September 20, 2020 10:06:18 am
INS Viraat is arrested and discharged after 30 years of service in 2017. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)
INS Viraat, the world’s longest-serving aircraft carrier, started his last towed journey on Saturday from Mumbai, which will be broken into Alang in Gujarat and sold for scrap. A look at the Grand Elder of the Indian Navy, which was discharged in 2017 after 30 years of service in the Indian Navy and some 27 years earlier in the Royal British Navy.
British origin
The ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS (Her Majesty’s Ship) Hermes in November 1959, nearly a decade and a half after the keel was laid. During its service with the Royal Navy, the ship operated three fixed-wing aircraft and one helicopter. The ship belonged to the Royal Navy’s Centaur class of light carriers that had been in use since World War II.
It was part of the key formation of British forces during the Falklands War against Argentine forces in 1982. HMS Hermes was decommissioned three years after the war. The Indian Navy, which at the time operated the commissioned INS Vikrant in 1961, focused on Hermes and announced its purchase in 1985-86. The ship underwent a major refit and modernization before being commissioned into the Indian Navy in May 1987 as INS (Indian Naval Vessel) Viraat, which means huge.
Service in the Indian Navy
The motto of the ship was the Sanskrit phrase ‘Jalamev Yashya, Balamev Tasya’ which means ‘whoever controls the sea is the mighty’. The ship was capable of a top speed of 28 knots and underwent three major repairs and some smaller repairs during her 30 years of service with the Indian Navy, in addition to the one prior to commissioning. Refurbishments, which are generally lengthy processes, include a full overhaul, refurbishment, and many capability upgrades.
The ship, during its service, operated a British-made Sea Harriers fixed-wing aircraft and three helicopters: Sea King Mk 42B Anti Submarine, Sea King Mk 42 C, Chetak aircraft on board. Some other helicopters, including the Indian-made ALH Dhruv, have also been operated from it during its service.
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A view of the INS Viraat aircraft carrier docked at the Naval Shipyard prior to its decommissioning in Mumbai in 2017 (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)
INS Viraat was instrumental in Operation Jupiter in 1989 during Sri Lanka’s peacekeeping operation. The ship was subsequently affiliated with the Garhwal Rifles and Scouts of the Indian Army in 1990. The ship was also deployed during Operation 2001-02 Operation Parakram following the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament. He has also played an important role in calibrating the aircraft carrier’s flight activities, which proved to be of great help at the time of the induction of INS Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov), which is currently the only aircraft carrier operated by the Navy of the India. Viraat’s displacement, the indirectly measured weight of the ship, was 28,700 tons compared to Vikramaditya’s 45,500 tons.
At the time of its decommissioning in March 2017, the Navy had said: “Under the Indian flag, the ship has logged more than 22,622 flight hours on various aircraft and spent almost 2,252 days at sea sailing over 5, 88,287 nautical miles or 10 “94,215 kilometers. This implies that Viraat has spent seven years at sea, circling the world 27 times. Since its inception, it has had a total of 80,715 boiler hours in operation. ‘Mother’, as she was affectionately called in the Navy, had been commanded by 22 captains since 1987. She was the flagship of the Navy since its inception. About 40 flag officers, including five naval chiefs of staff, were raised and groomed on her lap. “
With increasing operating costs and age, the Navy announced the decision to dismantle Viraat in early 2015 (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)
The dismantling of Viraat and the future
With operating costs and age increasing, the Navy announced the decision to decommission Viraat in early 2015. After the necessary pre-decommissioning processes at the Kochi shipyard, the ‘Grand Old Lady’ was decommissioned on March 6. 2017, at a ceremony in Mumbai. .
There were plans and even some moves by the state governments of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh at the time to preserve the historic aircraft carrier and turn it into a museum. There were also crowdfunding efforts towards the same goal, which were unsuccessful. However, after not receiving any concrete offer for conservation, the Center decided to auction the ship to be scrapped and sold for scrap.
Since 2017, India has been operating a single aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, compared to the essential minimum operational requirement of having two carrier battle groups, which are carrier-led formations of ships and submarines.
Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao arrives aboard INS Viraat along with Defense Minister Sharad Pawar and Admiral L Ramdas, Chief of the Naval General Staff (far left). Express file photo
Indigenous aircraft carrier at el yunque
India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-I) INS Vikrant, which has a displacement comparable to the Vikramaditya, is under construction at the Kochi shipyard and is expected to undergo sea trials soon.
The Navy’s Maritime Capacity Outlook Plan analyzes three aircraft carriers in total, considering that one of them needs to be overhauled.
This requirement becomes crucial considering China’s goal of gaining control of the Indian Ocean region and shipping lanes that are key to world trade. PLA Navy’s current strength is two carriers with plans to double that by the end of the 2020s.
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