PNS Ghazi - Revision history

Jyoti: /* Naval officer K R A Narasiah's account */

2025-01-07T17:29:42Z

‎Naval officer K R A Narasiah's account

Jyoti: /* Naval officer K R A Narasiah's account */

2022-02-08T14:03:19Z

‎Naval officer K R A Narasiah's account

Jyoti: /* Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive, balanced account */

2022-02-08T14:02:59Z

‎Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive, balanced account

Pdewan: /* Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive, balanced account */

2018-05-13T22:33:27Z

‎Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive, balanced account

Pdewan at 20:40, 23 February 2017

2017-02-23T20:40:14Z

Pdewan: /* Deccan Chronicle looks at the theories */

2017-02-22T20:47:35Z

‎Deccan Chronicle looks at the theories

Pdewan: /* Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive, balanced account */

2017-02-22T20:45:29Z

‎Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive, balanced account

Show changes

Pdewan: /* Afterword */

2017-02-22T14:48:26Z

‎Afterword

Pdewan: /* See also */

2017-02-22T14:47:59Z

‎See also

Pdewan: /* Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive account */

2017-02-22T14:46:43Z

‎Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive account

@@ Line 401: / Line 401: @@
 ( As told to Arpita Bose. K R A Narasiah is is an ex-servicemen of the Indian Navy)
-[[Category:Defence|G
+=Ghazi mistook Indian destroyer for aircraft carrier=
-PNS GHAZI]]
+[https://epaper.indiatimes.com/article-share?article=16_12_2024_016_027_cap_TOI Rajesh Sharma & Jairaj Singh | TNN, Dec 16, 2024: ''The Times of India'']
-[[Category:India|G
-PNS GHAZI]]
-[[Category:Pakistan|G
+India’s biggest military victory came on this day over half-a-century back, but one of the most significant triumphs of the 1971 war was secured in the depths of the Indian Ocean a little less than a fortnight before Pakistan finally held up the white flag. More than a feat of arms, it was a testament to the courage and cunning of India’s armed forces. It was undoubtedly the crowning glory of the Indian Navy. This is the story of the sinking of the Pakistani submarine Ghazi, a classic tale of the hunter becoming the hunted.
-PNS GHAZI]]
-[[Category:Defence|G PNS GHAZI
+[[Category:Defence|G PNS GHAZIPNS GHAZI
 PNS GHAZI]]
-[[Category:India|G PNS GHAZI
+[[Category:India|G PNS GHAZIPNS GHAZI
 PNS GHAZI]]
-[[Category:Pakistan|G PNS GHAZI
+[[Category:Pakistan|G PNS GHAZIPNS GHAZI
 PNS GHAZI]]

@@ Line 372: / Line 372: @@
-==Naval officer K R A Narasiah's account==
+=Naval officer K R A Narasiah's account=
 [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/how-a-deceptive-signal-sank-a-pak-submarine-in-71-war/articleshow/88069572.cms  Dec 3, 2021: ''The Times of India'']
@@ Line 406: / Line 406: @@
 PNS GHAZI]]
 [[Category:Pakistan|G
 PNS GHAZI]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:02, 8 February 2022
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	- On 4 December, everyb		- On 4 December, everyb
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		+	==Naval officer K R A Narasiah's account==
		+	[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/how-a-deceptive-signal-sank-a-pak-submarine-in-71-war/articleshow/88069572.cms Dec 3, 2021: ''The Times of India'']
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		+	''' A retired naval officer recalls the day PNS Ghazi met its watery grave while chasing INS Vikrant off the coast of Vishakhpatnam '''
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		+	It was 1969, civil disobedience had erupted across the state of East Pakistan, that morphed into a guerilla war when ruthless killing of people by the Pakistan army resulted in the Bangladesh genocide.
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		+	I had left the Indian Navy after serving from 1949 to 1963, the last three years of which, as the first Indian chief of the flight deck of INS Vikrant, the first Indian carrier, and as per rules I was on the reservist list. Late in 1969, I was asked to report to Shiva ji for an orientation course and drafted to the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. I reported to Commander P Mukundan, my senior. The Chief of Eastern Command was Admiral N Krishnan, my former commanding officer at INS Delhi. A couple of weeks into my engagement, the phone rang in the middle of the night. It was Commander Mukundan, his message was short: “Narasiah the balloon is up. Please report to INS Nistar at once”.
		+
		+
		+	INS Nistar, was a Russian naval submarine support vessel, given on loan to the Indian Navy and was in the port dry-dock for underwater repairs. I rushed to the dry dock, and met the six Russians who were manning the vessel with some Indian sailors. I got the ship undocked in a record time of a day-and-a-half.
		+
		+	When we were on the job, a big thud was heard and we knew that was an unusual explosion. Admiral Krishnan from intelligence reports knew that there was an imminent threat to INS Vikrant from the Pakistan navy. A submarine on loan from the US navy to Pakistan, PNS Ghazi, was assigned to sink Vikrant and was close to Visakhapatnam. Krishnan ordered the carrier to move to the Andaman Islands. He changed the call sign of Vikrant to that of INS Rajput, an old destroyer at the base.
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		+	Uncoded messages were sent from Rajput, which appeared to be emanating from Vikrant. This made the Pakistan navy believe that Vikrant was leaving Visakhapatnam port and so ordered Ghazi to move closer, ready with its torpedoes.
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		+	Krishnan briefed Lieutenant Commander Inder Singh, the commanding officer of INS Rajput, that once clear of the harbour he can expect an enemy submarine in the vicinity.
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		+	In his book ‘No Way But Surrender – An Account of the Indo-Pakistan War in the Bay of Bengal 1971 , Krishnan writes, “Our deception plan worked only too well! In a secret signal which we recovered from the sunken Ghazi, Commodore submarines in Karachi sent a signal to Ghazi on November 25: “intelligence indicates carrier in port” and she should “proceed to Visakhapatnam with all despatch!”
		+
		+	INS Rajput sailed before midnight of December 3-4 and Lt Cdr Inder Singh perceived a disturbance in the water. He sailed closer and dropped two depth charges and sailed away. A little later, a loud explosion was heard and I knew that was the thud that I heard in the dry dock.
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		+	The next day, INS Nistar proceeded to the spot and the diving team established there was a submerged object at a depth of 150ft. From the flotsam American markings were visible. On the third day, a diver managed to open the conning tower hatch and a body was recovered. The report said, “As the hatch was opened, it was clogged with bloated bodies … The hydrographic correction book of PNS Ghazi and one sheet of paper with the official seal of the commanding officer of PNS Ghazi were recovered”. It was later learned that Ghazi’s own warheads had been activated by the impact of the depth charges and its nose had blown off.
		+
		+	I was happy to be involved, however miniscule, but a significant part, as I ensured quick undocking of Nistar. But grim news came from the western front — INS Khukri was torpedoed on December 9 by a Pakistan submarine killing 18 officers and 176 sailors and its captain Mahendra Singh Mulla went down with the ship. Commander Oomen, chief engineer and a senior of mine from Shiva ji, too went down.. Such are the bittersweet memories of that time.
		+
		+	( As told to Arpita Bose. K R A Narasiah is is an ex-servicemen of the Indian Navy)
		+
		+	[[Category:Defence\|G
		+	PNS GHAZI]]
		+	[[Category:India\|G
		+	PNS GHAZI]]
		+	[[Category:Pakistan\|G
		+	PNS GHAZI]]

