INS Viraat decommissioned; may be sunk, turned to divers’ spot

Ending the Viraat era, the aircraft carrier was decommissioned at a grand ceremony at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai March 6

A glorious era in the history of the Indian Navy came to an end on March 6. Ending the Viraat era, the aircraft carrier was decommissioned at a grand ceremony at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. The flagship of the Indian Naval fleet, INS Viraat is the longest-serving warship in the world.

The ageing 'giant' - as the name signifies - served the Indian Navy with distinction for almost six decades.

As HMS Hermes, the vessel had served the Royal Navy from 1959 to 1964 and led a British task force on an 8,000 km voyage to free the Falkland Islands from Argentina, which had taken them over. Everyone had said it couldn't be done, but the task force achieved the near impossible.

As HMS Hermes

Before being commissioned in Indian Navy on May 12, 1987, the aircraft career had served with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy for 27 years under the name HMS Hermes. That comes to 57 years of operational service -- making it the oldest serving warship.

INS Viraat, the oldest serving aircraft carrier of the world, at Kochi on its last sailing. Photo credit: PTI

Indian Navy’s pride

It was sold to India for a sum of $465 million (Rs 31,000 crore, was commissioned to the Indian Navy in 1987, and rechristened as INS Viraat. It was supposed to be used for five years. Though it needed constant repairs, it was still a pride for the Indian Navy. She holds the Guinness Record for being the oldest serving warship.

Photo credit: Indian Navy/Twitter

A city in itself

INS Viraat has a standard displacement of 23,900 tons and a full load displacement of 28,700 tons. The total length of the warship is 226.5 meters and the breadth is 48.78 meters. The ship is manned by 150 officers and 1,500 sailors. With such a complement, the ship is like a mini-city complete with attendant logistics infrastructure libraries, gymnasiums, onboard ATM counter, a TV and video studio.

Photo credit: Indian Navy/Twitter

Covering the globe 27 times

The ship housed Chetak (Angles - SAR helicopter), Seaking 42B (Harpoons -anti-submarine helicopters) and Sea King 42C (Commando Carrier helicopters) and Sea Harrier (White Tigers -- fighter air crafts) as its main air elements. Viraat has spent nearly 2,250 days at sea sailing 5,88,288 NM (10,94,215 km). This implies that Viraat has been at sea for over six years covering the entire globe about 27 times.

Final flight of the fighter aircraft Sea Harrier of INS Viraat Vishakhapatanam on February 2016. Photo credit: PIB

Operations galore

Viraat involved in ‘Operation Jupiter', her first major operation in July 1989 as a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Operations in Sri Lanka. Over the next few weeks, Viraat and her task group remained deployed at a measured distance from the war zone, utilising the time to train soldiers, which adequately demonstrated the ship's operational versatility. She also played a pivotal role in Operation Parakram followed after the terrorist attack on Parliament. The ship also played a key role in Operation Vijay by creating blockade against Pakistan during Kargil War in 1999.

Photo credit: Indian Navy/Twitter