several officers and men, with many more injured. [8] The air attack on Zulfiqar was halted after frantic efforts by her crew to identify their ship as a Pakistan Navy vessel finally succeeded. [2]
The incident was monitored by the Indian Navy on radio and revealed the following points:
This incident vindicated the decision to proceed with second missile attacks (Ops: Python), which was being debated after a PAF attack on Okha on the night of 5/6 December 1971. It also prompted the Pakistan Navy to withdraw the Pakistan combat fleet closer to the Pakistan's shore. [2]
The shelling of Zulfiqar was a matter of interservice conflict between the Navy and the Air Force, in which the Air Force alleged the Navy was disregarding the "sense of camaraderie". [7] Responding to this incident, the PAF contested the claims made by the Indian Navy by holding Cdre. Bhombal responsible for giving the clearance when the Air Force's Board of Inquiry reportedly quoted: "[the] Navy unfortunately seems to have forgotten the sense of camaraderie and air support which was provided from the scarce resources with readiness." [7]
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.
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.
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.
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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".
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.
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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.
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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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