It was in December 2007, over a casual dinner with a naval officer, that I first heard of the “Killer Squadron”. It was a tale I would have traded for a three-hour movie any day, a tale that showed me how little we know about our legends, even on those available in the public domain.
Every year the Indian Navy commemorates the success of Operation Trident on December 4 as Navy Day, paying homage to the “Killer Squadron” which bombed the Karachi harbour and the Pakistan Navy in the 1971 war. The attack paralysed it operationally and helped India gain a strategic upper hand in a battle that would be won miles away on the eastern coast. Operation Trident has often been described by experts as one of the most audacious and brilliantly planned and executed operations in the history of naval warfare.
Motley groupThe killer squadron that was entrusted with the task of sealing the fate of the Karachi harbour consisted of INS Nipat, INS Nirghat, INS Veer and INS Vidyut — a motley group of Osa-I missile boats that was selected over regular vessels considering their speed, which made them fast-moving targets, ideal for a stealth operation. Accompanying these killers were two Petya class vessels, INS Kiltan and INS Katchall, as they possessed better communication skills and possible anti-submarine warfare cover. The crew were trained in Russian, to make communication between attacking vessels difficult to intercept for enemy ears.
The killers were towed south of Karachi harbour, from where they proceeded in an arrowhead formation, changing course frequently with radar inputs from INS Kiltan to avoid enemy detection. The Pakistanis were sitting ducks. The Killer Squadron launched SS-NB-2S Styx AsHm missiles hitting the Pakistani destroyer PNS Khaibar, merchant vessel Venus Challenger (which was allegedly carrying ammunition for the Pakistan Army) and PNS Shahjahan.
The Pakistan Navy never realised what hit it, and assuming it was aircraft fire tried in vain to engage the Styx missiles with their Bofors guns. Supported by the Indian Air Force, the Killer Squadron launched the final missiles on oil tankers on shore and left the harbour a burning heap. As audacious was the attack, equally audacious was the retreat, the aftermath of which saw the Pakistan Air Force scoring a self-goal by hitting its anchored frigate Zulfiqar assuming it to be an enemy boat. By December 7, 1971, the Killer Squadron sailed into Bombay to a heroes’ welcome.
Forty-three years later, the Indian Navy is still considered a force to reckon with in the Indian Ocean. Under the darkest clouds since its inception, under attack from a media which do not always bother to get even the ranks correct in reporting, under the shock of losing men they trained with, the men in white still stand tall.
Expert accounts of the 1971 war tell us of how the ships which bombed Karachi developed snags on their way back home. The accounts also tell us that the ships used for Operation Trident were not meant for it; yet our Navy delivered.
What makes us think otherwise now? Yes, the Navy has indeed had a disastrous year. But to the layman sitting in his living room and lamenting about his tax money sinking into the deep blue, the difference between professional and material failure must be made clear.
Ageing fleetThat a potential blue water navy still works with 30-year-old ships; that day in and day out our fleet goes on these ageing time bombs and doesn’t complain, speaks volumes of a professional force that has hardly ever received any credit from a nation that believes wars are won on foot and not by cutting critical enemy supplies. Yes, lives have been lost and safety has been compromised.
The Navy was probably one of the first institutions in India to put in place a quality management system. But when the system breaks down, the solutions should come from professionals within it and not from self-proclaimed experts who have never given credit to this mighty force for anything. Be it the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami or the threat of Somalian pirates, the Indian Navy represents India’s unsung heroes.
While the Navy sets its house in order, the least we can do is refrain from playing judgmental prudes from our plush couches.
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