How India Fooled Pakistan's Submarine With a Fake Carrier
Deterrent
44,443 views
93 men. One submarine. And a harbour where the carrier they came for was long gone.
In November 1971, Pakistan sent its only long-range submarine, PNS Ghazi, around India to find and sink INS Vikrant. Vice Admiral N. Krishnan hid the carrier in the Andamans and gave Pakistan a fake one: an old destroyer, INS Rajput, sending a carrier's radio traffic, plus food orders big enough for a carrier's crew. On the night of 3-4 December 1971, the Ghazi went down off Visakhapatnam. India and Pakistan still tell two different stories about how. This video gives both.
00:00 The night of 3 December 1971
01:03 Chapter One: The First Submarine
01:51 Chapter Two: The Hunt
03:10 Chapter Three: The Trap
04:41 Chapter Four: Midnight
05:47 Chapter Five: Two Stories
07:11 Chapter Six: The Carrier That Wasn't There
Notes
How the Ghazi sank is disputed. India credited INS Rajput's depth charges; Pakistan says an internal explosion or one of her own mines. The Indian Navy's official history says an internal explosion almost certainly happened. The video does not pick a side.
The clock stopped at 00:15 is from Indian divers' accounts.
Krishnan's words to the Rajput's captain are paraphrased. The signal log on screen is an illustration.
Maps show the official boundaries of India. Positions are approximate.
Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons)
USS Diablo at sea: LCDR Tomme J. Lambertson, US Navy (public domain)
USS Diablo in Cape Cod Canal: US Navy (public domain)
INS Vikrant, 1971: Indian Navy (GODL-India)
HMS Hercules: Royal Navy official photographer (public domain)
Sea Hawk aircraft, 1971: Indian Navy (GODL-India)
HMS Rotherham (later INS Rajput), 1942: Royal Navy official photographer, IWM FL 10240 (public domain)
Damaged dome of PNS Ghazi: Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (CC BY-SA 4.0)
INS Khukri memorial, Diu: Shambhavivats (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Surrender at Dhaka, 16 Dec 1971: Press Information Department (public domain)
Victory at Sea memorial, Visakhapatnam: eclicks_by_bunny (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Credits
Narration: DETERRENT
Animation, music and sound design: original, made for this video
Map outlines: Natural Earth (public domain), India boundary per the official Indian position
Subscribe for more stories from India's military history. New video every week.
#PNSGhazi #1971War #IndianNavy #INSVikrant #Visakhapatnam #MilitaryHistory #DETERRENT
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How India Fooled Pakistan's Submarine With a Fake Carrier
Deterrent
44,443 views
93 men. One submarine. And a harbour where the carrier they came for was long gone.
In November 1971, Pakistan sent its only long-range submarine, PNS Ghazi, around India to find and sink INS Vikrant. Vice Admiral N. Krishnan hid the carrier in the Andamans and gave Pakistan a fake one: an old destroyer, INS Rajput, sending a carrier's radio traffic, plus food orders big enough for a carrier's crew. On the night of 3-4 December 1971, the Ghazi went down off Visakhapatnam. India and Pakistan still tell two different stories about how. This video gives both.
00:00 The night of 3 December 1971
01:03 Chapter One: The First Submarine
01:51 Chapter Two: The Hunt
03:10 Chapter Three: The Trap
04:41 Chapter Four: Midnight
05:47 Chapter Five: Two Stories
07:11 Chapter Six: The Carrier That Wasn't There
Notes
How the Ghazi sank is disputed. India credited INS Rajput's depth charges; Pakistan says an internal explosion or one of her own mines. The Indian Navy's official history says an internal explosion almost certainly happened. The video does not pick a side.
The clock stopped at 00:15 is from Indian divers' accounts.
Krishnan's words to the Rajput's captain are paraphrased. The signal log on screen is an illustration.
Maps show the official boundaries of India. Positions are approximate.
Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons)
USS Diablo at sea: LCDR Tomme J. Lambertson, US Navy (public domain)
USS Diablo in Cape Cod Canal: US Navy (public domain)
INS Vikrant, 1971: Indian Navy (GODL-India)
HMS Hercules: Royal Navy official photographer (public domain)
Sea Hawk aircraft, 1971: Indian Navy (GODL-India)
HMS Rotherham (later INS Rajput), 1942: Royal Navy official photographer, IWM FL 10240 (public domain)
Damaged dome of PNS Ghazi: Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (CC BY-SA 4.0)
INS Khukri memorial, Diu: Shambhavivats (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Surrender at Dhaka, 16 Dec 1971: Press Information Department (public domain)
Victory at Sea memorial, Visakhapatnam: eclicks_by_bunny (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Credits
Narration: DETERRENT
Animation, music and sound design: original, made for this video
Map outlines: Natural Earth (public domain), India boundary per the official Indian position
Subscribe for more stories from India's military history. New video every week.
#PNSGhazi #1971War #IndianNavy #INSVikrant #Visakhapatnam #MilitaryHistory #DETERRENT