Dad’s Air Force Yarns: THE DEVASTATION OF CHITTAGONG HARBOUR: 1971.

Dad’s Air Force Yarns: THE DEVASTATION OF CHITTAGONG HARBOUR: 1971.

Hostilities in the 1971 Indo-Pak war – also known as the Bangladesh Liberation War, began on 3^rd. December with the Pakistan Air Force trying to launch a pre-emptive attack on several Indian Air Force bases. By eight pm in the evening, the IAF launched massive counter attacks hitting Pakistani airbases in strength.

On the Eastern Front, a naval blockade of the East Pakistani ports was already in place for over a month. In fact the war had already been going on in the East for the last few months, with the Mukthi Bahini Bangladeshi freedom fighters harassing the Pakistani Army with depilating Guerilla attacks. In this they were being covertly and overtly helped by Indian Armed Forces.

On 23^rd. November, the East Pakistan Air Force launched an attack across the border with a flight of F-86 Sabre Jets. These were met by Gnat interceptors from 22 Squardon IAF and three Sabre Jets were downed in the first dog fight of the War. This incident went into military annals as the Battle of Boyra. So by the 3^rd. of December, the Pakistan Air Force in East consisted of only one squadron of F-86 Sabre Jets.

Naval intelligence had indicated the intent of the East Pakistan Navy to break through the blockade using camouflaged merchant ships. India’s only Aircraft Carrier – the INS Vikrant was ordered to enforce the blockade and attack the Eastern Ports. In fact, the Admiralty would have preferred deploying the Vikrant on the western side in the Arabian Sea. However, one of the main boilers on the Vikrant had malfunctioned and the ship was reduced to half its cruising speed. It was felt with this disadvantage; the Vikrant would be vulnerable in an all out sea battle.

Stationed off the Andamans, the INS Vikrant was deployed towards Chittagong. She was accompanied by two frigates – INS Brahmaputra and INS Beas.

The Vikrant had, at that time a complement of two squadrons of Sea Hawk ground attack fighters and just one Alize anti-submarine bomber.

In December, 1971, the Sea Hawks were already reaching obsolescence. This was 1950’s technology. The jet was powered by an older generation Rolls Royce Nene Radial Turbojet. The engine drew in air from wing nacelle intakes and the exhaust pipe was split into two and emerged at the trailing edge wing roots. This jet also powered the IAF Vampires, but these were already being phased out. The plane had a top speed of a little over 400 knots only and would have been at a disadvantage if the PAF had decided to deploy the F-86s or even F-104s.

But there was no aerial opposition. In a few hours, what was left of the East Pakistan Air Force fad been decimated. Also there was no proper air defense at the Ports. All the Anti-Aircraft guns had been moved to Dacca and the Army bases in the north. Thus the Sea Hawks were quite unfettered during the attacks that followed.

On the morning of 4^th. December, eight Sea Hawks of No. 300 Indian Navy squadron (The white tigers), took off from the Vikrant heading towards Cox’s Bazar, 60 nautical miles away on the southernmost Port bordering Burma’s Arakan territory. Then more sorties were flown attacking the ports of Khulna.

The Vikrant now moved up towards Chittagong and the first sorties were flown in by the afternoon of the 4^th.  The planes flew in low, strafing with their 30 mm cannon, firing rockets and dropping 500 pounder bombs. The first attack itself drew success and the fuel dump was set ablaze.

On the next two days, the Navy continued to pound all the Ports. The gunboats – PNS Salamat, PNS Shahbaz, PNS Sylhet, the Ondarda  and the Thetic Charlie  both merchant ships were sunk. Both the single Alize and the Sea Hawks used all their munitions.

By the 6^th., the whole of Chittagong Airfield, the Port and the Harbor approach channels were filled with burning wreckage, ships that had turned turtle, half sunk ships and a very large Greek Merchant Vessel that sank across the Harbor mouth, so no ship could even think of approaching the port.

The aircraft from the Vikrant continued to fly hundreds of sorties right up to the end of the war on Dec. 17th. Two more gunboats the PNS Balaghhat and the PNS Jessore were also sunk along with seven more Merchant Ships.

The damage was so severe that the new Bangladesh Government took several months to get the Chittagong Port functional again.

Pakistan had deployed a submarine, the PNS Ghazi to attack the Vikrant, but this sub was detected in time and sunk before it even got anywhere near. In the end,  both the attacks in the East and the audacious raids on Karachi Harbor, between the 4^th. and 7^th. of December, Pakistan had lost over half its Navy.

The Indian Navy lost the Alize which was shot down by a PAF F-104 on the 10^th. Another major blow, the Frigate INS Khukri was sunk by torpedoes.

To commemorate this epic Naval Battle, AIR COMMODORE AERO MODELS presents a 21” scale Model of the Sea Hawk in colors of the Indian Navy No.300 Squadron - the White Tigers.