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INS Khukri (F149)

Indian blackwood-class frigate sunk by Pakistan

Summary

Indian blackwood-class frigate sunk by Pakistan

Field	Value
section1	{{Infobox ship/image
image	INS Khukri (F149).jpg
image_caption	INS Khukrii underway
section2	{{Infobox ship/career
flag	India Indian Navy
name	INS Khukri
namesake	Khukri
builder	J. Samuel White, Cowes
laid_down	29 December 1955
launched	20 November 1956
commissioned	16 July 1958
identification	Pennant number: F149
fate	Torpedoed and sunk by Pakistan Navy submarine PNS Hangor on 9 December 1971
section3	{{Infobox ship/characteristics
class
displacement	1,180 LT full load
length	300 ftpp 310 ftoa
beam	33 ft
draught	15.5 ft
propulsion	Y-100 plant; 2 x Babcock & Wilcox boilers, steam turbines on 1 shaft, 15,000 shp
speed	27.8 kn maximum, 24.5 kn sustained
range	5200 nmi at 12 kn
complement	150
sensors	*Radar Type 974 navigation
armament	*3 × 40 mm Bofors gun Mark 7 (quarterdeck mount later removed)
*2 × Limbo Mark 10 A/S mortars<ref name	russellphillip /

Sonar Type 174 search
Sonar Type 162 target classification
Sonar Type 170 targeting
2 × Limbo Mark 10 A/S mortars '*INS Khukri''' was a Type 14 (Blackwood-class) frigate of the Indian Navy. It was a part of the 14th Frigate Squadron, a task force that formed part of the Western Fleet. The squadron consisted of the three frigates – INS *Khukri'' (F149), and . She was sunk off the coast of Diu, Gujarat, India by the Pakistan Navy submarine on 9 December 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. It was the first warship sunk in action by a submarine since World War II. It is the post-independence Indian navy's only warship to have been lost in war.

The sinking of INS ''Khukri''

After the beginning of hostilities on 3 December 1971, Indian Naval radio detection identified a submarine lurking about 35 mi southwest of Diu harbour. The 14th Frigate Squadron of the Western Fleet was dispatched to destroy the submarine.

The submarine sighted the squadron on the evening of 9 December. Khukri was still not aware of the submarine's presence and continued slowly on a steady course because she was testing an improved version of the 170/174 sonar, which required a low speed to increase detection, despite the fact that moving on low speed was against Indian anti-submarine doctrine. At 19:57 Hangor fired a homing torpedo on a sonar approach at Kirpan. The torpedo missed Kirpan and did not explode and was detected, causing Kirpan to turn away and fire multiple anti-submarine mortars, all of which also missed. Khukri increased its speed and turned towards the submarine, which then fired a second torpedo directed at Khukri. The torpedo struck Khukri and exploded under its oil tanks. According to the Pakistani submarine captain, Commander Ahmed Tasnim, the ship sank within two minutes. Other sources claim that Khukri was struck by three torpedoes before going down.

After a few minutes, Kirpan attacked Hangor with depth charges, as her anti-submarine mortars were no longer functional. All missed. Hangor then fired a final torpedo at Kirpan, which Kirpan dodged before returning back. Hangor then left the area. Hangor patrolled the region for the next four days before returning safely to her berth.

Casualties

Khukri is the only ship lost in combat in the history of the post-independence Indian Navy. Eighteen officers and 176 sailors were killed. The captain, Mahendra Nath Mulla, was among the casualties and is therefore the only Indian captain to go down with a vessel. He was posthumously awarded India's second-highest military honour, the Maha Vir Chakra.

Remembrance

A memorial in the remembrance of this ship has been built, along the coast, in Diu. The memorial consists of a scale model of Khukri encased in a glass house, placed atop a hillock facing the sea. The memorial was inaugurated by Vice Admiral Madhvendra Singh as the flag officer commanding-in-chief.

INS ''Khukri'' during an exercise with [[Indonesian Navy]] in 1960

Model of ''Khukri'' at the INS ''Khukri'' memorial, Diu

Controversy

Responsibility for errors by Indian naval officers related to the sinking has caused some controversy. The naval officer who led the inquiry into the sinking, Benoy Bhushan, has claimed that India's official naval history invented fictional accounts to cover up bungling and a surviving sailor from the frigate, Chanchal Singh Gill, has called for an investigation and withdrawal of gallantry awards to negligent officers in the squadron.

Notes

References

"Jane's Fighting Ships, 1961-62". Sampson Low, Marston & Co Ltd.
(2000). "Transition to triumph: history of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975". Director Personnel Services (DPS).
{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120313093601/http://www.spsnavalforces.net/mn_mulla.asp]}}
Harry, B.. "Loss of the INS Khukri".
"The Sinking of INS Khukri". russellphillipsbooks.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20101223133653/http://www.zimbio.com/member/Pakistan1947/articles/4112973/Vice%2BAdmiral%2BTasneem Interview with Vice Admiral Tasneem, December 2008]
Friedman, Norman (1984). ''Submarine design and development''. Conway Maritime, p. 188
link. (25 April 2013)
Sura, Ajay. (7 January 2011). "Khukri sinking: Probe officer terms row 'silly fiction'". Times of India.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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