S.M. Hali
Exactly 49 years ago, on the 9th of December 1971, Pakistan Navy (PN)’s Daphné-class Submarine Hangor created history, when it sank Indian Navy (IN)’s Type 14 (Blackwood-class) frigate Khukri off the coast of Diu, Gujarat, India. 18 officers including Khukri’s captain, Mahendra Nath Mulla and 176 sailors were lost in the sinking.
The episode of Hangor, which was commanded by the indefatigable Commander Ahmad Tasnim, who was awarded a Bar to his earlier Sitara-e-Jurat in 1965 for his valour, reads like a fictional thriller and could be termed as exaggeration in a war, where the odds were heavily tilted against Pakistan where its eastern wing was severed, IN blockaded East Pakistan and carried out deadly missile boat attacks on Karachi harbour, inflicting heavy damage. Ghazi, PN’s sole submarine, which had operated boldly during the 1965 Pak-India war, became a casualty of the subsurface mines it had laid.
It is remarkable that independent sources including two British and at least two Indian Navy Admirals—from whom compliments can hardly be expected—have acknowledged the valour of Hangor and its crew. Renowned British historian Iain Ballantyne, in his 2019 epic book “The Deadly Trade: A History of Submarine Warfare” dedicates a whole chapter titled ‘Hangor’s hunt’ describing the battle with accuracy, showering accolades on the gallantry of the Captain and crew.
February 2019 issue of British journal “Warships International Fleet Review” features a rousing ovation to the mêlée titled ‘The Shark that Bit Back—How a Pakistan Navy Submarine made history.’ Incidentally, Hangor is the local name for “shark”.
On the midnight of 26 November 1971, Hangor sailed from its base with a load of torpedoes to patrol the Bombay Harbour. Soon after its wartime deployment, the submarine developed defects in its computers which were swiftly repaired as the patrol continued. Hangor called contact with the warships of IN’s Western Naval Command, which were on their way to launch the first missile attack on Karachi. Commander Tasnim was in a position to sink the marauders but he had strict orders not to take aggressive action unless attacked, since the war had not formally commenced in the western sector. Ruing the missed opportunity, once the Indian fleet had passed overhead, Commander Tasnim broke radio silence to warn PN Headquarters of the impending attack. The transmission was detected by IN, which dispatched two anti-submarine warfare frigates INS Khukri and Kirpan to intercept Hangor.
More suspense was in store. One of the cooling pumps on board broke down. Without repairs to this pump it would not be possible to continue its war patrol and would have to return since repairs to this pump involved shutting down the main air conditioning plant of the submarine and lifting and removing its compressor motor to gain access to the defective pump. Commander Tasnim, who was the second in command of PNS/M Ghazi during the 1965 war, ruled out returning home, since the war would have been over for Hangor. He took the ultimate risk of repairing the sub in enemy waters while partially surfaced. To disguise its identity, lights were installed to give Hangor the semblance of a fishing boat. A snooping Indian warcraft did detect the sub but fell for the ruse and dismissed it as a fishing boat. Under normal circumstances, the repair which took a week in the dockyard, was accomplished within a matter of hours and Hangor was ready to bare its fangs.
While the Indian hunters were still searching for the intruding Pakistani sub, Commander Tasnim ambushed the duo, firing a homing torpedo at Kirpan only to see it fail to explode but the action exposed his presence. Khukri moved to attack but showing presence of mind, the gallant PN Commander fired his second torpedo, which exploded under the hull of the enemy assailant, hitting its magazine of explosives, sinking it within minutes. Kirpan turned back to attack, dropping depth charges but the valiant Hangor fired his third torpedo which forced the attacker to turn tail. It did not even return to pick up survivors till the next day for which surviving sailor Chanchal Singh Gill has sued Kirpan’s captain for cowardice.
Vice Admiral Mihir K. Roy in his book “War in the Indian Ocean” and Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-IN-C) of India’s Western Naval Command in 1971 and Indian Naval Chief (1973-76), in his book “Transition to Triumph” provide graphic details of Hangor’s daring attack and the massive hunt to trap it after the encounter of 9th December, which shocked the entire Indian Navy. IN cancelled “Operation Triumph”, the third missile attack, scheduled for 10 December and for four days, the IN utilized all available anti-submarine ships, Alize (Specialized anti-submarine naval aircraft), shore-based surveillance aircraft and Sea King anti-submarine helicopters in HUK Groups (Hunter-Killer Groups) and combed an area extending from the point southwest of Diu Head, where Khukri was sunk, right up to a point just short of PAF’s air-strike range from Karachi. Admiral Roy admits, IN also lost an Alize anti-submarine aircraft at sea with all three of its crew. Hangor had the last laugh in the cat-and-mouse game. Despite a depleting battery, evading the pursuers, it laid false trails for the HUK groups to follow but returned home triumphantly.
While India may spin webs of lies and boast of its victory in 1971, the lone sub Hangor frustrated the entire might of IN pitched against it and gave us a moment of cheer.
It is a matter of pride for Pakistan Observer that Vice Admiral Ahmad Tasnim, who was conferred upon the coveted award of Sitara-e-Jurat in 1965, as a Lieutenant Commander, serving as the second-in-command of submarine PNS Ghazi for his valour. During the 1971 War, as a Commander, he led the submarine Hangor and destroyed Indian Frigate INS Khukri in enemy waters and escaped the dragnet of Indian Navy and created history, for which he was awarded Bar to his Sitara-e-Jurat Second SJ).
He retired as Vice Admiral and among other achievements, he is one of the Founding Members of “101 Friends of China”, which was established by the Founder of Pakistan Observer, Zahid Malik (Sitara-e-Imtiaz) to help promote friendly ties between Pakistan and the Peoples Republic of China.
