Indian Naval Air Squadron 310 Golden Jubilee

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INAS 310 COBRAS GOLDEN JUBILEE

21 March 2011

A Bharat Rakshak Special by M. Mazumdar, K. Chandni, J. Pillariseti

Indian Naval Air Squadron 310 (INAS 310), more commonly known as the Cobrascelebrate their Golden Jubilee today, March 21.

As one of the most decorated naval air squadrons, the squadron has a distinguishedhistory. Initially equipped with French Breguet Br. 1050 Aliz aircraft, the squadron now

operates German origin Dornier Do-228 aircraft from NAS Hansa, in Dabolim, Goa.

But the story of this squadron begins in 1960 in the south of France. The crew of whatwould become INAS 310 arrived the French naval airbase at Hyeres, near Toulon on Sep

28, 1960 to begin training ahead of taking delivery of their new Aliz aircraft.

At the time, the Indian Navy (IN) had ordered 12 Aliz from Breguet. These were c/n 62,

63, 66, 67, 71, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 serialled IN 201 to IN 212. Two additional ex

French Navy aircraft (c/n 14 and 18) were later acquired in 1967 and delivered in 1968.

The Aliz (Tradewind) was a monoplane, turbo prop powered carrier based anti-

submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft designed for the French Navys aviation arm, theAeronavale. The Alizs roots can be traced to the Br 960 Vultur and the Br. 965 albeit

with extensive fuselage redesign to accommodate the ASW mission suite and crew. The

prototype Aliz first flew on Oct 5, 1956 and the type introduced into service on May 29,

1959

The crew of three comprised a pilot, a radar operator and a sensor operator. The pilot and

radar operator sat side by side (pilot on the right hand side, radar operator on the left)while the sensor operator sat sideways behind them.


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Image courtesy of ffaa.net

url http://www.ffaa.net/aircraft/Aliz/images/ssAliz-005.jpg

The 13.68m long Aliz had a wingspan of 15.60m (9.98m folded) and a height of 5m.

Empty weight was 5700 kg and maximum take off weight was 8200 kg.

Typical of carrier borne aircraft, the Aliz featured folding wings and a yoke stylearrestor hook. The tricycle landing gear was designed such that the main gear, with dual

wheel, retracted backwards into the wing mounted nacelles. The forward portion of these

nacelles housed sonobuoys.

A Thomson-CSF DRAA-2B retractable radar was fitted behind the weapons bay to detect

submarine periscopes or snorting masts. A direction finding system to detect submarine


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radar transmissions was also installed. For prosecuting an enemy submarine, the Alizsused sonobuoys to track the submarine and depth charges to attack the submarine.

Powered by a Rolls Royce Dart RDa7 Mk21 developing 2100 shp, maximum speed was292mph although patrol speeds were in typically closer to 150 mph. Maximum range was

around 1550 miles. Typical endurance with the radome extended was 41/2 - 5 hours

although it was possible to achieve an endurance of over 71/2 hours with maximum fuel .Rate of climb has been credited as 1380 ft/minute. Service ceiling was 20,500 ft.

The plane had a very slow landing speed. French sources credit the plane with an abilityperform landings with wind ranging from 45 knots upwind to 5 knots downwind.

The internal weapons bay could accommodate a homing torpedo or three 160 kg depth

charges, and underwing stores pylons could carry bombs, depth charges, mines, rockets,or Nord SS-11 missiles.

Typical underwing stores included 68 millimeter rocket pods, 127mm/ 5 inch rockets and

bombs. There were racks for two 160 kg or 175 kg depth charges under the inner wingswhile the outer wings could be fitted with six 5 inch rockets or two Nord SS-11 missiles.

14 sonobuoys could be carried.

The first Indian Aliz, serialled IN 201, undertook its maiden flight on 21 October 1960

piloted by the Senior Pilot (Desig.) Lt RAJ Anderson. After completing numerous other

sorties as part of the acceptance schedule, IN 201 was officially handed over to the Indian

Navy at a ceremony in Villacoublay (Breguet factory) on 07 January 1961.


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A few months later, on March 21, 1961, the Aliz unit was officially commissioned at

1115 hrs as INAS 310 at Hyeres by the Indian Ambassador to France, Nawab Ali Yavar

Jung. The primary roles for the squadron were performing ASW, ASuW, reconnaisanceand Elint.

