Royal Indian Navy

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Royal Indian Navy
Crest of the Royal Indian Navy (1947).svg
Active5 September 1612 – 26 January 1950 [1]
CountryIndia
Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg Company Raj
British Raj Red Ensign.svg  India
Flag of India.svg  Dominion of India
Type Navy
Size20,000 personnel During WW2 (1943) [2] to 9,600 personnel by Independence after post war demobilization (1947) [3] [4]
Garrison/HQ Bombay
Nickname(s)RIN
Engagements Seven Years' War
American War of Independence
Napoleonic Wars
Anglo-Burmese Wars
First Opium War
Second Opium War
First World War
Second World War
Insignia
Naval Ensign (1877-1928) [5] & Naval Jack (1928-1947) [6] Flag of Imperial India.svg
Naval Ensign (1928-1950) Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg

The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India.

Contents

From its origins in 1612 as the East India Company's Marine, the Navy underwent various changes, including changes to its name. Over time it was named the Bombay Marine (1686), the Bombay Marine Corps (1829), the Indian Navy (1830), Her Majesty's Indian Navy (1858), the Bombay and Bengal Marine (1863), the Indian Defence Force (1871), Her Majesty's Indian Marine (1877) and the Royal Indian Marine (1892). It was finally named the Royal Indian Navy in 1934. However, it remained a relatively small force until the Second World War, when it was greatly expanded.

After the partition of India into two independent states in 1947, the Navy was split between India and Pakistan. One-third of the assets and personnel were assigned to the Royal Pakistan Navy. Approximately two thirds of the fleet remained with the Union of India, as did all land assets within its territory. This force, still under the name of "Royal Indian Navy", became the navy of the Dominion of India until the country became a republic on 26 January 1950. It was then renamed the Indian Navy.

History

Sailors of the Indian Navy breaching the Delhi gates during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Indian Navy 1857.JPG
Sailors of the Indian Navy breaching the Delhi gates during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Organisation of Royal Indian Marine, 1914 Organisation of Royal Indian Marine, 1914.svg
Organisation of Royal Indian Marine, 1914
HMIS Bombay in Sydney Harbour, 1942. HMIS Bombay (305827).jpg
HMIS Bombay in Sydney Harbour, 1942.
Royal Indian Naval personnel on board a landing craft during combined operations off Myebon, Burma, January 1945. Commonwealth Forces in Burma IND4428.jpg
Royal Indian Naval personnel on board a landing craft during combined operations off Myebon, Burma, January 1945.
HMIS Sutlej leaves Hong Kong for Japan as part of the Allied forces of occupation. The Allied Occupation of Japan IND5225.jpg
HMIS Sutlej leaves Hong Kong for Japan as part of the Allied forces of occupation.

East India Company

1612–1830, the Bombay Marine

The East India Company was established in 1599, and it began to create a fleet of fighting ships in 1612, soon after Captain Thomas Best defeated the Portuguese at the Battle of Swally. This led the company to build a port and to establish a small navy based at Suvali, in Surat, Gujarat, to protect its trade routes. The Company named the force the 'Honourable East India Company's Marine', and the first fighting ships arrived on 5 September 1612. [7]

This force protected merchant shipping off the Gulf of Cambay and the rivers Tapti and Narmada. The ships also helped map the coastlines of India, Persia and Arabia. [8] During the 17th century, the small naval fleet consisted of a few English warships and a large number of locally built gunboats of two types, ghurabs and gallivats , crewed by local fishermen. The larger ghurabs were heavy, shallow-draft gunboats of 300 tons (bm) each, and carried six 9 to 12-pounder guns; the smaller gallivats were about 70 tons (bm) each and carried six 2 to 4-pounder guns. [9] In 1635, the East India Company established a shipyard at Surat, where they built four pinnaces and a few larger vessels to supplement their fleet. [10]

In 1686, with most of the English commerce moving to Bombay, the force was renamed the "Bombay Marine". [7] This force fought the Marathas and the Sidis and took part in the Anglo-Burmese Wars. While it recruited Indian sailors extensively, it had no Indian commissioned officers. [8]

Commodore William James was appointed to command the Marine in 1751. On 2 April 1755, commanding the Bombay Marine's ship Protector, he attacked the Maratha fortress of Tulaji Angre at Severndroog between Bombay and Goa. James had instructions only to blockade the stronghold, but he was able to get close enough to bombard and destroy it. [8]

In February 1756, the Marine supported the capture of Gheriah (Vijaydurg Fort) by Robert Clive and Admiral Watson, and was active in skirmishes against the French, helping to consolidate the British position in India. [8] In 1809, a fleet of 12 ships of the Marine bombarded the city of Ras al-Khaimah, a pirate stronghold, in an unsuccessful attempt to quell Arab piracy. A subsequent mission in 1819 with 11 vessels proved successful in blockading the city for four days, after which the tribal chieftain surrendered.

