Royal Indian Navy | |
---|---|
Active | 5 September 1612 – 26 January 1950 [1] |
Country | India |
Type | Navy |
Size | 20,000 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] | |
Naval Ensign (1928-1950) |
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.
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.
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).
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]
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]
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 | |
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]
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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) | Term of office | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
Commodore, Bombay Marine (1738-1739) | |||||||
1 | Commodore Bagwell | 1739 | 1739 | 1 year | [51] | ||
Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1739-1830) | |||||||
1 | Charles Rigby Esq. (also Deputy Governor of Bombay) | 1739 | [51] | ||||
2 | Commodore Sir William James, 1st Baronet | 1751 | 1754 | 3 years | [51] | ||
3 | Captain Samuel Hough | 1754 | 1772 | 18 years | [51] | ||
4 | Commodore John Watson | 1772 | 1774 | 2 years | [51] | ||
5 | Captain Simon Matham | 1774 | 1776 | 2 years | [51] | ||
6 | Commodore George Emptage | 1781 | 1785 | 4 years | [51] | ||
7 | Captain Philip Dundas | 1792 | 1801 | 9 years | [52] | ||
8 | Captain Sir William Taylor Money | 1801 | 1810 | 9 years | [53] | ||
9 | Captain Henry Meriton | 1813 | 1825 | 12 years | [51] [54] | ||
10 | Captain Thomas Buchanan | 1825 | 1827 | 2 years | [51] [55] | ||
11 | Captain Sir Charles Malcolm CB | 1827 | 1830 | 3 years | [56] [51] [57] | ||
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1830-1844) | |||||||
1 | Captain Sir Charles Malcolm CB | April 1830 | 10 January 1837 | 6 years, 284 days | [51] | ||
2 | Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Malcolm CB | 10 January 1837 | July 1838 | 1 year, 172 days | [51] | ||
3 | Captain Sir Robert Oliver | July 1838 | October 1844 | 6 years, 83 days | [51] | ||
Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1844-1845) | |||||||
1 | Captain John Pepper | October 1844 | April 1845 | 182 days | [51] | ||
2 | Acting Captain Henry Blosse Lynch | April 1845 | December 1845 | 244 days | [51] | ||
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1845-1848) | |||||||
1 | Captain Sir Robert Oliver | December 1845 | April 1848 | 2 years, 122 days | [51] | ||
Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1848) | |||||||
1 | Commodore Sir Robert Oliver | April 1848 | 6 August 1848 | 127 days | [51] | ||
Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849) | |||||||
1 | Captain Henry Blosse Lynch | 6 August 1848 | 30 August 1848 | 24 days | [51] | ||
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849) | |||||||
1 | Captain John Croft Hawkins | 31 August 1848 | 26 January 1849 | 148 days | [51] | ||
Superintendent & Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1849–62) | |||||||
1 | Commodore Stephen Lushington | 26 January 1849 | March 1852 | 3 years, 35 days | [51] | ||
2 | Commodore Henry John Leeke | March 1852 | 15 April 1854 | 2 years, 45 days | [51] | ||
3 | Rear-Admiral Henry John Leeke | 15 April 1854 | July 1857 | 3 years, 77 days | [51] | ||
4 | Commodore George Greville Wellesley | July 1857 | July 1862 | 5 years | [51] | ||
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1862-1863)) | |||||||
1 | Commodore John James Frushard | July 1862 | April 1863 | 274 days | [51] | ||
Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1863-1874)) | |||||||
1 | Captain John Wellington Young CB | April 1863 | April 1868 | 5 years | [51] | ||
2 | Captain G. F. Robinson | April 1868 | September 1874 | 6 years | [51] | ||
Naval Adviser to Government of India (1874-1880) | |||||||
1 | Captain John Bythesea | 5 August 1877 | November 1880 | 3 years | [51] | ||
2 | Rear-Admiral John Bythesea | 1874 | 5 August 1877 | 3 years | [51] | ||
Director, Her Majesty's Indian Marine (1882–83) | |||||||
1 | Captain Harry Woodfall Brent | 1883 | 1883 | 1 year | [51] | ||
Director of H.M.'s Indian Marine (1883–1892) | |||||||
1 | Captain John Hext | 1883 | 1892 | 9 years | [51] | ||
Director of the Royal Indian Marine (1892–1928) [n 1] | |||||||
1 | Rear-Admiral Sir John Hext KCIE (1842-1924) | 1892 | February 1898 | 6 years | |||
2 | Captain Walter Somerville Goodridge CIE (30 March 1849-2 April 1929) | 5 March 1898 | 5 March 1904 | 6 years, 0 days | [58] [59] [60] | ||
3 | Captain George Hayley Hewett CIE (30 November 1855-1930) | 5 March 1904 | 17 March 1909 | 5 years, 12 days | [61] | ||
4 | Commodore Walter Lumsden CIE , CVO (16 April 1865-22 November 1947) | 17 March 1909 | 12 June 1917 | 8 years, 87 days | [62] [63] [64] [65] | ||
5 | Captain Neville Frederick Jarvis Wilson CMG , CBE (1865-1947) | 12 June 1917 | 27 August 1920 | 3 years, 76 days | [63] [66] [65] | ||
6 | Rear-Admiral Henry Lancelot Mawbey CB , CVO (16 June 1870-4 June 1933) | 28 August 1920 | 3 August 1922 | 1 year, 340 days | [67] [68] [69] | ||
7 | Captain Sir Edward James Headlam CSI , CMG , DSO (1 May 1873-14 July 1943) | 3 August 1922 | 4 October 1928 | 6 years, 62 days | [70] [71] | ||
Flag Officer Commanding and Director, Royal Indian Marine (1928–1934) | |||||||
1 | Vice-Admiral Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn KCSI , CB , DSO (1879-1957) | 5 October 1928 | 2 October 1934 | 5 years, 362 days | [71] | ||
Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy (1934–1947) | |||||||
1 | Vice-Admiral Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn KCSI , CB , DSO (1879-1957) | 2 October 1934 | 16 November 1934 | 45 days | [72] [73] | ||
2 | Vice-Admiral Arthur Bedford CB , CSI (1881-1949) | 16 November 1934 | 23 November 1937 | 3 years, 7 days | [73] [72] [74] [75] | ||
3 | Vice-Admiral Sir Herbert Fitzherbert KCIE , CB , CMG (1885-1958) | 23 November 1937 | 19 March 1943 | 5 years, 119 days | [76] [75] | ||
4 | Admiral John Henry Godfrey CB (1888-1970) | 19 March 1943 | 15 March 1946 | 2 years, 361 days | [72] [77] | ||
