The INS Viraat, a legendary aircraft carrier that has served the Indian Navy for three decades and holds the Guinness world record for the longest serving carrier in history, was finally decommissioned on 6th March, 2017. Here is her story.
Beginnings
The Viraat was originally the HMS Hermes with pennant number R12.
The Hermes (R12) was the last of the Centaur class of fleet carriers, designed by the Royal Navy, and built at Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness.
The ship was actually laid down way back in 1945 during World War II and then work on her was abandoned after the end of the war. The British couldn’t afford yet another carrier given their economic condition post the 2nd World War. Work resumed only in 1952, because the slipway had to be cleared. The hull was launched on 16th February, 1953 and the ship was finally completed in 1957. The ship was commissioned on 18th November, 1959 as the HMS Hermes with several thorough modifications made, including the massive Type 984 ‘Searchlight’ radar, a fully angled flight deck and steam catapults. The modifications were so extensive that the Hermes barely resembled any of her sister ships.
As commissioned, the Hermes’ air group consisted of de Havilland Sea Vixens, Blackburn Buccaneers, Fairey Gannets and Westland Whirlwind helicopters. All of these aircraft can be seen on the flight deck in the pics above.
Conversion
The British government was unwilling to operate large aircraft carriers and their strike groups given their weak economy after the Second World War. Throughout the 60s and the 70s the Admiralty mused on different plans for the Hermes. Some suggested completely scrapping the ship, while others suggested selling the ship to other nations. In the 1966 Military Review, the British government felt that the Hermes was surplus to operational requirements and she was offered to the Royal Australian Navy as a replacement for their HMAS Melbourne. In a joint RN-RAN exercise in 1968, the carrier was even visited by senior RAN officers and Australian govt. officials, suggesting that the proposal was seriously considered. But the Australians demurred, given the high costs of operating the carrier and maintaining it.
What happened instead is quite interesting. In between 1971 and 73, the carrier was docked at dock no 10, at Devonport shipyard and extensive modifications cum refit was undertaken. Her 3D radar, steam catapults and arrestor wires were removed. In their place, Landing Craft Utilities and berthing for 800 marines were added. The role envisaged for the Hermes was that of a ‘Commando’ carrier, similar in concept to the USN’s LHAs. The Hermes’ air wing became about twenty Sea King helicopters.
Later, in 1976, with the threat of Soviet subs in the North Atlantic, and under pressure from NATO, the Hermes was further modified, to give it ASW capabilities, or rather the ability to host SeaKing Mk 42Bs and their assorted weapons.
One further modification was undertaken inbetween 1980-81 to add a 14 degree ski jump to operate the new Sea Harriers.
Falklands Campaign
By this time, the British had commissioned the first of the new Invincible class through deck cruisers (a fancy name for light carriers), the HMS Invincible and two more ships were under construction.
In 1981, the White Paper on Defence identified both the Hermes and the Invincible as surplus to operational requirements. The Hermes was slated for scrap and the Invincible was offered to the Royal Australian Navy for only 175 million pounds.
The fate of these ships seemed dire when the Argentinians invaded the Falklands Islands.
The Argentinian Junta invaded the Falkland Islands on 2nd April, 1982, a Friday (and the neighboring South Georgia and South Sandwich islands the day after) in an attempt to make real their long standing territorial claim over the islands.
On 5th April, the Labour government led by Margaret Thatcher dispatched a naval task force to attack and repel the Argentinians. The task force had the HMS Invincible and the HMS Hermes as carriers with the Hermes serving as the flagship of the Task Force.
Needless to say, the British won that particular war, suffering some losses along the way (especially the loss of HMS Sheffield and damage to HMS Glamorgan, all thanks to air launched Exocet missiles); but the war proved irrefutably that every sea-faring nation needed the tactical and firepower advantage that an aircraft carrier battle group provided. The Hermes, the Invincible and their task force were able to exercise Sea Control and Sea Denial thousands of miles away from their home bases.
