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INS Vikrant (R11)


Conventionally-Powered Light Aircraft Carrier [ 1961 ]



The Indian Navy INS Vikrant was an ex-British Royal Navy light carrier, commissioned with the former in 1961 and decommissioned in 1997.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 12/14/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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The first aircraft carrier to serve the Indian Navy became INS Vikrant (R11) in 1961. The vessel was built up from the existing HMS Hercules of the British Royal Navy, a Majestic-class carrier, whose construction was started during World War 2 (1939-1945) but not finished before the end of the conflict. The incomplete warship was then sold off to the Indian government in 1957 and finished off as the "Vikrant" (meaning "Courageous" or "Valor") in 1961. The warship was formally christened INS Vikrant (R11) on March 4th, 1961 and assigned to the homeport of Bombay. She served as a powerful regional symbol (and deterrent) up until the 1990s.

During World War 2, the British Navy embarked on a new "intermediate" aircraft carrier design intended to bridge the gap between its full-sized fleet carriers and the smaller, more economical, escort carriers. The result was the Colossus and Majestic classes of "light fleet carriers" which began construction in March of 1942. Sixteen were planned but, in the event, fifteen were completed and five of the lot became Majestic-class vessels. With the war ending in 1945, the Royal Navy was put into a massive drawdown of its forces and part of its surplus became the Majestic-class. HMS Hercules, once intended to become one of the type, was selected for sale to India in January of 1957.

As completed, the warship held its island superstructure to its starboard side, leaving the port, bow and stern areas free of obstructions. A single hangar allowed for stowage of various types of combat aircraft under the flightdeck and two electrically-powered elevators serviced them. The receiving deck was angled from the rear-starboard side to the portside. A steam-based catapult was used to help propel outgoing aircraft from the flightdeck.

As built, Vikrant displaced 16,000 tons under standard load and nearly 20,000 tons under full load. Overall length reached 700 feet with a beam of 128 feet and a draught of 24 feet. The propulsion system involved 4 x Admiralty boiler units feeding 2 x Parsons geared steam turbines outputting 40,000 horsepower and driving 2 x Shafts under stern. Maximum speeds could reach 25 knots and range was out to 12,000 nautical miles.©MilitaryFactory.com
Aboard were 1,110 souls and systems included an air-search radar, a surface-search radar and various other suites. Armament was strictly defensive in nature and revolved around 16 x 40mm Bofors autocannons. The warship could embark up to twenty-three aircraft depending on make and model.

After commissioning in 1961, Vikrant was sent to Tamil Nadu for her notable voyage and, in 1965, India entered into war with neighboring Pakistan but Vikrant was being refitted during the commitment. As such her warplanes were operated from land bases during the war - which ended with inconclusive results for both sides. In 1971, the two nations found themselves again at odds and went to war once more. This time, Vikrant was able to operate her air wing as normal and launched ground strikes and Combat Air Patrols (CAPs) led mainly by her jet-powered Hawker Sea Hawk fighter-bombers (detailed elsewhere on this site). Anti-Submarine / Anti-Ship sorties were handled by Breguet Alize prop-driven aircraft (detailed elsewhere on this site). Unlike the war of 1965, the war of 1971 ended as a decisive Indian victory and Vikrant played a major role in suppressing Pakistani Army ground movements/resupply in the east and blockading East Pakistan as a whole. Her aircrew also claimed several Pakistani navy and mercantile vessels during the fracas.

Twice the aircraft carrier was put into a period of refitting and modernization intended to keep her viable for the near-future and the first occurred in 1979-1981 and the second in 1987-1989. This led to an update of her propulsion scheme (new boilers), radar fit, Anti-Aircraft (AA) defense and operations center. She was then given new equipment to support operation of the newly-acquired fleet of BAe Sea Harrier (FRS.Mk 51) jump-jet aircraft from Britain. This led to an angled "ski jump" being built at her bow to facilitate getting the Harriers airborne in short order (the steam catapult was deleted). Another change to the air arm came with the introduction of the Westland "Sea King" (Mk 42) helicopter and these were used to succeed the Alize aircraft in same mission role - however, the Alize continued to operate alongside the Sea Kings into the 1990s.

In 1991 and 1992-1994, the warship was refitted again and continued to operate her aircraft stable in an active manner. With her best days behind her, it was decided to decommission the vessel in 1997. She became a museum ship from 2001 until 2012 before a lack of funding truly ended her. In 2013 the ship was auctioned off and sold in 2014 - ultimately scrapped in November of the latter.©MilitaryFactory.com
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Specifications



India (retired)
Operators National flag of India
1961
Commissioned
India
National Origin
1,110
Complement
Majestic-class
Hull Class
1
Number-in-Class
INS Vikrant (R11)
Ships-in-Class


Flag Ship / Capital Ship
Serving in the fleet Flag Ship role or Capital Ship in older warship designs / terminology.


700.0 feet
(213.36 meters)
Length
128.0 feet
(39.01 meters)
Beam
24.0 feet
(7.32 meters)
Draught
16,000
tons
Displacement


4 x Admiralty Boilers feeding 2 x Parsons geared steam turbines developing 40,000 horsepower to 4 x Shafts under stern.
Propulsion
25.0 knots
(28.8 mph)
Surface Speed
12,166 nm
(14,000 miles | 22,531 km)
Range
1 knot = 1.15 mph; 1 nm = 1.15 mile; 1 nm = 1.85 km


16 x 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft cannons (early)
8 x 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft cannons (late)


Typical After 1990:
6 to 8 x BAe Sea Harrier FRS.Mk 51 fighter-bombers
6 to 8 x Breguet Alize Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) aircraft.
6 x Westland Sea King Mk.42

Former types included the Hawker Sea Hawk jet-powered fighter-bomber.


Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period
Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

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Image of the INS Vikrant (R11)

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