Western Fleet (India)

The Western Fleet is a Naval fleet of the Indian Navy. It is known as the 'Sword Arm' of the Indian Navy.[1] It is headquartered at Mumbai, Maharashtra on the west coast of India. It is a part of the Western Naval Command and is responsible for the naval forces in the Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.

Western Fleet
Founded1 March 1968
Country India
Branch Indian Navy
TypeFleet
Part ofWestern Naval Command
HeadquartersMumbai
Commanders
FOCWFRear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, VSM
Notable
commanders		Rear Admiral E C Kuruvila, PVSM, AVSM

The Western Fleet was formally constituted on 1 March 1968.[1] The Fleet is commanded by a Two Star Flag Officer of the rank of Rear Admiral with the title Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF). Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, VSM is the current FOCWF, who took over on 14 February 2020.[2] The current flagship of the Western Fleet is the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

The Western Fleet in 2014 with the Aircraft Carriers INS Vikramaditya (flagship) and INS Viraat in the Arabian Sea

History

After the independence and the partition of India on 15 August 1947, the ships and personnel of the Royal Indian Navy were divided between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The division of the ships was on the basis of two-thirds of the fleet to India, one third to Pakistan.[3]

This was then called the Indian Fleet. After her commissioning in 1948, HMIS Delhi (later called INS Delhi) became the Flagship of the Indian Fleet. The Fleet commander was styled as Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF). In 1956, Rear Admiral Ram Dass Katari became the first Indian flag officer, and was appointed the first Indian Commander of the Fleet on 2 October, when he took over from Rear Admiral Sir St John Tyrwhitt.[4][5] In 1957, INS Mysore was commissioned and the flag of Rear Adm Katari was transferred from INS Delhi to INS Mysore, thus becoming the flagship of the Indian Fleet.[6]

The first Aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, INS Vikrant was commissioned in 1961 and became the flagship of the Indian Fleet.[7]

On 1 March 1968, the Eastern Naval Command was established and the Indian Fleet was renamed as the Western Fleet.[8][9][10]

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

At the outbreak of war, the Western Fleet was commanded by Rear Admiral E C Kuruvilla, PVSM, AVSM.[11] In mid 1971, The Aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, along with the frigates INS Brahmaputra and INS Beas were moved from the Western Fleet to the Eastern Naval Command.[12] Due to this, INS Mysore, once again, became the flagship of the Western Fleet.

According to Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli, the then Commander-in-Chief Western Naval Command, "The Western Fleet was given a broad directive to seek and destroy enemy warships, protect our merchant shipping, deny sealanes to enemy shipping and render ineffective the maritime line of communication between West Pakistan and East Pakistan to prevent any reinforcements from reaching the beleaguered Pakistani forces at that end."[13]

A missile boat during the 1971 Indo-Pak war

ORBAT

The Order of Battle of the Western Fleet was:[14]
Fleet Commander: Rear Admiral Elenjikal Chandy Kuruvila

Patrol Vessels

Frigates

Destroyer

Submarines

25 K Squadron - Commander Babru Bhan Yadav, MVC

251K Division

252 K Division

Operation Trident & Operation Python
Main articles: Operation Trident (1971) and Operation Python

On 4 December, the fleet successfully executed Operation Trident, a devastating attack on the Pakistan Naval Headquarters at Karachi that sank a minesweeper, a destroyer and an ammunition supply ship. The attack also irreparably damaged another destroyer and oil storage tanks at the Karachi port.[15] To commemorate this, 4 December is celebrated as the Navy Day.[16] This was followed by Operation Python on 8 December 1971, further deprecating the Pakistan Navy's capabilities.[15]

In the war, The Indian frigate INS Khukri, commanded by Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, MVC was sunk by PNS Hangor, while INS Kirpan was damaged on the west coast.[17]