In 1829, the "Bombay Marine" received the additional name of "Corps", and also received its first steam-powered vessel, HCS Hugh Lindsay. Steaming from Bombay on 20 March 1830, Hugh Lindsay reached Suez after 21 days under steam (plus coaling stops at Aden, Mocha, and Jeddah), at an average speed of six knots. [11] Between 1830 and 1854 the Indian Navy was responsible for maintaining mail service on the Bombay and Suez leg of the "overland route" (England–Alexandria, Alexandria–Suez overland, and Suez–Bombay).

1830–1858

In 1830, the Bombay Marine was renamed the "Indian Navy". The British capture of Aden in the Aden Expedition increased its commitments, leading to the creation of the "Indus Flotilla". The Navy then took part in the First Opium War of 1840. [8] By 1845, the Indian Navy had completed the conversion from sail to steam. [11]

In 1848, an Indian Navy contingent of 100 ratings and seven officers took part in the Siege of Multan during the Anglo-Sikh War. [12] In 1852, at the outset of the Second Anglo-Burmese War, ships of Her Majesty's Indian Navy joined a Royal Navy force under the command of Admiral Charles Austen to assist General Godwin in the capture of Martaban and Rangoon. [13]

Direct British rule in India

After the end of Company rule in India following the Indian rebellion of 1857, the force came under the command of the British government of India and was formally named "Her Majesty's Indian Navy". [8]

1858–1934

Her Majesty's Indian Navy resumed the name "Bombay Marine" from 1863 to 1877, when it was renamed "Her Majesty's Indian Marine" (HMIM). The Marine then had two divisions; an Eastern Division at Calcutta and a Western Division at Bombay.

Indian Marine Service Act 1884
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Long title An Act to provide for the regulation of Her Majesty's Indian Marine Service.
Citation 47 & 48 Vict. c. 38
Dates
Royal assent 28 July 1884

As the HMIM wasn't covered by Naval Discipline Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. 109) or the Merchant Shipping Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c. 104), the Governor General in Council was empowered to by the Indian Marine Service Act 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c. 3) [14] to help formulate maritime and naval laws. These laws were first formulated and codified in the "Indian Marine Act, 1887 [15] " and followed by an amendment act to the same in the next year. [16] The former adopted the general lines of the Naval Discipline and Indian Navy Acts as far as possible, whilst the latter merely supplied deficiencies in regard to grading and rating. [17]

In recognition of its fighting services, HMIM was given the title of "Royal Indian Marine" in 1892. By this time it consisted of over fifty vessels. [18] In 1905, the service was described as having "Government vessels engaged in troop-ship, surveying, police or revenue duties in the East Indies". [19]

When mines were detected off the coasts of Bombay and Aden, during the First World War, the Royal Indian Marine went into action with a fleet of minesweepers, patrol vessels and troop carriers. Besides patrolling, the Marine ferried troops and carried war stores from India to Mesopotamia (now Iraq), Egypt and East Africa.

The first Indian to be granted a commission was Engineer Sub-Lieutenant D.N. Mukherji, who joined the Royal Indian Marine as an officer on 6 January 1923. [20]

World War II

In 1934, the Royal Indian Marine changed its name, with the enactment of the Indian Navy (Discipline) Act 1934. The Royal Indian Navy was formally inaugurated on 2 October 1934, at Bombay. [21] Its ships carried the prefix HMIS, for His Majesty's Indian Ship. [22]

At the start of the Second World War, the Royal Indian Navy was small, with only eight warships. The onset of the war led to an expansion in vessels and personnel described by one writer as "phenomenal". By 1943 the strength of the RIN had reached twenty thousand. [2] During the war, the Women's Royal Indian Naval Service was established, for the first time giving women a role in the navy, although they did not serve on board its ships. [21]