	=See also=		=See also=

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:33, 13 May 2018
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	[http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/1971-war-the-sinking-of-the-ghazi/0/ Vice Adm (Retd) GM Hiranandani\| 1971 War: The Sinking of the Ghazi; ''' Indian Defence Review ''']		[http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/1971-war-the-sinking-of-the-ghazi/0/ Vice Adm (Retd) GM Hiranandani\| 1971 War: The Sinking of the Ghazi; ''' Indian Defence Review ''']

		+	Vice Adm Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani

	==The Pakistan Navy’s Deployment of Ghazi in the 1971 Indo Pakistan War==		==The Pakistan Navy’s Deployment of Ghazi in the 1971 Indo Pakistan War==

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 </div>
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 [[Category:India |G ]]

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 =''Deccan Chronicle'' looks at the theories=
-[S.N.V. SUDHIR | Visakhapatnam: Sunk Pakistani submarine Ghazi is an enigma, DECCAN CHRONICLE, Nov 24, 2015/ Feb 23, 2016]
+[http://www.deccanchronicle.com/151124/nation-current-affairs/article/visakhapatnam-sunk-pakistani-submarine-ghazi-enigma  S.N.V. SUDHIR | Visakhapatnam: Sunk Pakistani submarine Ghazi is an enigma, DECCAN CHRONICLE, Nov 24, 2015/ Feb 23, 2016]
@@ Line 131: / Line 131: @@
 A team of 10 divers of the Eastern Naval Command were deployed to examine the debris on Dec. 10, 2003.  Ghazi’s hull was covered with thousands of fishing nets.
 = Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive, balanced account=

@@ Line 396: / Line 396: @@
 “It is not possible to be comprehensive or definitive about what led to the explosion in the forward section. As far as I know, the incident was not studied in a comprehensive manner while the required evidence was still fresh”.
-=Afterword=
+==Afterword==
 ''' GHAZI’s Mines '''
@@ Line 416: / Line 416: @@
 “The Americans offered to raise the submarine to the surface at their own expense. The Soviets made a similar offer. The Government of India however deliberately allowed the submarine to sink into the mud off the Fairway Buoy of Visakhapatnam and marked the hazard by a buoy (which has since been removed) and where it still rests buried under the mud”.

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
-= Vice Adm Hiranandani’s exhaustive, definitive account=
+=''India Today’s'' account=
-[http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/1971-war-the-sinking-of-the-ghazi/0/   Vice Adm (Retd) GM Hiranandani|  1971 War: The Sinking of the Ghazi; ''' Indian Defence Review ''' [
+[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/new-pictures-of-1971-war-pak-submarine-ghazi-renew-debate-on-cause-behind-blast-on-vessel/1/196709.html    Sandeep Unnithan, The Ghazi mystery. January 26, 2004 | ''India Today'']
@@ Line 312: / Line 396: @@
 “It is not possible to be comprehensive or definitive about what led to the explosion in the forward section. As far as I know, the incident was not studied in a comprehensive manner while the required evidence was still fresh”.
 =Afterword=
 ''' GHAZI’s Mines '''