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Hostilities
broke out between India and Pakistan on 03 Dec 71. The
twilight hours of 03 December turned out to be the
dawning a new era for the Indian Navy. On the very
night that hostilities commenced, with Pakistan
bombing several air fields (03 Dec 1971), IN Ships
Rajput and Akshay were leaving Vishakapatnam harbour
when they obtained a sonar contact. They fired several
depth charges, and proceeded on their mission when
there was no further evidence of a submarine's
presence. Thereafter a loud explosion was heard
rattling windows panes off the Vishakapatnam beach.
The Pakistani submarine Ghazi (a Tench class submarine
obtained from the USA in 1964) had come to grief.
The
Indian Navy's aircraft carrier and her aircraft played
a decisive role in the Eastern theatre of the war. The
Seahawk and Alize squadrons wrecked havoc on vital
installations in East Pakistan. Very shortly, the
Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet was in complete control of
the sea and the surrounding air space. Pakistani
troops, desperate to escape, sought to use merchant
ships for military purposes. Four Pakistani tugs, the
merchant ship Baquir, and a Liberian ship were
intercepted and escorted to Indian ports. Many others
were either scuttled or captured. Moonless nights were
selected for the missile boat attack on Karachi
harbour. The attack was one of the historic moments of
the Indian Navy's victory and remains etched in naval
memory. The only Indian ship lost during the 1971
operations was the frigate INS Khukri.
Lieutenant
General Niazi signed the Instrument of Surrender on 16
December 1971. |