During the course of the war, six anti-aircraft sloops and several fleet minesweepers were built in the United Kingdom for the RIN. After commissioning, many of these ships joined various escort groups operating in the northern approaches to the British Isles. HMIS Sutlej and HMIS Jumna, each armed with six high-angle 4-inch guns, were present during the Clyde "Blitz" of 1941 and assisted the defence of this area by providing anti-aircraft cover. For the next six months these two ships joined the Clyde Escort Force, operating in the Atlantic and later the Irish Sea Escort Force where they acted as the senior ships of the groups. While engaged on these duties, numerous attacks against U-boats were carried out and attacks by hostile aircraft repelled. At the time of action in which the German battleship Bismarck was involved, the Sutlej left Scapa Flow, with all despatch as the senior member of a group, to take over a convoy from the destroyers which were finally engaged in the sinking of the Bismarck. [23]

Later HMIS Cauvery, HMIS Kistna, HMIS Narbada, HMIS Godavari, also anti-aircraft sloops, completed similar periods in the U.K. waters escorting convoys in the Atlantic and dealing with attacks from hostile U-boats, aircraft and glider bombs. These six ships and the minesweepers all eventually proceeded to India carrying out various duties in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Cape stations en route. The fleet minesweepers were HMIS Kathiawar, HMIS Kumaon, HMIS Baluchistan, HMIS Carnatic, HMIS Khyber, HMIS Konkan, HMIS Orissa, HMIS Rajputana, HMIS Rohilkhand. [23]

Four Australian-built Bathurst-class sloops served with the RIN from 1943 onwards. These included HMIS Bengal, which was a part of the Eastern Fleet during World War II, and escorted numerous convoys between 1942 and 1945. [24]

The sloops HMIS Sutlej and HMIS Jumna played a role in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily by providing air defence and anti-submarine screening to the invasion fleet. [25] [26]

Furthermore, the Royal Indian Navy participated in convoy escort duties in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean and was heavily involved in combat operations as part of the Burma Campaign, carrying out raids, shore bombardment, naval invasion support and other activities. [27]

Royal Indian Naval combat losses

The sloop HMIS Pathan was sunk in June 1940 by the Italian Navy Submarine Galvani during the East African Campaign [28] [29] [30] [31]

In the days immediately following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, HMS Glasgow was patrolling the Laccadive Islands in search of Japanese ships and submarines. At midnight on 9 December 1941, HMS Glasgow sank the RIN patrol vessel HMIS Prabhavati with two lighters in tow en route to Karachi, with 6-inch shells at 6,000 yards (5,500 m). Prabhavati was alongside the lighters and was mistaken for a surfaced Japanese submarine. [32] [33] [34]

HMIS Indus was sunk by a Japanese aircraft during the Burma Campaign on 6 April 1942. [35]

Royal Indian Naval successes

HMIS Jumna was ordered in 1939, and built by William Denny and Brothers. She was commissioned in 1941, [36] and with World War II underway, was immediately deployed as a convoy escort. Jumna served as an anti-aircraft escort during the Java Sea campaign in early 1942, and was involved in intensive anti-aircraft action against attacking Japanese twin-engined level bombers and dive bombers, claiming five aircraft downed from 24 to 28 February 1942.

In June 1942, HMIS Bombay was involved in the defence of Sydney Harbour during the attack on Sydney Harbour.

On 11 November 1942, Bengal was escorting the Dutch tanker Ondina [37] to the southwest of Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. Two Japanese commerce raiders armed with six-inch guns attacked Ondina. Bengal fired her single four-inch gun and Ondina fired her 102 mm and both scored hits on Hōkoku Maru, which shortly blew up and sank. [37] [38]

On 12 February 1944, the Japanese submarine Ro-110 was depth charged and sunk east-south-east off Visakhapatnam, India by the Indian sloop HMIS Jumna and the Australian corvettes HMAS Launceston and HMAS Ipswich. Ro-110 had attacked convoy JC-36 (Colombo-Calcutta) and torpedoed and damaged the British merchant Asphalion (6,274 GRT). [36] [39]

On 12 August 1944, the German submarine U-198 was sunk near the Seychelles, in position 03º35'S, 52º49'E, by depth charges from HMIS Godavari and the British frigate HMS Findhorn. [40] [35]

Mutiny of 1946

In February 1946, Indian sailors launched the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny on board more than fifty ships and in shore establishments, protesting about issues such as the slow rate of demobilization and discrimination in the Navy. [41] The mutiny found widespread support and spread all over India, including elements in the Army and the Air Force. A total of seventy-eight ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors were involved in this mutiny.