During the war, the Hermes air wing consisted of :
- 800 NAS – 16 Sea Harriers FRS.1
- No 1 Squadron RAF – 10 Harrier Gr 3
- Part 809 NAS – 4 Sea Harriers
- 826 NAS – 5 Sea King HAS 5
- 846 NAS- 5 Sea King HC.4
The Hermes and her air wing performed remarkably, although the Hermes was kept out of the immediate conflict zone, given her value. As a result the Harriers operated quite close to the very limit of their operational range. Even so, they performed admirably, keeping the Argentinian Air Force at bay and shooting down several aircraft.
Post War Period
After the conclusion of the Falklands War, the Hermes underwent a four month period of refit and refurbishment and rejoined the fleet in November 1982. Thereafter, the Hermes operated both in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, operating with the Royal Navy till 1984, when she was towed to Portsmouth and mothballed.
In 1983, the Hermes alongwith a squadron of Harriers was again offered to the Australian Navy, and once again the offer was turned down. It seemed that the Hermes was done for- but then, the Indian Navy sailed to the rescue.
Indian Navy’s Second Carrier
Beginning in 1961, the Indian Navy has operated aircraft carriers continuously till the present day. Their first aircraft carrier was the INS Vikrant (formerly the HMS Hercules), a Majestic class light carrier.
By the 1980s the Navy was looking for a replacement carrier and had studied several foreign ships and designs then under construction/planning, especially the then planned Giuseppe Garibaldi class carrier. After much consideration, the IN decided to acquire the Hermes, given the fact that she had been extensively refurbished and upgraded periodically by the Royal Navy.
In 1985, Britain offered the Hermes for outright purchase. By this time, the first batch of the Indian Navy’s Sea Harriers had already been in service for over a year. The navy had long felt a need for a second carrier to ensure that out of two carriers, atleast one would be available on short notice (in the 1965 Indo-Pak war, the Vikrant was in refit and in the 1971 war, she had developed cracks in her boilers and thus, her speed was restricted).
The following is an excerpt from the book, “Transition to Eminence, the Indian Navy 1976-1990”, by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani (Retd.) PVSM, AVSM, NM:
Admiral Tahiliani was the Chief of Naval Staff in 1985. He recalls:
“I got a letter from my counterpart in the British Navy. I still remember the letter
was dated 1 March 1985. He simply said that because they had now three newly
built aircraft carriers in commission, they were going to put Hermes in the
reserve fleet and would India be interested in getting this carrier? He said further
that the price would be competitive and, if I remember rightly, even quoted the
figure of 35 million pounds. He said that if I was interested, I should send out a
team to look at the ship and its material state before they actually mothballed it.
This looked like an excellent opportunity. Although we had been wanting to start
building our own carrier, we hadn’t got the sanction and were nowhere near
ready to begin our programme so that we would have a carrier to replace Vikrant
when she was phased out in another 8 to 10 years.
We sent out a team led by the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. He came back
and gave us a report that although Hermes had been commissioned in 1959
(which was before Vikrant), but because she had been periodically laid up and
had had three extensive refits / modernisations, her material state was ten years
younger than Vikrant. We took up the proposal with Government and, happily for
us, everything worked out right.”
The Navy thoroughly examined the material state of Hermes, assessed the magnitude of the refit that would be required, determined the minimum requirements of new
equipment and systems that were essential for providing an all weather, day and night capability for air operations, determined the stowage and supply arrangements for the new air to surface and air to air missiles, which were entering service and negotiated how much all this would cost.
On 24 April 1986, the Government announced in Parliament that an agreement had been signed with Britain to acquire the Hermes. A 63 million pound sterling acquisition package was worked out that included dry-docking, refit, spares, stores and services.
INS Viraat was commissioned on 12th May, 1987. The Viraat proved to be the quickest acquisition of a major war vessel in the history of the Indian Navy!!
Service under Indian colors
A mere two years after her commissioning, Viraat was called upon to participate in her first major combat op : Operation Jupiter.
