INS Godavari (F20)

History

During the mid-1970s, the Navy's Directorate of Naval Design developed a concept for the next generation of frigates, which would supplant the British-designed s. The new Godavari-class frigates would be the first indigenously designed and built frigates, with vastly improved speed and firepower. As the lead ship of her class, Godavari was laid down on 3 November 1978 by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Jal Cursetji, and was launched on 15 May 1980. She was commissioned on 10 December 1983.

Operations

Notable operations involving INS Godavari include Operation Jupiter in 1988 (Sri Lanka), Operation Shield and Operation Bolster in 1994 (de-induction of Indian Army from Somalia), Patrol of Gulf of Aden (PoG) in 2009, and 2011 anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. The ship also visited New York harbour in July 1986 on the occasion of the bicentennial celebrations of the Statue of Liberty.

Operation Cactus

In 1988, following an attempted coup d'état against Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom by Sri Lankan mercenaries, India launched Operation Cactus to restore the democratically elected government. After Indian paratroopers restored the presidency, the mercenaries captured Maldivian hostages on board a freighter and fled towards Sri Lanka. INS Godavari and successfully intercepted the freighter, rescued the hostages and arrested the mercenaries off the Sri Lankan coast.

UNOSOM II

While the UN Security Council Resolution 954, extended the UN mandate for UNOSOM II in Somalia to March 1995, the United States and other NATO members of the mission abandoned the peacekeeping effort and withdrew from Somalia over a year earlier. As the mission approached its scheduled end, the situation on the ground continued to deteriorate. With no other international support forthcoming, INS Godavari along with and INS Shakti were deployed to Mogadishu in December 1994 to support the withdrawal of the Indian Army's 66 Brigade, including the 2nd Battalion, Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (2 JAKLI).

Incidents

Pakistan Naval Ship brushed with INS Godavari in June 2011 while escorting Egyptian ship MV Suez. This incident triggered a diplomatic row between India and Pakistan.

Fate

In 2014, a naval review board decided Godavari would be decommissioned the following year. After 32 years of service, she was decommissioned on 23 December 2015. A senior naval official said she would first be stripped of her weaponry and any salvageable fittings, and then most likely be sunk as a target ship. In October 2020, the frigate was sunk as a target in the Arabian Sea by the corvette INS Prabal.

References

References

1. (23 October 2020). "In Naval Exercises At Arabian Sea, Missile Sinks Old Ship".
2. (23 October 2020). "Indian Navy sinks old ship with missile during exercise at Arabian Sea".
3. (23 October 2020). "The anti-ship missile (AShM) launched by Indian Navy Missile Corvette #INSPrabal, homes on with deadly accuracy at max range, sinking target ship: Indian Navy".
4. "Advanced Active cum Passive Integrated Sonar System".
5. "India's first indigenously designed and built Frigate INS Godavari to be Decommissioned".
6. (21 December 2015). "INS Godavari sets sail into the sunset after three decades". The Times of India.
7. Bedi, Rahul. (20 April 2015). "India launches first-of-class Project 15B destroyer". IHS Jane's 360.
8. (21 December 2015). "India's first indigenously designed and built Frigate INS Godavari to be Decommissioned". Indian Navy.
9. "India's first indigenously designed and built Frigate INS Godavari to be Decommissioned".
10. "Somalia, 1992–1994".
11. "Row over MV Suez intensifies India to lodge formal protest with Pak Sources | NDTV/Home | News & Information Cell, India".
12. (24 December 2015). ""Godavari, 1st indigenously designed warship, calls it a day"".
13. (23 October 2020). "In Naval Exercises At Arabian Sea, Missile Sinks Old Ship".
14. (23 October 2020). "Indian Navy sinks old ship with missile during exercise at Arabian Sea".
15. (23 October 2020). "The anti-ship missile (AShM) launched by Indian Navy Missile Corvette #INSPrabal, homes on with deadly accuracy at max range, sinking target ship: Indian Navy".