Transition to Independence and Partition

On 1 March 1947, the designation of "Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy" was replaced with that of "Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy." [42] On 21 July 1947, H.M.S. Choudhry and Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman, both of whom later commanded the Pakistani and Indian Navies, respectively, became the first Indian RIN officers to attain the acting rank of captain. [43] Following India's independence in 1947 and the ensuing partition, the Royal Indian Navy was divided between the newly independent Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, and the Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee divided the ships and men of the Royal Indian Navy between India and Pakistan. The division of the ships was on the basis of two-thirds of the fleet to India, one third to Pakistan. [44]

The committee allocated to the Royal Pakistan Navy (RPN) three of the seven active sloops, HMIS Godavari, HMIS Hindustan and HMIS Narbada, four of the ten serviceable minesweepers, two frigates, two naval trawlers, four harbour launches and a number of Harbour Defence Motor Launches. 358 personnel, and 180 officers, most of whom were Muslims or Europeans, volunteered to transfer to the RPN. India retained the remainder of the RIN's assets and personnel, and many British officers opted to continue serving in the RIN. [21] As only nine of the Navy's 620 Indian commissioned officers in 1947 had more than 10 years' service, with the majority of them only having served from five to eight years, British officers seconded from the Royal Navy continued to hold senior RIN shore appointments after Independence, though all naval vessels had Indian commanders by the year's end. [45]

Dominion of India

In May 1948, Ajitendu Chakraverti became the first Indian commodore in the post-independence RIN, in the appointment of Chief of Staff Naval HQ. [46] On 21 June 1948, the additional designation of "Chief of the Naval Staff" was added before that of "Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy." [47] In January 1949, the first batch of 13 Indian officers began their flight training, initiating the process which would lead to the formation of the Indian Naval Air Arm. [48]

On 26 January 1950, when India adopted its current constitution and became a republic, the Royal Indian Navy became the Indian Navy. Its vessels were redesignated as "Indian Naval Ships", and the "HMIS" ship prefix for existing vessels was changed to 'INS'. [49] At 9:00 that morning, the White Ensign of the Royal Navy was struck and replaced with the Indian Naval Ensign, with the Flag of India in its canton, symbolically completing the transition to the new Indian Navy. [50]