Kargil War

The Indian Navy launched Operation Talwar on 25 May 1999. The entire Western Fleet had sailed from Mumbai to the North Arabian Sea to increase surveillance and adopt a deterrent posture. Elements of the Eastern Fleet joined the Western Fleet in the Arabian Sea later. The joint Western and Eastern Fleets blockaded the Pakistani ports (primarily the Karachi port).[18][19][20][21][22] They began aggressive patrols and threatened to cut Pakistan's sea trade. This exploited Pakistan's dependence on sea-based oil and trade flows.[23] Later, then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif disclosed that Pakistan was left with just six days of fuel to sustain itself if a full-scale war had broken out.[24][25][26][27]

Fleet Commander
Main article: Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet

The Fleet Commander is titled Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF). The appointment has been known by several titles since 1947:

  • 1947 - 1951 - Commodore Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (COMINS)
  • 1951 - 1952 - Rear Admiral Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (RACINS)
  • 1952 - 1957 - Flag Officer Commanding (Flotillas) Indian Fleet (FOCFIF)
  • 1957 - 1968 - Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF)
  • 1968–present - Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF)

See also

References
  1. "Western Fleet Celebrates Golden Jubilee | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  2. "Rear Admiral Krishna D Swaminathan, VSM Assumes Charge as Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Mumbai". indiannavy.nic.in.
  3. Bhatia (1977), p. 28: "Consequent on the partition of the country on 15 August 1947, two thirds of the undivided fleet and associated assets came to India."
  4. Singh 1992, pp. 250.
  5. Katari, Ram Dass (1982). A sailor remembers. Vikas. ISBN 9780706920642.
  6. Blueprint to bluewater, the Indian Navy, 1951-65. Lancer International. 1992. p. 80. ISBN 9788170621485.
  7. Blueprint to bluewater, the Indian Navy, 1951-65. Lancer International. 1992. p. 236. ISBN 9788170621485.
  8. "Golden Jubilee Celebrations of ENC | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  9. Hiranandani, G M (2000). Transition to triumph : history of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975. Lancer Publishers. ISBN 978-1897829721.
  10. "Reorganisation of Naval Commands" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 2 March 1968. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  11. Roy, Mihir (1995). War in the Indian Ocean. Lancer Publishers. p. 285. ISBN 9781897829110.
  12. Krishnan, Nilakanta. A Sailor's story. Punya Pub. ISBN 978-8189534141.
  13. Kohli, Sourendra Nath (2003). We dared. John Blake. ISBN 978-1844540013.
  14. Cardozo, Maj Gen Ian (2006). The sinking of INS Khukri : survivors' stories. Lotus Collection. pp. 181–182. ISBN 9788174364999.
  15. Vice Admiral G. M. Hiranandani (retd.) (11 July 2015). "1971 War: The First Missile Attack on Karachi". Indian Defence Review. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  16. "In 1971, The Indian Navy Attempted One of the World's Most Daring War Strategies on Karachi". Scoop Whoop. 9 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 December 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  17. Russell Phillips (3 June 2013). "The sinking of INS Kukhri". Russell Phillips Books. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  18. Grare, Frédéric. "The Resurgence of Baluch nationalism" (PDF). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  19. "Sea Power". Force India. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  20. Azam Khan, Cdr (Retd) Muhammad. "Exercise Seaspark—2001". Defence Journal. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  21. "Indian Navy celebrates its silent Kargil victory". DNA India. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  22. General Ashok K Mehta (5 August 2005). "The silent sentinel". Rediff. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  23. General Ashok K Mehta (5 August 1999). "The silent sentinel". Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  24. "1999 Kargil Conflict". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  25. Riedel, Bruce. Avoiding Armageddon. HarperCollins. ISBN 9350299941.
  26. Lambeth, Benjamin (2012). Airpower at 18,000': The Indian Air Force in the Kargil War (PDF). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 54.
  27. Hiranandani, G. M. (2009). Transition to Guardianship: The Indian Navy 1991–2000. New Delhi: Lancer Publishers. ISBN 978-1935501268.
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