Operation Jupiter (Sri Lankan Civil War)
For two years, the Indian Peace Keeping Force had been deployed to Sri Lanka, to ostensibly maintain peace and forcefully reinforce the ceasefire between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This article will not foray into the morass that was the entire operation and needless interference in another sovereign nation’s internal affairs, but we must understand the background to Op Jupiter.
In November 1988, the Presidential elections in Sri Lanka posed a new contingency – the
safety of President Jayawardene in case his party lost the election. As a precautionary
measure, Operation Jupiter was planned to evacuate the President and his immediate
family to safety. The Navy positioned at Tuticorin a Seaking-capable frigate, INS
Godavari (and later INS Taragiri), with an Marine Commados team embarked. As it happened, the President’s party was re-elected.
When Mr Jayawardene’s term expired in January 1989, Mr Premadasa became the
President of Sri Lanka He had been a staunch critic of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. He
came to power on a political promise that he would “Send back the IPKF”. Between
March and July 1989, he initiated a dialogue with the LTTE, which is presumed to have
resulted in a ceasefire between the LTTE and the SLAF. He then tried to buy peace with
the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) – a leftist political party – but to no avail – their subversive activities increased. He then served the Indian Government with an ultimatum to withdraw the IPKF by 29 July 1989, this being the second anniversary of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.
Quoting once again from Vice Adm. Hiranandani’s comprehensive book, “Transition to Eminence” :
As the deadline approached, tension mounted. The JVP-incited violence
intensified. Mr Premadasa announced his intention to bring out the Sri Lankan
Army (from their barracks) on 29 July 1989, to patrol the Northern and
Eastern Provinces. The led to planning for the contingency of misguided,
unprovoked action against the IPKF by wayward units of SLAF.
Operation Roundup was planned to counter any backlash from the SLAF in the Northern and Eastern provinces. Operation Trojan was planned to evacuate Indian nationals from Colombo, in the face of opposition.
The third operation, a modified version of the earlier Operation Jupiter of December
1988, was also planned in case the need arose to evacuate Indian nationals with the
support of the SLAF.
Operation Jupiter:
The aircraft carrier, Viraat, was at anchor in Bombay. On 18 July 1989, it was directed to embark all weapons and stores and arrive at Cochin on 20th July.
Captain (later Admiral and Chief of Naval Staff) Madhvendra Singh was the Commanding Officer of Viraat during Operation Jupiter. The following excerpts are from his recollections recorded in “The Magnificent Viraat – Decade and a Half of Glorious Flying”:
“Throughout that afternoon and early evening, ammunition barges, ration boats,
aircraft launches, and fuelling barges continued to supply Viraat all that she had
asked for and needed. It was a truly remarkable effort and the monsoon weather
did not make it any easier. Viraat sailed at three o’clock that night in lashing rain.
The ship picked up the first two Sea Harriers off Goa on the 19th morning and
two more Sea Harriers off Mangalore on the 20th morning. She entered Cochin on
the 21st morning to embark the support equipment of the Seaking Squadrons.
Helicopters were assembled from all over the country. One Seaking 42 C and two
Chetaks were embarked in Bombay; two Seakings Mk 42 and two Chetaks from
Cochin and one Seaking Mk 42 C each from Coimbatore, Vishakhapatnam and
Taragiri. A fifth Seaking Mk 42 C embarked later, as also 3 officers and 54 sailors
of the Indian Marine Special Force (IMSF). With all 15 aircraft on board, Viraat
sailed from Cochin to begin the work up of her air wing and IMSF detachment.
While the Viraat was proceeding south, the 7th Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles
which was at Pithoragarh in the Kumaon Hills was ordered to get ready for the
mission. On 24th July, they moved by road from Pithoragarh to Bareilly and on
the morning of the 26th they were airlifted by IL-76 aircraft to Trivandrum, where
they arrived in the dead of night. They were immediately put into state transport
corporation buses and moved during the night to INS Garuda in Cochin where
they arrived early morning of 27th July.
