PNS Hangor

PNS "Hangor" was a Pakistani Daphné class submarine, which during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War sank the Indian frigate INS "Khukri". (This was the first submarine kill since World War II, and the only one until a Royal Navy nuclear submarine, HMS "Conqueror", sank an Argentinian cruiser, "General Belgrano", during the Falklands War.) The Pakistani Navy claimed that it also damaged another warship, INS "Kirpan". It was the heaviest casualty that a Pakistan vessel inflicted on the Indian Navy in the war. [http://www.orbat.com/site/cimh/navy/kills(1971)-2.pdf| Casualties in 1971 war ] After the attack on "Khukri", the Indian Navy ceased its attacks on Karachi and moved the focus of its operations to East Pakistan ports like Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar.

The "Hangor" (literally: "Shark") was the lead ship of its class and was launched in France on 28 June 1968 and was inducted into the Pakistan Navy in 1971.

Its Captain Commander (later Vice Admiral) Ahmed Tasnim would later be awarded the "Sitara-e-Jurat", Pakistan's 2nd highest military decoration, while its torpedo officer Lt Fasih Bokhari would later command the Pakistan Navy.

"Hangor" sailed in the early hours of 22 November 1971 to patrol off the Indian "Kathiawar coast" under the command of Commander Ahmed Tasnim S.J.

On 9 December, in an attempt to locate a number of possible enemy contacts, "Hangor" continued her patrol in a northerly direction to investigate some radio transmissions intercepted on her sensors. Two contacts were picked up on passive sonar and were identified as warships. The initial range was 6 to 8 miles. The submarine began to stalk the contacts but the first attempt to gain an attack position on these ships failed due to speed disadvantage. The submarine's crew however managed to predict the target ships' movements and succeeded in working it's way into a tactically advantageous position along the path of the patrolling frigates by 19:00. At 19:57 the submarine fired a down-the-throat shot with a homing torpedo at the northernmost ship from a depth of 40 meters.

The torpedo was tracked but no explosion was heard. A second torpedo was then fired on the approaching southernmost ship and this was followed by a heavy explosion as the torpedo impacted the INS Khukri. The other enemy frigate turned towards the submarine which then fired a third torpedo. The crew of the "Hangor" heard a distant explosion was heard and the submarine disengaged by turning west towards deeper waters.

18 officers and 176 sailors of INS "Khukri" were killed during the incident. It remains as India's biggest wartime casualty.

In a ceremony on 2 January 2006, PNS "Hangor" was decommissioned from the Pakistan Navy. It is planned to be turned into a museum ship, unlike other subs, which are scheduled to be scrapped. During the ceremony Vice Admiral Ahmed Tasnim, inspected the ship for the last time. Vice Admiral Ahmed Tasnim Sitaria-e-Jurat(SJ) & Bar had been the commander of "Hangor" the day she sank the "Khukri".

References

External links

* [http://pakistanidefenceforum.com/index.php?s=279558e0269fe878321e6e7265d6ce2e&showtopic=51970&st=0&#entry724230 pakistanidefenceforum.com]
* [http://dailymailnews.com/200601/02/dmarticlepage.html The Daily Mail - The decommissioning of the Daphné Class Submarines]
* [http://dawn.com/2007/12/11/SlideShow/pic07.jpgThe Hangor as a Museum Ship]