The commissioning Commanding Officer (also known as the King Cobra) was Lt Cdr

Mihir K. Roy who eventually went on to become a Vice Admiral. Other officers of the


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commissioning crew were Lt Cdr H Singh and Lts RAJ Anderson, IA Choudhary, UCTripathi, Laxmi Narain, VC Chakravarti, RK Deshpande, GN Sen, SK Das and Arun

Rao.

At this time INAS 310 was the third naval air squadron to be commissioned after INAS

550, the fleet requirements unit (with Sealand, Firefly and HT-2) which was

commissioned on January 17, 1959 and INAS 300 White Tigers (with Sea Hawkfighters) which was commissioned at RNAS Brawdy on July 7, 1960.

Being carrier embarked squadrons aboard the newly acquired light carrier, INS Vikrant,the Cobras and White Tigers would operate together for several years until 1987.

Many firsts

As expected, the newly formed Cobras went on to notch a number of firsts.

The first deck landing by an Aliz onboard the Vikrant took place on May 23, 1961 off

Yeovilton UK with Lt RAJ Anderson and Lt Cdr MK Roy flying Aliz IN 203. Thatsame month, the Cobras participated in their first tactical exercise with the newly

inducted Type 12 frigates of the Indian Navy INS Beas and INS Betwa sailing to Indiafrom UK. INS Vikrant embarked the first four aircraft in July, after it's arrival via

Portsmouth, where the first Seahawk fighters had also been embarked.

Vikrant arriving Malta

After an intensive, six week work up off Malta, Vikrant left the Mediterranean Sea and

arrived in India on 06 November 1961 along with the embarked aircraft to a grandreception. Four Aliz were remained embarked on the Vikrant while the remaining

aircraft were stationed at NAS Garuda, at Cochin, the shore base for the Cobras.

First combat deployment, Dec 1961

Soon after their arrival in India, the Cobras were deployed off Goa during Op Vijay inDecember 1961. Vikrant, with it's complement of Seahawk and Aliz aircraft, patrolled

some 75 miles seaward of Goa. She was tasked with countering Portuguese Air Force F -

86 Sabre Jets that were reported by Indian intel to be operating from Dabolim as well asforestall any interference by Western NATO allies of Portugal. After steaming up and

down at high speed for two days on 18 and 19 December, with dawn to dusk Seahawk


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combat air patrols as well as Aliz patrol and reconnaissance missions, Vikrant did notobserve any Portuguese Sabre aircraft nor any other intrusive air or naval activity. In the

event, it turned out that intelligence was faulty on this count there were never any

Portugese F-86 aircraft in Dabolim. This is emblematic of how far modern ISRcapabilities have progressed or to look at it another way, how limited such capabilities

were at the time.

Although no offensive missions were flown, the Alizs carried out patrol and

reconnaissance missions on one occasion, buzzing an Indian frigate by mistake

throughout the duration of the Goa operations which was all of 36 hours from 18-19th

ofDecember, 1961

In March 62, the Cobras, embarked on the Vikrant, participated in the joint ex with theRoyal Navy, Jetex 62 followed by goodwill visits to Singapore and Malaya/

The Cobras made their 3000th deck landing on 15 Dec 1963. Much champagne flowed to

celebrate this milestone.

Temporary detachment to 550 Squadron

In Jan 1964, two Alizs were briefly loaned to INAS 550 to monitor and performsurveillance off Thumba rocket launching range.

1965 Indo-Pak war

The squadron was entrusted with a four fold task the Defence of our own Fleet,Defence of Mumbai, Defence of Cochin, and aid in the destruction of enemy ships. Since

Vikrant was under refit during the period, the Cobras operated in two detachments, flying

armed recce missions simultaneously from Santa Cruz, Bombay and Cochin.

The squadron began its ELINT operations when one aircraft was tasked with active, and

highly classified Elint ESM (Elint) operations using ESM to map enemy RF transmittersalong the entire western border.

An excellent 2004 article on the Cobras by the late Harish Balaji Kannan aka B. Harry

which appears on ACIG 9www.acig.com), details some elements of the ELINT mission.

