DAMAGE ASSESMENT - 1971 INDO-PAK NAVAL WAR

B. Harry v.2.0, February 1, 2005

TABLE

1.1 - Indian Navy Ship to Ship kills (Western Theatre 1971)

Date
3 Dec,1971 4 Dec,1971 4 Dec,1971 4 Dec,1971 4 Dec,1971 8 Dec,1971 8 Dec,1971 8 Dec,1971 8 Dec,1971 8 Dec,1971

Ship
INS Rajput INS Nirghat INS Nipat INS Veer INS Nipat INS Talwar INS Vinash INS Vinash INS Vinash INS Brahmaputra

Weapon
Depth charges Styx ASM Styx ASM Styx ASM Styx ASM 4.5 " + 40mm Styx ASM Styx ASM Styx ASM 4.5 "

Victim
PNS Ghazi PNS Khaibar PNS Shahjahan PNS Muhafiz Venus challenger

Victim type
Submarine Destroyer Destroyer Minesweeper Merchant*** Patrol craft**

Status
Sunk Sunk Sunk* Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Damaged Sunk

Harmattan SS Gulfstar PNS Dacca

Merchant Freighter Tanker 4x Patrol Craft

** Communications Relay Craft equipped with high power transmitter. * Claimed by some Pakistani sources to be damaged beyond service and disputed by others. Engagement confirmed by Sqn. Cdr. (K25) BB Yadav. *** American vessel carrying ammunition for Pakistan. 1. At Chittagong, Eastern Theatre.

TABLE

1.2 - Indian Navy Air to Ship kills (Eastern Theatre 1971) (Incomplete list)

Date
4 Dec, 1971 4 Dec, 1971 5 Dec, 1971 5 Dec, 1971 6 Dec, 1971 6 Dec, 1971 6 Dec, 1971 6 Dec, 1971 9 Dec, 1971 9 Dec, 1971 9 Dec, 1971 9 Dec, 1971 10 Dec, 1971 11 Dec, 1971 12 Dec, 1971 12 Dec, 1971 12 Dec, 1971

Aircraft
Sea Hawk^^ Sea Hawk^^ Alize' Alize' Sea Hawk Sea Hawk Sea Hawk Sea Hawk Sea Hawk Sea Hawk ? Sea Hawk Sea Hawk Alize' Sea Hawk Sea Hawk Sea Hawk

Weapon
20 mm 20 mm Rockets Rockets Rockets 20 mm Mixed Mixed ? Mixed Rockets Mixed Mixed Rockets Bombs Mixed Bombs

Victim
PNS Comilla PNS Rajshai PNS Salamat PNS Shahbaz PNS Sylhet

Victim type
Gun Boat Gun Boat Gun Boat Gun Boat Gun Boat Gun Boat

Status
Sunk Dmg^ Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk Sunk B&D* Sunk Sunk Sunk

Ondarda Thetic Charlie PNS Balaghat Mustali

Merchant Merchant Gun Boat Merchant 2x LCT

Makran Nordpol PNS Jessore Al Abbas Anisbaksh Avlos

Merchant Merchant Gun Boat Merchant Merchant Merchant

* Beached and destroyed in attack. ^ Only one to escape from East Pakistan to Malaysia. Serves in the Pakistan navy till date. ^^ Eyewitnesses claim that the aircraft were Hunters but evidence and credit point to Seahawks from the Vikrant. Indian Navy accounts make no mention of IAF Hunters and the area of interception was clearly assigned to the Vikrant.

TABLE
Date

1.3 - Indian Navy losses

Victim
INS Khukri Alize' (IN-203)

Weapon
2x Torpedo Aim-9B

Claimant
PNS Hangor PAF F-104A

Victim type
Frigate Aircraft

Status
Sunk SD

9 Dec,1971 10 Dec,1971

TABLE

1.4 - Other

Date
9 Dec,1971 10 Dec,1971

Victim
MV Zoe PNS Zulfiquar

Weapon
900 hits of 0.5

Claimant Victim type

Greek Merchant PAF Frigate

Status / Comment
Sunk in Panic Fire Damage / Fratricide

Karachi Port Guns

TABLE

1.5 - Estimation of some of the damage inflicted on Enemy by Indian Airstrikes:

The following Wrecks were estimated:

SHIP
Karnapuhli Surma Ocean Enterprise Unidentified - 1 AnisBaksh Al-Abbas Maihar Materan Star Altair Ondarda Thetic Charlie Lightning Mastro Stelios Chrysovalandou Rangamati Comilla Jessore Sylhet Unidentified - 2

GRT
6876 5890 5909 1800 6273 9142 5983 1198 8962 8259 2276 7046 8823 8151 5888 345 8000

Unidentified - 3 TOTAL

100,776 TONS

Select Sources:

Salik Siddiq,"Witness to Surrender", Lancer

Vice Admiral Mihir K Roy (Retd.) PVSM AVSM,"War in the Indian Ocean", SPANTECH & LANCER 1995

Vice Admiral N.Krishnan (Retd.) PVSM AVSM,"No way but surrender-An account of Indo-pak war in the Bay of Bengal 1971",Vikas Publishing,New Delhi 1980

"Story of the Pakistan Navy",Naval HQ,Islamabad ,1991

Vice Admiral GM Hiranandhini (Retd.) NM,PVSM,AVSM,"Transition to triumph - Indian Navy 1965-75", Lancer International

LLyod's Insurance casualty list, London Hamudhar Rehman report