On the 27th morning, Viraat was asked to embark the battalion with her
helicopters. It was quite a task. When an Army battalion moves, it moves with
everything to sustain itself. Besides the men and their equipment, arms and
ammunition, this included rations, jeeps, chairs, tables, tents, and even
cupboards! It was a wet and windy day. Regardless of the weather, the men of
Viraat worked tirelessly for the next six hours to complete the combat
embarkation of the battalion by the afternoon. With rotors running, 4 to 7
helicopters at a time were on deck being unloaded, refuelled when required and
quickly launched for the next load. A total of 76 helo sorties of Seakings and
Chetaks were carried out that day to embark 366 personnel, 36 tonnes of stores,
2 jeeps and a motorcycle with Viraat remaining 8 to 10 miles from the coast.
“Overnight, the Viraat had been transformed into a commando carrier. From a
strength of about 1,000 in Bombay, her personnel strength rose to 1,800. Each
man had a bunk, the Garhwalis were in their allotted messes and we still had 200
bunks kept vacant for evacuees and 60 bunks for any casualties in an improvised
afloat hospital.
The next morning, training began of working up the soldiers for an airborne
assault operation. First dry runs were conducted with helos switched off on deck.
These were repeated till the embarkation and disembarkation times were brought
down to a bare minimum. With dry runs completed, they practiced embarkation
and disembarkation with rotors whirring overhead and finally they rehearsed the
actual assault phase at INS Garuda with echelons of one company strength
repeatedly practicing airborne assault and evacuation. By the time they had
completed their training, the 7th Battalion Garhwal Rifles had transformed from a
footslogging infantry battalion into a formidable assault team, which had totally
integrated itself with its base – INS Viraat.
The Viraat and her task group continued to operate at / off Cochin for another
two weeks, ready to execute the mission if ordered. On 12th August, we were
ordered to disembark air squadrons, as the mission in Sri Lanka would no longer
be required. The aircraft flew away as quickly as they had come and the ship
returned to Bombay.
For both the Garhwalis and the Viraat, it had been a very happy and educative
association. Both were richer for the experience and both will, for a long time,
look back with pride and nostalgia on a mission well executed. While Operation
Jupiter was not launched, both units were fully prepared and both believe that in
their own small way, they helped to make the operation unnecessary.
“In view of this operational association, the Garhwal Regiment was affiliated to
INS Viraat on 2 February 1990 and this association remains to this day.”
General VN Sharma was the Chief of Army Staff from 1989 to 1991. He recalls:
“As a result of a deal with the LTTE that he would call for the withdrawal of the
IPKF, Mr Premadasa succeeded, in June 1989, in politically displacing Mr
Jayawardene as the President of Sri Lanka. Immediately on assuming office, he
asked that the IPKF withdraw. I was firm that under no circumstances would the
Indian Army leave in circumstances that might, historically, sully its fair name. As
and when it did leave, it would be with ‘bands playing and flags flying high’ as
appropriate for a friendly army departing after rendering assistance.
In Sri Lanka, the JVP and the LTTE fomented anti-India feelings. Political tension
mounted. It became necessary to plan for the evacuation of our High Commission
officials. I met Mr Premadasa in Sri Lanka and convinced him of the perilous
situation he might be placed in if miscreants decided to displace him and how
only the Indian Armed Forces could protect him from mishap. Mr Premadasa was
duly ‘persuaded’.
As tension continued to rise, plans had to be made for the contingency that the
Sri Lankan Armed Forces might oppose the evacuation from the High
Commission. A battalion of troops was embarked in the aircraft carrier Viraat,
which, along with an armada of naval ships, remained out of sight. When tension
eased, the armada withdrew. In due course, the Army left Trincomalee with
bands playing.”
Political interaction between the two Governments had defused the crisis and
the contingency plans were deactivated by mid August 1989. De-induction
started in August 1989 and by October 1989, the bulk of the IPKF were
withdrawn.
Interesting fact to be noted is that it was the British who had originally modified the Hermes as a commando carrier, and had then reconverted her into a strike/ASW carrier. This ability of the Viraat to carry troops and LCVPs came in handy during the planning and lead up to the Operation Jupiter!
