Riding the waves of bravery

Vijay Mohan

The bombing of the Karachi port and its surrounding areas by the Indian Navy during the opening days of hostilities was the most striking aspect of the naval operations during the 1971 War. The destruction of Pakistani submarine, PNS Ghazi, in Indian waters and the sinking of the Indian warship, INS Khukri, were among other key naval incidents of the war. This war also saw the Indian maritime force transform itself into a multi-dimensional force making a significant contribution to the war effort from its virtually non-existent role in the 1965 India-Pak War.

The Indian Navy executed a series of covert operations on the Eastern seaboard in the last months of 1971 and effectively undertook a naval blockade in the Bay of Bengal that isolated East Pakistan and bottled up the Pakistan Navy and eight foreign merchant ships in ports.

On December 4, aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was also deployed near East Pakistan and its Sea Hawk aircraft bombed several coastal towns, including Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, which also neutralised the Pakistan Air Force's capability to retaliate. Bombing operations were carried out over several days, hitting ships, fuel dumps and other port facilities.

Pakistan had deployed the American-origin Ghazi, its only submarine capable of operating in the Bay of Bengal. It had been tasked to destroy INS Vikrant, but could not trace it. As an alternative, the submarine approached Vishakhapatnam to mine the approaches to its port. The Indian destroyer INS Rajput was deployed to counter submarine Ghazi, which reported underwater disturbances and launched depth-charges to counter it. Controversy still shrouds the submarine's destruction. While official history claims that the submarine was sunk by the Indian Navy, some people have contended that it was destroyed due to an internal explosion while laying mines.

The sinking of Ghazi was a huge setback to Pakistan, severely diminishing its ability to carry out effective operations in the Bay of Bengal and eliminating the threat posted to the Eastern Naval Command. The Indian Navy therefore decided to carry out an amphibious landing at Cox's Bazar with the aim to cut off the line of retreat for Pakistan Army troops. On 12 December, an amphibious battalion aboard INS Vishwa Vijaya sailed from the Calcutta port and on the night of 15/16 December it landed at Cox's Bazar.

Simultaneously, on the western seaboard, the Indian Navy launched Operation Trident against Karachi on December 4, which, being the headquarters of the Pakistan Navy as well as the hub of Pakistan's maritime trade, was a prime target and hence well defended. The strike by Indian missile boats was hugely successful, resulting in sinking of the minesweeper PNS Muhafiz, destroyer PNS Khaibar and the merchantman MV Venus Challenger which was carrying ammunition for Pakistan, while the destroyer PNS Shah Jahan was totally damaged. The missile ships also bombed the Kemari oil storage tanks of the port which were burnt and engulfed causing massive loss to the Karachi harbour.

A second attack on Karachi, Operation Python, was launched on December 8, which resulted in the Panamanian vessel Gulf Star and the British ship SS Harmattan being sunk and Pakistan Navy's Tanker PNS Dacca being heavily damaged. Most of Karachi's oil reserves were destroyed and warehouses and naval workshops destroyed, inflicting a severe blow to Pakistan's logistics as well as economy.

On December 9, INS Khukri was lost with194 sailors, including its captain, Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, to a Pakistani submarine off the coast of Gujarat. This is the Indian's Navy's only ship to have been lost in combat. In retaliation to the December 4 attack, Pakistani aircraft hit Okha harbor, damaging fuelling facilities, jetties and shooting down an Alize aircraft.

India had established complete control over the sea route from the Persian Gulf to Pakistan, whose major ships were either destroyed or forced to remain in port. The Indian Navy was able to block the Karachi port and merchant traffic to and from Karachi ceased.

At the end of the war, the damage to the Pakistani Navy was the loss of two destroyers, one submarine, seven gunboats, one minesweeper, three patrol crafts, 18 cargo and supply vessels, that accounted for over a third of its force, besides large-scale damage inflicted on the naval base and docks of Karachi. Three merchant ships and 10 smaller vessels were also captured.