For the primary time, anti-ship missiles had been used within the area.

In the inevitability of a 1971 conflict between India and Pakistan, Chief of Army Staff, General Sam Manekshaw, gave Prime Minister Indira Gandhi a paper on which he wrote December 4, the date on which India will go to conflict with Pakistan. On December 3, Pakistan bombed 9 Indian airfields, and the conflict broke out.

The Indian Navy emerged as a pivotal power within the liberation of East Pakistan. India’s maritime power operated in two theatres – Eastern and Western – and ensured a Naval blockade to interrupt the hyperlink between East and West Pakistan.

Operation Trident

The armed forces had been making ready for the conflict for months. After the air raids by Pakistan, orders had been dispatched to the Western Naval Command (WNC) for ‘Operation Trident’. Vice Admiral SN Kohli (Later Admiral) was the Flag Officer C-in-C of the WNC, and orders got to dispatch the Naval fleet in Mumbai and Okha. The plan was to bomb the Karachi port.

The ‘Karachi Strike Group’ from the twenty fifth Missile Boat Squadron, also called the ‘Killer Squadron’, consisted of two Petya-class ships – Katchal and Kiltan – and three missile boats – INS Nirghat, Nipat, and Veer. One missile boat was stationed on the Dwarka port to offer cowl. The missile boats had been armed with 4 Russian Styx Surface-to-Surface missiles every.

Commander Babru Bhan Yadav, the Killer Squadron’s commanding officer, was ordered to dispatch for an offensive on Karachi port. The plan was to assault Karachi port on December 3, however the air raids by Pakistan occurred within the night, making it tough to launch an operation on the identical day; due to this fact, D-day was modified to December 4.

The Petyas had been tasked to accompany the missile boats with their appropriate radar, present higher targets, and tow a ship in case of an emergency. Before the conflict, the Pakistan Navy created a 75-mile (120 km) demarcation line for all service provider ships certain for Karachi and ordered them to not function in that zone between sundown and daybreak, and any boat picked on radar can be a Pakistani boat on patrol.

When the ‘Killer Squadron’ strike group reached 112 km south of Karachi, a goal was recognized northwest at a spread of 70 km, and one other goal was noticed by the radar virtually 68 km northeast. The strike group recognized them as warships and Styx missiles, with a spread of 75 km, had been ready for launch.

INS Nirghat engaged with the goal within the northwest and fired two Styx missiles. The Styx destroyed PNS Khaibar. INS Nipat fired two missiles and sank a service provider ship, MV Venus Challenger, which was reportedly loaded with arms for the Pakistani military. INS Veer destroyed PNS Muhafiz, a coastal minesweeper.

In his guide Transition to Triumph, Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani offers an analyzed account of the operation. When the strike group began closing in in direction of Karachi, INS Nirghat’s radar mistook anti-aircraft tracer shells fired as plane, which created confusion and concern of a Pakistani air raid.

Karachi Port On Fire

Commander BB Yadav onboard INS Nipat fired his remaining Styx missiles on the Kemari oil refinery and set it on hearth. The assault was profitable, and no loss was reported. It was the best hour within the historical past of the Indian Navy. Four days later, Operation Python was the final nail within the coffin. INS Vinash, Talwar, and Trishul sank PNS Dacca, broken MV Harmattan and MV Gulf, and the Kemari oil refinery burnt for days. Pakistan Navy’s presence on the western entrance was in ashes, and India had full maritime dominance.

For the primary time, anti-ship missiles had been used within the area. Commander Babru Bhan Yadav was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his gallant motion, and the Navy celebrates December 4 as ‘Navy Day’ to honour the battle.

The bombing of Karachi port and the oil refinery resulted in a lack of round $3 billion to Pakistan and a large scarcity of oil for Pakistani plane. It additionally lower the Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) between East and West Pakistan and blocked any provide of US weapons to Pakistan through Karachi.