Operation Talwar (Kargil War – 1999)
During the infamous border clashes in the summer of 1999, fought at foreboding heights of the high Himalayas, the Indian Navy played a critical but unsung role in pressuring Pakistan to withdraw to its side of the LoC.
As early as 20th May, 1999, Naval Headquarters (NHQ) issued directives to the Western Command to “enhance security measures”. Western Naval Command immediately swung into action – deploying a Leander class frigate and two missile boats to the Gujarat area alongwith Dornier maritime patrol aircraft to closely monitor approaches to Indian territorial waters.
On 23rd May, further directives were issued to prevent Pakistani preemptive action, monitor all Pakistani naval forces and secure offshore assets.
By 27th May, the entire western fleet, including INS Viraat and her task force had deployed to the Northern Arabian Sea. Additionally, NHQ deployed a guided missile destroyer off Saurashtra and additional Dornier 228s to monitor Pakistani Naval Forces.
By June, units of the Eastern Fleet arrived in the operational area of the Western Fleet, fully armed and supplied. This was picked up by the media and news eventually reached Pakistan. The Pakistan Naval Headquarters, sensing trouble, dispersed all of its vessels away from Karachi and advised them to “steer clear of the Indian Navy”.
By mid-June, Pakistani reported that it had readied missiles with nuclear warheads, in an attempt to threaten India. In response, the Indian Naval units moved even closer to Pakistani coast and the task force began exercises, practicing crippling strikes against Pakistani assets (including both missile strikes and strikes from Sea Harriers operating from the Viraat).
International media reports of an Indian Naval Contingent of about 30 capital ships stationed a mere thirteen miles from Karachi shook the Pakistani establishment. The ships were essentially threatening a complete and absolute blockade of all Pakistani seaborne trade.
Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif announced a full withdrawal on 14th July, 1999. He later recalled “we had only six days of fuel stocks left”.
Operation Talwar was a stellar success, the Navy was able to pressurize an adversary nation into submission without actually escalating into full-scale war. Op Talwar was also the first time the Navy conducted an operation in support of what was essentially a territorial skirmish along the border.
The Viraat and her task force played a pivotal role in the success of Op Talwar.
The Future:
The Indian Navy of 1999 and the Navy of today are radically different. While unit numbers haven’t actually increased in great strength, the ships in service are modern, state of the art ships with far greater strength than what would have been imaginable at the turn of the 21st century.
In this fast-paced modernization of the fleet, the Viraat has been left behind. In spite of several deep and thorough upgrades and refits, the “Grand Old Lady” has lost its relevance in the modern Surface fleet.
The Viraat received new sensors and missiles (the Barak 1 PDMS) and stores to operate the Kamov series of helicopters in addition to its previous air wing. Even so, she proved difficult to operate, given her great age. Even her Air Wing was proving to be unreliable. The Sea Harriers were then retired from the Naval Air Arm, following the induction of INS Vikramaditya(R33) and the MiG-29K fighters.
The Indian Navy also had initiated a project to build an Indigenous Aircraft Carrier under Project 71; which is fast progressing towards completion with a slated delivery of the new INS Vikrant in 2018.
Meanwhile, the Royal Navy doesn’t have a single aircraft carrier in service. But that will corrected shortly with the commissioning of the first of two Queen Elizabeth class supercarriers, the largest warships to be ever built in the UK.
Finally the majestic Viraat was decommissioned from the Indian Navy on March 6th, 2017, in a beautiful sunset ceremony attended by all COs of the ship, both Indian and British. Additionally, the Chief of Naval Staff, IN Admiral Sunil Lanba as well as the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Philip Jones were in attendance. An interesting fact to note : of the 22 COs of INS Viraat, 5 rose to the rank of Chief of Naval Staff!!
The ship stayed true to its motto : “Jalameva Yasya, Balameva Tasya” meaning “He who rules over the Seas is all powerful.”
Even though the ship’s future seems uncertain, with a proposal to preserve her as a maritime museum under consideration, she shall remain forever etched in the memories of the men and women who served aboard her, in all her forms.
On Warfare 