Posted on 07/30/2019 1:16:42 AM PDT by robowombat
Indian Navy commissioned the sixth of eight indigenously built Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class ships 'LCU L 56' in Visakhapatnam. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command, and other senior officials of Indian Navy.
According to the Navy officials, the LCU L56 is an amphibious ship, which will be used in transportation, deployment and recovery of main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore and vice-versa. The ship has been indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata. The commissioning of the ship will prove as a boon for Indian Navy, which keeps an eye on sea borders.
Speaking to media, Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain said, "Today we have commissioned LCU L56 which an amphibious ship. This ship is going to be placed at Port Blair that is our Andaman and Nicobar Command. It overlooks the busiest sealines of communication from where a large number of ships transit. This ship is going to play a very important role to protect the maritime interest of the country." The LCU is 63 m in length and 11 m wide and has a displacement of 830 T with a low draught of 1.7 m. (BCCL)
I like the story of the Indian Navy Corvett, HMIS Bengal.
On 11 November 1942, Bengal was tasked with escorting the Dutch tanker Ondina. Two Japanese raiders armed with six-inch guns attacked the Ondina. Bengal fired her single four-inch gun, Hokoku Maru fired her 102 mm and hit the Bengal and then the Ondina. HMIS Bengal began listing and the Captain gave the “abandon ship” order. When the Japanese saw them abandon ship, they moved in to finish off the Bengal, but instead of firing at the Bengal, they decided to let sink on its own. The instead, began machine gunning the life boats, killing most of the crew of one. They received a radio message and stopped firing so they could plot a course elsewhere. The remaining Bengal crew decided that if they returned to the Bengal it was better than sitting and waiting to be machine gunned. The got back aboard Bengal, got underway and began pumping water and fixing the leaks. The Japanese didn’t notice them and before they could do anything the Bengal began firing,the Hokoku Maru blew up and sank. The other raider, the Aikoku Maru ran for cover and escaped. Although both Bengal and the Ondina were damaged in the action, they reached port safely.
I like the story of the Indian Navy Corvett, HMIS Bengal.
On 11 November 1942, Bengal was tasked with escorting the Dutch tanker Ondina. Two Japanese raiders armed with six-inch guns attacked the Ondina. Bengal fired her single four-inch gun, Hokoku Maru fired her 102 mm and hit the Bengal and then the Ondina. HMIS Bengal began listing and the Captain gave the “abandon ship” order. When the Japanese saw them abandon ship, they moved in to finish off the Bengal, but instead of firing at the Bengal, they decided to let it sink on its own. The instead, they began machine gunning the life boats, killing most of the crew of one. They received a radio message and stopped firing so they could plot a course elsewhere. The remaining Bengal crew decided that if they returned to the Bengal it was better than sitting and waiting to be machine gunned. The got back aboard Bengal, got underway and began pumping water and fixing the leaks. The Japanese didn’t notice them and before they could do anything the Bengal began firing,the Hokoku Maru blew up and sank. The other raider, the Aikoku Maru ran for cover and escaped. Although both Bengal and the Ondina were damaged in the action, they reached port safely.
That’s an interesting story but one has to ask why the sailors abandoned the Bengal in the first place. If their captain ordered them to abandon ship, then that would not redound to the credit of the Indian Navy, since the ship was not fatally damaged. The fact that the crew left the ship then reboarded to save the ship and ultimately fired on the Hokoku Maru was a fluke. Better by far to have the fighting tradition of the US Navy, that is, “Don’t give up the ship!”
The Indians, like the Italians, were always brave but often suffered under a lack of competent leadership. Read “The Road of Bones”, about how the invasion of India by Japan in WW2 was repulsed by a predominantly Indian fighting force at Kohima-Imphal. The Indians acquitted themselves very well in that campaign, but the key is that the Indians were under British command.
A given right at birth to power inevitably leads to generational laziness. Generational unearned leadership is devastating to the children of those in power. Why should they work very hard, strive for excellence, fight the good fight, overcome adversity if they know they will be given power just because of their caste or family? *cough^ ¡Jeb! *cough*
note the name HMIS Bengal. Royal Indian Navy. The Captain, the SIC would be British. The rest of the crew Indian.
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