Operating from Jamnagar, most sorties were flown at low level, below 100 feet, and

covered most of the Pakistani border from Jamnagar to Pathankot in Punjab. A number

of Pakistani radar stations were detected, identified and pin-pointed with a three point fixthanks to the Aliz's highly sophisticated direction finding system which exceeded the

capabilities of any similar system in IAF inventory at the time.

On the night of September 7th, a Pakistani task force (TF) comprised of a cruiser, five

destroyers and a single frigate bombarded Dwarka in Gujarat for about 30 minutes and

withdrew at speed.


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Aliz were launched on Sep 11 to try to locate the Pak TF. Detection efforts werepartially successful but freak weather conditions prevented timely message transmissions

to the Indian Fleet. In any event, the Pak TF had reached Pakistani territorial waters and

higher naval leadership was lacking, thereby denying the Cobras an opportunity to carryout offensive operations.

Sadly, an Aliz was lost along with Lt SC Malviya and CPO (ACM) PK Unni whiletransiting to Bombay for an operational mission. Curiously, their names are not on the

Shradhanjali list at the Naval Air Museum (NAM) in Goa.

Fleet Exercises, trials

Throughout the sixties, the squadron spent much time training, on operational taskings

and continually improving capabilities and honing their skills.

Carrier air operations are inherently dangerous and accidents are commonplace. Any

number of things can go wrong, very often with fatal consequences. So, it was not long

before fatalities occurred. Sadly, on July 20, 1964, Lt SM Rajmachikkar's aircraft crashedon take off from Vikrant and all aircrew were killed. It is believed the wing folded after

launch.

From 1965 onwards, the Cobras carried out trials on indigenous air dropped mines and

worked on improving the anti submarine capability of the Alizs by fitting a sonobuoy

recording system.

This involved retrofitting the new French JULIE sonobuoy recorders in all the Alizs tobring up to the same standard as two additional aircraft that were being acquired from the

French Aeronavale to replace attritions.

In parallel, the Cobras were involved in development trials of an indigenous sonobuoy,

which could cope with India's hot and humid tropical conditions, as well as minimise the

outflow of precious foreign exchange on these expensive expendable items.

Until Indian submarines arrived in 1968, the Cobras did not have enough opportunities to

exercise with submarines. However, when possible, they worked with Royal Navysubmarines to gain ASW proficiency.

In 1965, the Cobras exercised with HM Submarine ASTUTE off Madras. Two yearslater, in 1967, another exercise was conducted with the British submarine ONSLAUGHT

off Cochin. Clearly, this only gave limited ASW exposure to the Cobras and they wereeager for the first of several Soviet built submarines to arrive India.

In August 1968, the two Julie fitted Alizs (c/n 14 and c/n 18 ) arrived from France, just

in time for exercises with the Pr. 641 Foxtrot submarine KALVARI which had arrivedfrom Russia. Thereafter, as more Pr 641 boats joined the fleet, the tempo of Aliz anti

submarine exercises steadily increased.


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At this time, sea trials of the indigenously developed sonobuoys could also be carried out.These had been developed locally with the goal of ensuring the availability of large

numbers of expendable sonobuoys to achieve proficiency in tracking submarines.

Besides ASW work, from 1966 onwards, the Cobras exercised regularly with the Indian

Air Force (IAF) to enhance interoperability with IAF aircraft in the anti shipping (AsuW)

role. Joint tactical exercises such as Ex Mangal were held in Oct 67 with Air ForceLiberator MR aircraft, Canberra bombers, Hunters and HF 24 fighters in which Alizs

homed these aircraft on to their targets.

The Cobras continually developed their ELINT proficiency by carrying out electronic

surveillance missions whenever and wherever required but these details have not been

revealed.

The Squadron lost yet another aircraft, IN 214, which ditched after take off from theVikrant on Jul 19, 1969. The crew, Lts A Roy, Lall and AC Singh were all recovered

safely.

Vikrant operated from the Andamans for the first time during 22-30 July 1969. She

would return there a little over two years later during the 1971 War.

On Oct 15, 1969, Prime Minister Indira Gaandhi embarked Vikrant and to the squadron.

1n early 1970, the Cobras also carried out trials with the newly acquired Swedish LEPUS

flare bombs off Kochi to illuminate targets at night for attack by Seahawks.


