INS Vikrant

There was a chapter in our English text book on INS Vikrant and thus began my lifelong romance with her. Now a little history lesson for those who do not know this great ship, courtesy Wikipedia.

INS Vikrant (formerly the HMS Hercules (R49)) was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. Her keel was laid down on 12 November 1943 by Vickers-Armstrong on the Tyne and was launched on 22 September 1945.Completion work was carried out in Belfast but construction was suspended after the end of World War II and she was laid up for possible future use. Her pennant was changed from R11 to R49.

In January 1957 she was sold to India, and construction was completed at Harland and Wolff with an extensively modernized design, including an angled deck with steam catapults, a modified island, and many other improvements.

The Indian High commissioner to the United Kingdom, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, commissioned her as INS Vikrant on 4 March 1961, while she was still at Belfast, Northern Ireland. The name Vikrant was taken from Sanskrit vikrānta meaning "stepped beyond", i.e. "courageous", "victorious". Captain Pritam Singh was the first commanding officer of the carrier. She formally joined the Indian fleet at Bombay on 3 November 1961, when she was received at Ballard Pier by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and other high-ranking dignitaries.

The Vikrant's initial airwing consisted of British Hawker Sea Hawk fighter-bombers and a French Alize anti-submarine aircraft. On 18 May 1961 the first jet landed on board, piloted by Lieutenant (later Admiral) R H. Tahiliani.

In 1965 Pakistan claimed that it has sunk the Vikrant. At that time, however, the ship was under refit in dry dock.

During the 1971 war, the PNS Ghazi submarine which was sent to the Bay of Bengal to sink INS Vikrant itself sank off Visakhapatnam harbour. During the war the crew of Vikrant earned two Mahavir Chakras and 12 Vir Chakras.

Vikrant was India's only carrier for over twenty years, but by the early 1990s she was effectively out of service because of her poor condition. Even following major overhauls she was rarely put to sea. She was formally decommissioned on 31 January 1997 and is preserved as a floating museum at Mumbai. She is the only World War II-era British-built aircraft carrier to be preserved. The museum is open to public during the Navy Week celebrations every year and this year I am determined to pay a visit.