Commanding officers

No.PortraitName
(born–died)
Term of officeRef.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
Commodore, Bombay Marine (1738-1739)
1Commodore Bagwell173917391 year [51]
Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1739-1830)
1Charles Rigby Esq.
(also Deputy Governor of Bombay)
1739 [51]
2 Sir William James.jpg Commodore Sir William James, 1st Baronet 175117543 years [51]
3Captain Samuel Hough1754177218 years [51]
4Commodore John Watson177217742 years [51]
5Captain Simon Matham177417762 years [51]
6Commodore George Emptage 178117854 years [51]
7Captain Philip Dundas 179218019 years [52]
8 William Taylor Money.jpg Captain Sir William Taylor Money 180118109 years [53]
9Captain Henry Meriton 1813182512 years [51] [54]
10Captain Thomas Buchanan182518272 years [51] [55]
11 Charles Malcolm.Jpeg Captain Sir Charles Malcolm CB 182718303 years [56] [51] [57]
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1830-1844)
1 Charles Malcolm.Jpeg Captain Sir Charles Malcolm CB April 183010 January 18376 years, 284 days [51]
2Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Malcolm CB 10 January 1837July 18381 year, 172 days [51]
3Captain Sir Robert OliverJuly 1838October 18446 years, 83 days [51]
Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1844-1845)
1Captain John PepperOctober 1844April 1845182 days [51]
2Acting Captain Henry Blosse Lynch April 1845December 1845244 days [51]
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1845-1848)
1Captain Sir Robert OliverDecember 1845April 18482 years, 122 days [51]
Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1848)
1Commodore Sir Robert OliverApril 18486 August 1848127 days [51]
Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849)
1Captain Henry Blosse Lynch6 August 184830 August 184824 days [51]
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849)
1Captain John Croft Hawkins31 August 184826 January 1849148 days [51]
Superintendent & Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1849–62)
1Commodore Stephen Lushington 26 January 1849March 18523 years, 35 days [51]
2Commodore Henry John Leeke March 185215 April 18542 years, 45 days [51]
3Rear-Admiral Henry John Leeke 15 April 1854July 18573 years, 77 days [51]
4 Gwellesley.jpg Commodore George Greville Wellesley July 1857July 18625 years [51]
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1862-1863))
1Commodore John James FrushardJuly 1862April 1863274 days [51]
Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1863-1874))
1Captain John Wellington Young CB April 1863April 18685 years [51]
2Captain G. F. RobinsonApril 1868September 18746 years [51]
Naval Adviser to Government of India (1874-1880)
1 John Bythesea VC RN.jpg Captain John Bythesea 5 August 1877November 18803 years [51]
2Rear-Admiral John Bythesea 18745 August 18773 years [51]
Director, Her Majesty's Indian Marine (1882–83)
1Captain Harry Woodfall Brent188318831 year [51]
Director of H.M.'s Indian Marine (1883–1892)
1Captain John Hext 188318929 years [51]
Director of the Royal Indian Marine (1892–1928) [n 1]
1Rear-Admiral Sir John Hext KCIE
(1842-1924)
1892February 18986 years
2Captain Walter Somerville Goodridge CIE
(30 March 1849-2 April 1929)
5 March 18985 March 19046 years, 0 days [58] [59]
[60]
3Captain George Hayley Hewett CIE
(30 November 1855-1930)
5 March 190417 March 19095 years, 12 days [61]
4 Walter Richard Sickert - Portrait of Rear Admiral Walter Lumsden, C.I.E., C.V.O. - 64.73 - Minneapolis Institute of Arts.jpg Commodore Walter Lumsden CIE , CVO
(16 April 1865-22 November 1947)
17 March 190912 June 19178 years, 87 days [62] [63]
[64] [65]
5Captain Neville Frederick Jarvis Wilson CMG , CBE
(1865-1947)
12 June 191727 August 19203 years, 76 days [63] [66]
[65]
6Rear-Admiral Henry Lancelot Mawbey CB , CVO
(16 June 1870-4 June 1933)
28 August 19203 August 19221 year, 340 days [67] [68]
[69]
7 Capt. Sir. Edward James Headlam.jpg Captain Sir Edward James Headlam CSI , CMG , DSO
(1 May 1873-14 July 1943)
3 August 19224 October 19286 years, 62 days [70] [71]
Flag Officer Commanding and Director, Royal Indian Marine (1928–1934)
1 Humphrey T. Walwyn.jpg Vice-Admiral Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn KCSI , CB , DSO
(1879-1957)
5 October 19282 October 19345 years, 362 days [71]
Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy (1934–1947)
1 Humphrey T. Walwyn.jpg Vice-Admiral Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn KCSI , CB , DSO
(1879-1957)
2 October 193416 November 193445 days [72] [73]
2 Arthur Bedford, 1915.jpeg Vice-Admiral Arthur Bedford CB , CSI
(1881-1949)
16 November 193423 November 19373 years, 7 days [73] [72]
[74] [75]
3 Vice Admiral Herbert Fitzherbert 01.jpg Vice-Admiral Sir Herbert Fitzherbert KCIE , CB , CMG
(1885-1958)
23 November 193719 March 19435 years, 119 days [76] [75]
4 Vice Admiral Godfrey WWII IWM A 20777.jpg Admiral John Henry Godfrey CB
(1888-1970)
19 March 194315 March 19462 years, 361 days [72] [77]
5Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Audley Miles KCB , KCSI
(1890-1986)
15 March 19461 March 1947351 days [76] [42]
Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1947–1948)
1Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Audley Miles KCB , KCSI
(1890-1986)
1 March 194714 August 1947167 days [76] [42]
2 John Talbot Savignac Hall.jpg Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE
(1896-1964)
15 August 194720 June 1948310 days [76] [42]
Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1948–1950)
1 John Talbot Savignac Hall.jpg Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE
(1896-1964)
21 June 194814 August 194854 days [76] [47]
2Vice Admiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB
(1893-1972)
14 August 194825 January 19501 year, 164 days

Partition of ships, 1947

See also

Notes

  1. The post was officially titled as Officiating Director R.I.M. from February to March 1898, then Director R.I.M. March 1898 to June 1917, and again Officiating Director R.I.M. June 1917 to September 1920 and back to Director R.I.M. until October 1929. [51]

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References

  1. "Genesis of Indian Navy" . Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 Mollo, Andrew (1976). Naval, Marine and Air Force uniforms of World War 2. Macmillan. p. 144. ISBN   0-02-579391-8.
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  4. According to Rear Admiral Goldrick, one-third of the Navy personnel went to join the Pakistan Navy, which was about ~3200 personnel, while overwhelmingly two-thirds of the personnel were retained in the Indian Navy after the partition. One-thirds of the ~9,600 is ~3,200.
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Further reading