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In Apri1970, the Cobras shifted from NAS Garuda in Cochin to NAS Hansa in Dabolim,Goa

1971 Indo-Pak War

The Cobras and White Tigers finally got to draw blood in the December 1971 war that

led to the creation of Bangladesh from what was East Pakistan.

At the same time, on the West Coast of India, the Cobras, operating from Bombay andJamnagar carried out anti submarine and reconnaissance patrols.

Useful details of naval air operations are found in Adml Hiranandanis History book,

Transition to Triumph. The material below is largely reproduced from this book.

With the threat of war imminent, in August 1971, INAS 310 along with INAS 321

Angels embarked Vikrant with 4 or 5 Alizs and a few Alouettes. Vikrant had been

hurriedly pulled out of a refit cycle. This meant that she was operating with three instead

of four boilers, for a top speed of around 12 knots, maybe 14 knots at the most and a non-functional catapult!. The normal aircrew training cycle was interrupted to enable only

senior, experienced pilots to do the flying.

Given the less than favorable conditions i.e a catapult under repairs and a top speed less

than the minimum 14 knots wind speed over the deck required for aircraft launches, theCobras were tasked to evolve a technique of launching Alizs in these conditions.

It fell to a day-night qualified Aliz QFI, Cdr S Ramsagar (later Rear Admiral) to tryout a free take off without the use of the catapult. Initially launching in a light loadcondition the Cobras pushed the envelope and performed free take offs at the full

design loads. It was only then that the Vikrant, under the command of CaptainSwaraj Prakash and Cdr Parashar as Commander (Air), sailed into the Bay of Bengal.

After working up for around 20 days in the Bay of Bengal, the Cobras were ready for

ops. By this time the catapult as well as ll boilers were serviceable so a top speed of 18

knots was possible. At this point, the White Tigers embarked the Vikrant with 18 SeaHawks. Vikrant and her embarked squadrons were ready for operations by 24 November

1971. She was in stand by position at Port Cornwallis Lagoon and sailed out towards East

Pakistan on Dec 2, 1971.

At this time, the Cobras were led by Cdr Ravi Dhir, Cdr S Ramsagar as Senior Pilot

(SPLOT) and Lt Cdr SP Ghosh as Senior O.

Operating in warlike conditions, the Cobras led the IN into action, taking to the skies at

0500 hrs on Dec 3, 1971.


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When hostilities broke out the next day, four Aliz and eighteen Seahawk, operating from

the carrier Vikrant, mounted intensive air strikes on East Pakistan.

Between Dec 4 to Dec 14, the Cobras and White Tigers flew around 300 sorties. The

Alizs flew both day and night missions while the Sea Hawks carried out daylightmissions.

They struck both at pre-planned and opportunity targets at at Cox's Bazar, Chittagong,

Khulna, Chalna, Mongla, Barisal, Do Hazari, Chiringa and Bakarganj. Using 500 lbbombs, rockets and guns, they destroyed more than 100,776 tons of enemy shipping and

maritime traffic, harbor installations, runways, infrastructure, vehicles, buildings, fueldumps, AA gun positions, oil farms and attacked troop concentrations.


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The Alizs proved most useful in assisting ships of the Eastern Fleet in contraband

control. The Alizs were busy doing recce sorties by day and bombing the runways atCox's Bazar at night.

Despite sustaining damage by enemy anti aircraft fire, which required some emergencyrecoveries, all aircraft were kept airworthy.

Over the 10 days of operations from the Vikrant, the Cobras flew 63 sorties totaling 158hours with four or five aircraft while the White Tigers flew 128 sorties totaling 108 hours

with 18 aircraft.

