Ins Vikrant Fades Into Naval History

Ins Vikrant Fades Into Naval History

FPJ BureauUpdated: Saturday, June 01, 2019, 06:29 AM IST
article-image

Dismantling Of The Historic Aircraft Carrier Begins At Reay Road And Will Be Completed In About Eight Months

Mumbai : The work of breaking down India’s first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant began on Thursday at Darukhana in Reay Road. The work of dismantling the warship is likely to be completed in about eight months.

The ship, which saw action during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, was bought by the IB Commercial Private Limited in an e-auction on January 29, 2014 for Rs 63 crore. The auction preceded demand to convert the mighty warship into a maritime museum, as it had historical importance. Petitions were also filed in Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court regarding the same.

However, the Maharashtra government had expressed its inability to maintain the vessel that was decommissioned in January 1997.

Following this, an e-auction was organized by the Metal and Minerals Trading Corporation Limited, a government of India enterprise, in December last year and the bids were opened in January this year.

Abdul Karin Jaka, director of the company and now owner of the ship said, “There were about 20 auctioneers in the bid. We finally got the ship in January. It has seen PILs in the Supreme Court and the High Court. Now all the legal and technical formalities have been completed.”

Jaka added, “We will break it down and then sell it for recycling.”

Formerly known as the HMS Hercules, it was bought by India in 1957 and commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1959. The ship was India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier and is the last of the six aircraft carriers of ‘Majestic Class’ in the world. The ship was launched in 1943 during World War II.

IANS adds: Built by Vickers Armstrong, the ship’s construction was stopped as World War II had ended, and it was later sold to India.  INS Vikrant underwent a four-year-long refitting at Harland and Wolf Yard in Belfast, Ireland, with an angled flight deck and armed with two squadrons of British Seahawks and French Breguet Alize aircraft.  She arrived on Nov 3, 1961 to formally join the Indian Navy fleet in the Bombay Harbour, and was received by then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and other top officials amidst great fanfare.

INS Vikrant, as she was rechristened after India bought her, saw her finest hour a decade later when she played a significant role in the 1971 war which saw the birth of Bangladesh.

The most powerful ship of the Indian Navy then, she quickly caught the public imagination and became its most famous and popular vessel.

A sleek, 192-metre-long vessel, she had a full load displacement of 20,000 tonnes, a draught of 24 feet, and could sail at a speed of 43 km per hour with a range of 22,000 km.  Over the years, she was fitted with various types of aircraft, including Westland Sea Kings, HAL Chetak, Sea Harriers and also the dreaded Bofors anti-aircraft guns.

Incidentally, in the 1965 India-Pakistan war, she was claimed as ‘sunk’ by Pakistan though she was actually undergoing a refit in the dry docks.

RECENT STORIES

Navi Mumbai: Environmental Activists Write Letter To CM Shinde As 200 Trees In Thane-Belapur Belt To...

Navi Mumbai: Environmental Activists Write Letter To CM Shinde As 200 Trees In Thane-Belapur Belt To...

Mumbai News: MahaRERA Only Real Estate Regulator To Recover ₹ 125 Crore From Developers In 14...

Mumbai News: MahaRERA Only Real Estate Regulator To Recover ₹ 125 Crore From Developers In 14...

Mira- Bhayandar: 9 Municipal And Private Schools Organise Educational Rally Promoting Voting...

Mira- Bhayandar: 9 Municipal And Private Schools Organise Educational Rally Promoting Voting...

Mira- Bhayandar: Notorious Thief Who Broke Into Mobile Shop Robbing High- End Phones; Arrested In...

Mira- Bhayandar: Notorious Thief Who Broke Into Mobile Shop Robbing High- End Phones; Arrested In...

Govinda Joins Shiv Sena: A Lookback At Actor's Political Journey

Govinda Joins Shiv Sena: A Lookback At Actor's Political Journey