INS Khukri (F149)

2021-06-20T02:30:20Z

82.181.143.171: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNS_Hangor_(S131) according to the article on the submarine with various sources, it was the first warship sunk by a submarine since *World War II*, not Korean War

{{Short description|Blackwood-class frigate}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2015}}
{{Other ships|INS Khukri}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:INS Khukri (F149).jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption=INS ''Khukri'' underway
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=India
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|India|naval}}
|Ship name=INS ''Khukri''<ref name=Janes1961i>{{cite book|editor-last=Blackman |editor-first=Raymond VB |title=Jane's Fighting Ships, 1961-62 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co Ltd |pages=114}}</ref>
|Ship namesake=[[Khukri]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[J. Samuel White]], [[Cowes]]
|Ship laid down=29 December 1955
|Ship launched=20 November 1956
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=16 July 1958
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: F149
|Ship fate=Torpedoed and sunk by Pakistan Navy submarine PNS ''Hangor'' on 9 December 1971
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass-|Blackwood|frigate}}<ref name=russellphillip />
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement={{convert|1,180|LT|t|abbr=on}} full load<ref name=russellphillip />
|Ship length={{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on}}pp {{convert|310|ft|m|abbr=on}}oa<ref name=russellphillip />
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=russellphillip />
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|15.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=russellphillip />
|Ship depth=
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|Ship decks=
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|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=Y-100 plant; 2 x [[Babcock & Wilcox]] boilers, steam turbines on 1 shaft, {{convert|15,000|shp|MW|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|27.8|kn|km/h|0}} maximum, {{convert| 24.5|kn|km/h|0}} sustained<ref name=russellphillip />
|Ship range={{convert|5200|nmi|km|-1}} at {{convert|12|kn|km/h|0}}
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|Ship complement=150<ref name=russellphillip />
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|Ship sensors=*Radar Type 974 navigation
*Sonar Type 174 search
*Sonar Type 162 target classification
*Sonar Type 170 targeting
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*3 × [[Bofors 40 mm gun|40 mm Bofors gun Mark 7]] (quarterdeck mount later removed)<ref name=russellphillip />
*2 × [[Limbo (weapon)|Limbo Mark 10]] A/S mortars<ref name=russellphillip />
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|}
'''INS ''Khukri''''' was a [[Blackwood-class frigate|Type 14 (''Blackwood''-class)]] [[frigate]] of the [[Indian Navy]]. She was sunk off the coast of [[Diu, India|Diu]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]] by the [[Pakistan Navy]] {{sclass-|Daphné|submarine|0}} submarine {{ship|PNS|Hangor|S131|2}} on 9 December 1971 during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]. This was the first warship sunk in action by a submarine since [[World War II]]. It remains the post-Independence Indian navy's only warship to be lost in war to date.<ref name=russellphillip /><ref name="navalforces"/>

{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Sinking of INS ''Khukri''
| image =
| caption =
| partof = the [[Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971|Naval Conflict]] of [[Indo-Pakistan War of 1971]]
| date = 9 December 1971
| place = [[Arabian sea]]
| result = INS Khukhri sank<ref name=russellphillip />
| combatant1 = {{PAK}}
----
{{navy|Pakistan}}
| combatant2 = {{IND}}
----
{{Navy|IND}}
| commander1 = [[Commander]] [[Ahmed Tasnim]]
| commander2 = [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] [[Mahendra Nath Mulla]]{{KIA}}
| strength1 = {{ship|PNS|Hangor|S131|6}} ([[submarine]])
| strength2 = INS ''Khukri'' ([[frigate]])<br>{{INS|Kirpan|1959|6}} ([[frigate]])
| casualties1 = ''None''
| casualties2 = INS ''Khukri'' sunk<ref name=russellphillip /><br>194 killed<ref name=exp1 /><br>|
}}

==Sinking==
After the beginning of hostilities on 3 December 1971, Indian Naval radio detection equipment identified a submarine lurking about {{convert|35|mi}} south-west of Diu harbour. The 14th Frigate Squadron of the Western Fleet was dispatched to destroy the submarine.<ref name=russellphillip /> It normally consisted five ships ''Khukri'', {{INS|Kirpan|1959|2}}, ''Kalveti, Krishna'' and ''Kuthar,'' but at the time of the incident ''Kuthar''{{'}}s boiler room was being repaired in Bombay.<ref name=russellphillip /> One reason that may have prompted the decision to deploy two obsolete ''Blackwood''-class frigates against a modern ''Daphne''-class submarine was that the Indian Navy lacked sufficient numbers of anti-submarine aircraft.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_431.shtml Indian-Subcontinent Database] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060710173052/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_431.shtml |date=10 July 2006 }}</ref>

In the early hours of 9 December, ''Hangor'' picked up two sonar contacts in the area.<ref name=russellphillip /> The sonar and radar transmissions identified them as warships but ''Hangor'' failed to intercept them and lost contact when the range increased.<ref name=russellphillip />

