In its first avatar, it was an aircraft carrier bought from the British Navy. HMS Hercules was sold to the Indian Navy in 1957 and was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1961 as INS Vikrant.
In the 1971 war, its crew earned two Mahavir Chakras and twelve Vir Chakras.
It was decommissioned in January 1997.
The new INS Vikrant
This is a story that started in 2004. Finally, on September 2nd, with its commissioning into the Indian Navy, the INS Vikrant created history. It is the first aircraft carrier made in India.
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier #IACVikrant the largest & most complex warship ever built in the maritime history of #India, named after her illustrious predecessor, India’s first Aircraft Carrier which played a vital role in the 1971 war is all set to be commissioned#INSVikrant pic.twitter.com/ADsSoIXUNr
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) September 2, 2022
17 Key Facts about INS Vikrant
1. So far, the only countries that can make aircraft carriers were – France, Russia, US, UK, and China. India is now the 6th country in the world with this capability. Japan, which produced six aircraft carriers during WW2, stopped their use after the war. It has recently mentioned that it would like to upgrade the capabilities of its aircraft carriers.
2. The ship is the largest ever built for the Indian Navy.
3. The ship is built by Cochin Shipyards Limited and was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Kochi.
4. INS Vikrant is designed by Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.
5. The 262.5 m long and 61.6 m wide Vikrant displaces approx 43,000 T, having a maximum designed speed of 28 Knots (52 kilometers per hour) with endurance of 7,500 Nautical Miles (range of 14,000 kms). The interesting thing is that Vikrant was able to demonstrate the speed of 28 knots from its very first sea trial. The flight deck area is nearly 12,500sqm.
6. The ship has around 2,200 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,600 including women officers and sailors.
7. The ship is capable of operating up to 30 aircraft which can be – MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).
8. Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR), INS Vikrant is equipped with a ski-jump for launching aircraft, and a set of ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery onboard.
9. 76% of its components are made in India. Over 500 Indian firms have supplied these components.
10. The sea trials of the vessel started in August 2021 and the final craft was handed over to the Navy in July 2022.
11. The ship also has a 16-bed hospital, two operation theatres and intensive care units.
13. Almost 600 people can eat at the same time in the three galleys on board.
14. One of the challenges of this project was the special steel required for the project. Most of this steel was produced by India’s own SAIL – Steel Authority of India Limited, in its Bhilai, Bokaro, and Rourkela plants.
15. The Indian Navy now has two aircraft carriers. The building of the next aircraft carrier is not yet approved.
16. Because there was no prior experience in building aircraft carriers in India, Cochin Shipyards Limited used a Concurrent Design and Build model to build this ship.
17. Commodore Vidhyadhar Harke has been designated as the Commanding Officer of India’s first indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Between 2012 – 22, China has commissioned two aircraft carriers and the third is being produced.
The new Naval Ensign (Nishaan) was also unveiled at the same event.
Here are some images. All images from official spokesperson, Indian Navy, except where indicated.