5 | Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Audley Miles KCB , KCSI (1890-1986) | 15 March 1946 | 1 March 1947 | 351 days | [76] [42] | ||
Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1947–1948) | |||||||
1 | Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Audley Miles KCB , KCSI (1890-1986) | 1 March 1947 | 14 August 1947 | 167 days | [76] [42] | ||
2 | Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE (1896-1964) | 15 August 1947 | 20 June 1948 | 310 days | [76] [42] | ||
Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1948–1950) | |||||||
1 | Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE (1896-1964) | 21 June 1948 | 14 August 1948 | 54 days | [76] [47] | ||
2 | Vice Admiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB (1893-1972) | 14 August 1948 | 25 January 1950 | 1 year, 164 days | |||
Vessel types | India | Pakistan |
---|---|---|
Frigates |
|
|
Sloops | ||
Corvettes | ||
Minesweepers | ||
Survey Vessels |
| |
Trawlers |
|
|
Motor Minesweepers (MMS) |
|
|
Motor Launches (ML) |
| |
Harbour Defence Motor Launches (HDML) |
|
|
Tankers | ||
Miscellaneous | All existing landing craft |
During the Second World War (1939–1945), India was a part of the British Empire. British India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939. India, as a part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers. India was also used as the base for American operations in support of China in the China Burma India Theater.
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".
The Royal Indian Navy mutiny or revolt, also called the 1946 Naval Uprising, is a failed insurrection of Indian naval ratings, soldiers, police personnel and civilians against the British government in India. From the initial flashpoint in Bombay, the revolt spread and found support throughout British India, from Karachi to Calcutta, and ultimately came to involve over 10,000 sailors in 56 ships and shore establishments. The mutiny failed to turn into a revolution because sailors were asked to surrender after the British authorities had assembled superior forces to suppress the mutiny.
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.
HMIS Indus was a Grimsby-class sloop of the Royal Indian Navy launched in 1934 and sunk during the Second World War in 1942. She was a slightly enlarged version of other vessels in the Grimsby class. She was named after the Indus River. Indus served mainly as an escort vessel, and she was therefore lightly armed. Her pennant number was changed to U67 in 1940.
HMIS Godavari was a Black Swan-class sloop which served in the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during World War II.
HMIS Narbada (U40) was a Modified Bittern class sloop, later known as the Black Swan class, which served in the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during World War II.
HMIS Kistna (U46) was a Black Swan-class sloop which served in the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during World War II.
HMIS Jumna (U21) was a Black Swan-class sloop, which served in the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during World War II.
HMIS Hindustan (L80) was a Folkestone-class sloop which served in the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during World War II. Her pennant number was changed to U80 in 1940.
HMIS Clive (L79) was a sloop, commissioned in 1920 into the Royal Indian Marine (RIM).
HMIS Lawrence (L83) was a sloop, commissioned in 1919 into the Royal Indian Marine (RIM).
Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji was an Admiral in the Indian Navy. He served as the 5th Chief of the Naval Staff, from 4 March 1966, until 28 February 1970. He was the first Indian officer of the navy to hold the rank of full Admiral. He is credited with the transformation of the Indian Navy. He made sweeping changes and restructured the navy, creating the Western and Eastern Naval Commands and the Western Fleet. Under him, the Indian Navy also entered the submarine age, with the commissioning of INS Kalvari (S23) in 1967.
Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, PVSM, DSC, was a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.
Rear Admiral Ajitendu Chakraverti was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the second Indian Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet, succeeding Rear Admiral Ram Dass Katari. He was the first Indian to be promoted to the high rank of Commodore in the Royal Indian Navy.
Vice Admiral Vasudeva Anant Kamath, PVSM (1921–2017) was a former Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the founding Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, which he led from 1978 to 1980. He also served as the 4th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) from 1973 to 1977, the longest tenure in the Indian Navy's history. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he led the Southern Naval Area, for which he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
Rear Admiral Pritam Singh 'Peter' Mahindroo, PVSM (1917-1999) was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He was the first Sikh Admiral in the Indian Navy. He was the commissioning Commanding Officer of the Indian Navy's first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. He later served as the Chief of Materiel and as the Director General Naval Dockyard Expansion Scheme before retiring in 1972.
Rear Admiral Sadashiv Ganesh Karmarkar, was a flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the first Indian officer to command a ship of the Royal Indian Navy. During World War II, he commanded the auxiliary patrol vessel HMIS Ratnagiri, for which he was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He later became the first Indian to command British officers, when he commanded the sloop HMIS Kistna. He last served as the Flag Officer Bombay, from 1960 to 1964, before retiring.
Commodore Martin Henry St. Leger Nott, DSO, OBE was an Officer in the Royal Indian Navy. He was the first Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy after the Independence of India. He died in a plane crash with his family at Mont Cardo, near Corsica, France, at the age of 43.
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