The submarine sighted the squadron on the evening of 9 December. ''Khukri'' was still not aware of the submarine's presence<ref name=brharry>{{cite web|last=Harry |first=B. |title=Loss of the INS Khukri |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE4-3/harry.html |access-date=21 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118015853/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE4-3/harry.html |archive-date=18 January 2012 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=russellphillip>{{cite web|title=The Sinking of INS Khukri|url=http://www.russellphillipsbooks.co.uk/articles/ins-khukri.php|work=Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers Journal.|publisher=russellphillipsbooks|access-date=20 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326015444/http://www.russellphillipsbooks.co.uk/articles/ins-khukri.php|archive-date=26 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> At 19:57 ''Hangor'' fired a homing torpedo on a sonar approach at ''Kirpan''.<ref name=russellphillip /> The torpedo failed to explode<ref name=brharry /><ref name="interviewtasneem" /> and was detected by ''Kirpan'' which turned away and fired anti-submarine mortars.<ref name=russellphillip /> ''Khukri'' increased its speed and turned towards the submarine, which then fired a second torpedo directed at ''Khukri''.<ref name=russellphillip /> The torpedo struck ''Khukri'' and exploded under its oil tanks.<ref name=russellphillip /><ref name=brharry /> According to the Pakistani submarine captain, Commander [[Ahmed Tasnim]], the ship sank within two minutes.<ref name="interviewtasneem">[https://web.archive.org/web/20101223133653/http://www.zimbio.com/member/Pakistan1947/articles/4112973/Vice%2BAdmiral%2BTasneem Interview with Vice Admiral Tasneem, December 2008] </ref> Other sources claim that ''Khukri'' was struck by three torpedoes before going down.<ref>Friedman, Norman (1984). ''Submarine design and development''. Conway Maritime, p. 188</ref>

After a few minutes, ''Kirpan'' turned back to attack ''Hangor'' with depth charges, as her anti-submarine mortars had broken down.<ref name=russellphillip /> ''Hangor'' then fired another torpedo at ''Kirpan'' before turning away.<ref name=russellphillip /><ref name=brharry /> ''Hangor'' patrolled the region for the next four days before returning safely to her berth.

==Casualties==
To date, ''Khukri'' is the only ship lost in combat in the history of the Indian Navy.<ref name=russellphillip /><ref name="navalforces">[http://www.spsnavalforces.net/mn_mulla.asp] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313093601/http://www.spsnavalforces.net/mn_mulla.asp |date=13 March 2012 }}</ref><ref name="ojnews">{{cite web |url=http://www.ojnewscom.com/index.php?page=newsDetail&id=4446 |title=Why they chose to go down with the ship? |last=Wattal |first=Ameeta Mulla |publisher=OjNewsCom |date=9 December 2010 |access-date=7 June 2015}}</ref> 18 officers and 176 sailors were lost in the sinking.<ref name="navalforces"/><ref name="ojnews"/> The captain, [[Mahendra Nath Mulla]], was among the casualties the only Indian captain to go down with a vessel. He was posthumously awarded India's second-highest military honour, the [[Maha Vir Chakra]].<ref name="navalforces"/><ref name="ojnews"/>

There is a memorial to the sailors in [[Diu, India|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.<ref name=exp1>[http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=153894 Two-day ceremony at Navy’s Diu memorial] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425031811/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=153894 |date=25 April 2013 }}</ref>

[[File:Unidentified Indonesian ship at full steam, Jalesveva Jayamahe, p57.jpg|thumb|INS ''Khukri'' during an execise with [[Indonesian Navy]] in 1960]]

[[File:Model of INS Khukri at memorial of the ship, 2012.jpg|thumb|Model of ''Khukri'' at the INS ''Khukri'' memorial, Diu]]

[[File:Engraved stone about INS Khukri at the ship's memorial.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Khukri-sinking-Probe-officer-terms-row-silly-fiction/articleshow/7233771.cms |title=Khukri sinking: Probe officer terms row 'silly fiction' |newspaper=Times of India |last=Sura |first=Ajay |date=7 January 2011 |access-date=7 June 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col}}
* [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]
* [[Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War]]
* [[Military plans of the Bangladesh Liberation War]]
* [[Mitro Bahini order of battle]]
* [[Pakistan Army order of battle, December 1971]]
* [[Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan]]
* [[1971 Bangladesh genocide]]
* [[Operation Searchlight]]
* [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts]]
* [[Military history of India]]
* [[List of military disasters]]
* [[List of wars involving India]]
{{col div end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Mankekar |first=D.R. |title=Twenty-Two Fateful Days: Pakistan Cut to Size. |location=New Delhi |publisher=Indian Book Co. |date=1972}}
* {{cite book|last=Roy |first=Mihir K. |title=War in the Indian Ocean |publisher=Lancer International |date=1995}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120118015853/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE4-3/harry.html Bharat Rakshak's article on the incident]
{{coord|20|16|38|N|70|59|37|E|display=title}}
{{Blackwood class frigate}}
{{Indo-Pakistani War of 1971}}
{{1971 shipwrecks}}
{{Frigates_of_the_Indian_Navy}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khukri}}
[[Category:Blackwood-class frigates of the Indian Navy]]
[[Category:Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Arabian Sea]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by submarines of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1971]]
[[Category:1956 ships]]
[[Category:Diu, India]]
[[Category:Frigates of the Cold War]]

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INS Khukri (F149)