25 YEARS OF INS VIRAAT- 12 MAY
1987 TO 12 MAY 2012
On 12 May 1987 HMS Hermes became
INS Viraat under the command of Capt (later Vice Admiral) Vinod Pasricha. Commissioned in Nov 1959 as HMS Hermes, the ship completed 28 years in the Royal Navy and saw combat in the Falklands Campaign.
The commissioning signal from the
Naval Headquarters said:
“Your commissioning today marks an important milestone in the development
of our Navy’s blue water capability. May your operational prowess match your
gigantic name and good fortune attend on you wherever you may sail. I wish all
officers and men a happy, challenging and rewarding commission”
The message from the crew of the Hermes read:
“Bringing forward HMS Hermes for hand over to the Indian Navy and
commissioning as INS Viraat… It is with a mixture of sadness, pride and
confidence that we today handover this magnificent ship to the Indian Navy;
sadness in that we with our happy memories witness her passing from the Royal
Navy, pride in the capabilities noting that
she will be in good hands and confident that she will prove equal and worthy of
all the aspirations the Indian Navy have for her as Viraat. The Captain, officers
and ships company of HMS Hermes congratulate the Captain, officers and ships
company on the majesty of INS Viraat and may good fortune attend all who sail
in her quest to control the sea and be all powerful.
INS
Viraat has been maintained and run by the
Indian Navy for a quarter century after that, making Hermes-Viraat one of the longest
serving aircraft carrier in the history of naval operations anywhere in the
world. This says something about the Indian Navy’s capability in maintaining and
operating warships.
In 2009, when the Hermes-Viraat
completed 50 years in service, the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal
Verma, who commanded Viraat from 08 Nov 1996 to 13 Dec 1997 said:
“The fact that a warship designed
in 1940s and built in the 1950s could evolve and adjust to the technological
and strategic imperatives of the post war years, the Cold War and continues to
have utility in the 21st century is testimony to the men and women
who built her and also those who have contributed to transforming her over the
years.
The ship's motto is “Any Mission, Any Time, Anywhere”
Some other interesting facts
of INS Viraat
When commissioned in 1987, her
envisaged life was 10 years....
INS VIraat’s last major
modernisation and life enhancement refit was undertaken in 2008-09 enabling a
life extension of a few more years ie till the arrival of Vikramaditya ie
definitely till 2013...
INS Viraat was the flag ship of
the western fleet during Op Parakram. With its full strength of Sea Harriers
embarked, Viraat was central to the Western Fleet deployment for over six
months. She was at sea with Capt (now VAdm) DK Joshi as the Commanding Officer
and RAdm (later VAdm) JS Bedi as the Fleet Commander.
She is currently commanded by Capt Ajendra Bahadur Singh, the 19th
CO of the ship.
Ship has seen 18 Commanding
Officers, three of which three went onto become Chiefs of Naval Staff --- Adm
Madhvendra Singh, Adm Arun Prakash and Adm Nirmal Verma.
Ship has done over 40,000 hours
of steaming and traversed over 5,00,000 nautical miles across the proverbial
seven seas. The ship has undertaken over 20,000 hrs of flying from its
deck.
INS
VIRAAT - LIST OF COMMANDING OFFICERS
|
|||
S NO.
|
NAME
|
FROM
|
TO
|
1
|
CAPTAIN VINOD PASRICHA NM
|
12 May 1987
|
15 Dec 1988
|
2.
|
CAPTAIN MADHAVENDRA
SINGH
|
15 Dec 1988
|
30 Aug 1990
|
3.
|
CAPTAIN ARUN PRAKASH VRC
NM
|
30 Aug 1990
|
26 Dec 1991
|
4.
|
CAPTAIN MADANJIT SINGH
|
26 Dec 1991
|
21 Mar 1993
|
5.
|
CAPTAIN YASHWANT PRASAD
|
21 Mar 1993
|
28 Sep 1994
|
5.
|
CAPTAIN JAGJEET SINGH
BEDI VSM
|
28 Sep 1994
|
13 Oct 1995
|
6.