OPERATIONAL SORTIES FLOWN FROM VIKRANT IN DECEMBER 1971

(HK = Hawker Sea Hawk, AZ = Aliz)

Date CAPASW

Patrols

Cox's

Bazar

Chitta

gongKhulna

Mongla

Chalna

PussurRiver

Hothazari

Dohazari/

Barisal/Bakarganj

Night

Strike

Contra

bandControl Armed

Recce

Army

Coop

Dec 4 4 HK 5 AZ 8 HK 8 HK - - - - - - -Dec 5 - 3 AZ 2 AZ 4AZ - -

Dec 6 3 HK - -4 HK

1HK4 HK 4 HK 3AZ 7 HK - 1AZ - 1AZ - -

Dec 7 2 HK - 2 HK 4 HK - - 2 AZ - - 2AZ-

2AZ- -

Dec 8 - - - 4HK - 3AZ

Dec 9 - - - - 1AZ 7HK 2AZ 3HK


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Dec 10 - - 5AZ - 2AZ 1AZ

Dec 11 - - 2AZ - 1AZ 1AZ 1AZ 2AZ

Dec 12 - 1 AZ - 25HK - 4HK

Dec 13 - - - 16HK 1AZ 1AZ 7HK

Dec 14 - -2HK

1AZ

5HK

1AZ- 3AZ 1AZ 1AZ 2AZ

For their efforts, the Cobras won six Vir Chakras, six Nao Sena Medals and threeMentions in Despatches while the White Tigers won one Maha Vir Chakra, five VirChakras, one Nao Sena Medal and three Mentions in Despatches.

Keeping in mind that the Cobras had four (another account says 5) aircraft whereas the

White Tigers had 18 aircraft, the Cobras did very well for themselves.

The King Cobra, Cdr Ravi Dhir and Senior O both earned Vir Chakras.

Sadly, the successful operations in the Bay of Bengal without loss of any aircrew weretempered by the loss of a single Aliz along with all crew members in the Arabian Sea on

Dec 10, 1971 after a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-104 Starfighter chanced upon this

aircraft. There are two versions of what happened.

The PAF had originally claimed that the Starfighter, flown by Sqn Ldr Arif Iqbal, had

"shot down" the Aliz presumably with a Sidewinder. This was accepted at face value bythe Indian Navy and mentioned in various official histories as the cause.

However, recent research by Air Cmde Kaiser Tufail, PAF suggests that this was not thecase at all. The Aliz, flown by Lt Cdr Ashok Roy, tried to evade the Starfighter by going

low. During the low level evasive maneuvers, he lost control and crashed into the sea

with the loss of all three crew. (Ref: http://kaiser-aeronaut.blogspot.com/2010/03/air-support-at-sea-1971-war.html ).

The seventies

After the 1971 War and until Aug 1972, Vikrant continued to carry out training of newaircrew whose training had been interrupted in September 1971, when senior experienced

aircrew had been inducted.

In Aug 72, Vikrant started a three year refit. For the next two and half years, until the

Vikrant emerged from her refit, the Cobras operated from shore bases.

In March 1973, a French team visited the squadron to discuss refurbishment of the

Alizs, similar to what the French Navy was undertaking at the time to extend their

service lives and upgrade mission systems.

August 1973 saw successful integration of 1000 lb bombs on the Aliz at Kochi.


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Vikrant once again became operational in May 1975 and the Cobras resumed carrieroperations, participating in Fleet exercises. Significantly for the Vikrant, Seaking

helicopters were embarked for the first time.

Upgrades of the Aliz aircraft to the latest French standard commenced in 1975 and

completed in 1978. Presumably, the IN aircraft received the Thomson-CSF DRAA-10A

Iguane radar, ARAR-12A RWR, ARR-52 sonobuoy system and Omega Equinoxenavigation system like the French Aeronavale aircraft.

1976 was not a good year with the squadron losing two aircraft. In April, IN 205 ditched

off Goa and the crew escaped safely. However, IN 208 crashed off Goa in Oct with Lt

Cdr P Kumar, Lt PC Handa and Lt Suharu perishing.

Through out the 70s, the squadron participated in joint exercises with foreign navies, the

PFR of Nov 1971 and Jan 1976, search and shadow missions of foreign warships as wellas SAR missions off the Indian coast.

Vikrant entered refit from 1979-1981 so only shore based operations could beundertaken.

Picture taken on the Vikrant between 1983 and 1987. A Sea Harrier is visible in the background

21 Mar 1986 some 25 years since its commissioning, the Cobras were at the peak of

their operational prowess. On that day, sailing off the West Coast, the squadron launched


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an unprecedented 30 sorties from the Vikrant. By this time, the White Tigers hadtransitioned to the Sea Harrier FRS.51.