|
CAPTAIN VIJAY SHANKAR
|
20 Oct 1995
|
08 Nov 1996
|
7.
|
CAPTAIN NIRMAL KUMAR
VERMA
|
08 Nov 1996
|
13 Dec 1997
|
8.
|
CAPTAIN SK DAMLE NM VSM
|
13 Dec 1997
|
15 JUN 2000
|
9.
|
CAPTAIN RF CONTRACTOR
|
16 Jun 2000
|
18 Dec 2001
|
10.
|
CAPTAIN DK JOSHI NM VSM
|
18 Dec 2001
|
07 Jan 2003
|
11.
|
CAPTAIN ANIL K CHOPRA
|
07 Jan 2003
|
06 Jan 2004
|
12.
|
CAPTAIN PRADEEP CHAUHAN
|
06 Jan 2004
|
31 May 2005
|
13.
|
CAPTAIN SPS CHEEMA NM
|
31 May 2005
|
15 May 2006
|
14.
|
CAPTAIN GIRISH LUTHRA
|
15 May 2006
|
11 Aug 2007
|
15.
|
CAPTAIN AR KARVE
|
11 Aug 2007
|
27 Dec 2008
|
16.
|
CAPTAIN ANIL KUMAR
CHAWLA
|
27 Dec 2008
|
06 Aug 2010
|
17.
|
CAPTAIN HARI KUMAR
|
06 Aug 2010
|
15 Nov 2011
|
18.
|
CAPTAIN AJENDRA BAHADUR
SINGH
|
15 Nov 2011
|
Onwards till date
|
All major refits of Viraat have
been undertaken by the Cochin Shipyard Limited. The extension of the ship’s
life far beyond initial expectations is stands as a testimony to the high
levels of workmanship and dedication of the yard staff at Cochin Shipyard.
Nice article & photos Ajai Sir.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
- Tanuj, Noida
Sir,
ReplyDeletePls read this article.
http://www.army-technology.com/features/featurefuture-infantry-unravelling-the-indian-armys-f-insas-programme/
Virat.. the nation is proud of you.
ReplyDeleteI am from the Saturation diving Industry and know of people who work with me that have served on the HMS Hermes and also were in the falklands wars. They have tried before and are trying to sort of renuite on her decks as a nostalgic moment for her 53rd birthday or whenever the Govt Gods grant permisiion. How do they or I in India go about it so that the veterans of the Hermes/Viraat can sort of set foot on her. Obviously the guys are ex British sailors. Any information would be helpful. My email add is rustomjam@yahoo.com.
ReplyDeleteI know this may be the wrong place to post. However, here goes...
ReplyDeleteMs. Vandana Agarwal transferred out of the Cabinet Secretariat after serving for a very short period (Feb '12 to Apr '12). For leaking Gen. V K Singh's letter?
http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/om-02052012-d.pdf
@Ajai sir
ReplyDeletewith just 5 Harriers left and all of them to be decommissioned by early 2013 do you expect INS Viraat to operate as a LPD or a Helicopter carrier for the remainder of her service life which is well and truly another 10 years.
Expect a answer
thanks
Joydeep Ghosh
YES ,WE ARE ALL VERY PROUD OF THE VIRAT THE COMMISONING CREW AND THE REFIT THAT THEY GAVE HER IN ROYAL NAVY DOCKYARD , MAKING IT A SHIP WHICH ATLEST SOME IN THE ROYAL NAVY THOUGHT WAS WORTH RETAINING RATHER THAN TRANFERING TO INDIAN NAVY.
ReplyDeleteHAVING BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE AQUISITIONING OF VIRAT ,I AM REMINDED OF THE DRAMA WHICH WAS PLAYED A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE HANDING OVER AND THE RELEASE OF THE ASSOCIATED LAST STAGE PAYMENT .ULTIMATELY THE THEN VICE CHEIF HAD TO GO THE UK A DAY BEFORE THE HANDING OVER AND ENSURE THAT WE GET THIS MIGHTY SHIP .
@Cmde H C Sethi
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing the inputs, I would like to say that you should give your inputs to any matter that you feel is worth your opinion
regards
Joydeep Ghosh