Judging by the 24 stars, most likely signifying 24 years of flying, this photo is believed to have been taken

25 year ago - on 21 March 1986 which was also Silver Jubilee of the Cobras IN via Vayu Aerospace

On return to Bombay, and disembarking to NAS Hansa, the Cobras celebrated the Silver

Jubilee in style with a grand reunion and other events.

This high was marred by the loss of yet another Aliz and all three crew on 25 Sep 1986

Cdr S Mukherjee, Lt Cdr SK Kapila and NAM Dalip Singh perished as their aircraft

crashed in the sea off Karwar.

The end of the eighties saw the last days of embarked operations for the squadron.

Last deck landing, May 9, 1987

The last launch of Alizs from Vikrant took place on 2 April 1987. The last deck landing

was on May 9, 1987. By this time, the carrier was slated for conversion to a ski jump


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Shortly thereafter, the squadron also saw action in Op CACTUS undertaken by the IndianArmed Forces against the perpetrators of an attempted coup against the government in

Male. The Alizs carried out a rocket strike against the rebels escaping in a hijacked ship

MV Progress Light between Sri Lanka and the Maldives, forcing it to stop and beapprehended by other naval vessels.

Operations Pawan and Cactus proved to be the Alizs last hurrah, as the ageing aircraftwere nearing the end of their service life and the Navy decided on replacing the Aliz

with the Dornier Do-228-201K.

The Alizs stopped flying on 21 April 1991 and the aircraft were subsequently

decommissioned.

The very last flight took place on 21 Aug 91 when IN 212 piloted by Lt TS Tomar and Lt

(O) S Roy as observer welcomed the first Dornier 228, IN 221 crewed by Cdr KNKhankoje (pilot), Lts G Giridhar, MK Agarwal and Lt (O) PS Kulkarni to NAS Hansa

from HAL Kanpur.

Picture at NAM. We are not entirely sure of the intent behind the unusual caption!


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Aircraft in original blue and white color scheme

IN 231 at Aero India 2001 sporting a new mission suite

Aircraft in new color scheme


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The Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol (MP) aircraft is only slightly larger than the Aliz. It

has a length of 16.56m, a wingspan of 16.97m, a height of 4.86m. Empty weight is 3086kg and maximum take off weight is 6400 kg. Powered by two Garrett TPE-331-5-252

turboprops each rated at 715 shp (or a -10 rated at 776 shp), cruise speed is 207mph while

maximum speed is 266mph. Rate of climb is 1909 ft/min. Ceiling is 29,600 ft. Range

with maximum payload is around 700 miles. Endurance is typically 6-8 hours since theseaircraft have extra fuel capacity. The aircraft has good STOL capability.

The aircraft was configured for Maritime Patrol (MP) and Electronic warfare roles. At the

time of their induction, the aircraft were fitted with MEL Super Marec 360 Search radar,

sonobuoys, AES 210 ESM and direction finding systems. HAL's modifications to theairframe also included four underwing hardpoints, to accommodate up to 1030 kg

(another account says 2201 kg) of external payload including wing mounted 7.62mm

gunpods.

Like the Alizs the Dorniers were used to good effect in Fleet Ex and other naval

operations such as search and shadow as well as SAR as well as providing logisticsupport to naval ships proceeding to Somalia for Op Muffett (withdrawal of UN peacekeepers). Operating from Porbandar, the squadron flew several sorties to intercept and

shadow Pakistani naval ships in Nov 1995.

Unlike the Alizs, reliability was generally high although the first incidence of engine

failure took place on 24 May 94 when the starboard engine of IN 223 failed in flight butthe crew, Lts R Kapoor and Kulwant Singh brought the stricken aircraft safely back to

base.

In Jan 1996, the Cobras bagged triple honours- the best naval air squadron, best frontline

squadron and best in Flight Safety.


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In 1998, GPS units and new ELINT equipment were installed resulting in a majorcapability upgrade for the squadrons Dorniers.

Amid escalating tensions after the India Pakistan tit for tat nuclear testing in April 1998,

the squadron was tasked with carrying out surface surveillance and ELINT missions

along the IBL. The Cobras were so adept at the Elint role and exploited the new

equipment to such advantage, that in recognition of services rendered, the squadron wasrechristened Information Warfare Squadron' on Oct 1, 1998 per NHQ 263 IG of 27Sep

98. It remains the only such squadron in the Navy till date.

In May 98, the Squadron participated in Madad 98 , a multinational SAREX off Port

Blair with the navies of Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Later that

month, one Dornier deployed to Seeb International in Muscat for a joint SAREX with theRoyal Navy of Oman.

Besides military operations, the squadron rendered SAR assistance in Gujarat in the

aftermath of a cyclone over Kandla Port in Jun 98.

1999 Kargil War and Op Vijay

During Op Vijay, from May-July 1999. the Cobras were busy carrying out MR/ELINTmissions in close coordination with the Army and the Air Force. This was the first time

the Dornier was deployed as an EW platform in support of the Army and the Air Force

for integrated ELINT operations.

Three aircraft and about fifty officers and men were deployed to the forward air bases in

Gujarat, close to the Indo-Pak border.

The squadron undertook extensive operations by flying close to the IBL in Rajasthan,Gujarat and over sea off Karachi, Gwadar and Bombay High. The Cobras covered theentire area along the Karachi FIR, from Muscat FIR to Kori creek up north till Jaisalmer.

The squadron was also tasked to undertake surveillance missions for the Army to locate

battle surveillance radars and troop concentrations. Operating from bases in Rajasthan,the squadron covered the entire western border. Military Intelligence Officers were so

impressed by the capabilities of the Dornier that they admitted that the information

gathered by the Dornier in three days would have taken them three months on ground.

In all, during May-July 1999, the squadron flew 174 missions totaling 357 hours along

the IBL without any incidents in a dangerous and challenging environment.

Again, B Harry writes that

The first sortie was launched at 10 p.m on 24 May 1999 and went on till nearly 3 a.m.

The aircraft flew at about 3000 feet above the Arabian sea and 300 miles to the West. The

crew of four, picked up and fingerprinted every signal they hoped for including the

Pakistani ground radars at Karachi, Ormara, Pasni, Malir, Khetibandar as well as the


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As expected, the Cobras excelled. The R/T call "COBRAS ON TIME" became a ritual ofthe flypast rehearsals. The four aircraft formation led by the then King Cobra-tucked in

neat and tight-was an awe inspiring sight on both days for the Review as well as the City

Parade.

Operation PARAKRAM

The Cobras played a vital part in the 2001-2002 India Pakistan stand off following the

high profile Indian Parliament attack by suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-

Mohammed operatives on Dec 13, 2001.

Deploying at the commencement of Op Parakram in January 2002, the squadron, now

with aircraft painted in a low visibility grey color scheme, was detached to Naliya to

carry out more ELINT operations.

The Cobras earned more kudos from the various users for this intel gathering effort.

Equipment trials

The Dorniers have been progressively fitted with the latest radar, electronic and

sonobuoy systems for the surveillance and EW roles. Trials of new role equipment forMR aircraft and improvements and developments of existing sensors has become

synonymous with the squadron. Working in close coordination with various OEM and

research agencies, the squadron has been instrumental in the ongoing development of a

number of vital components of todays modern day MR platforms.

The squadron has been instrumental in extensive trials, testing, and development ofvarious new sensors, technologies and the resulting changes in Operational Procedures.

IN 222 was fitted with DRDOs Simhika and the first sonobuoy was dropped in Feb2000.

As early as 2000, an upgrade project was initiated. HAL and IAI displayed an upgraded

Dornier (IN-231) at Aero India 2001. This replaced the MEL Super-Marec with the Elta

EL/M-2022A (V2) maritime radar, a retractrable ELOP CompassIII optronic pod, Ring

laser Gyro INS with GPS, SATCOM, DRDO developed Eagle ESM and long range(100nm) real-time datalinking capabilities, to perform intensive day/night aerial

surveillance duties and feed data to ground stations for further processing and post

mission data analysis.


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It is believed that several, if not all of the aircraft operated by the Cobras sport thisconfiguration.


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Operational deployments

From Jun 2002 onwards, Muscat figured prominently on the squadrons itinerary when itwas tasked for pioneer missions off the Makran Coast with a planned landing at Muscat

and Oman. The sortie was eventful, as the crew had close encounters with the coalition

task forces operating off Makran coast. From then on such missions have been conducted

periodically as per operational tasking.

Sri Lanka operations again

Like the Alizs during Operation Pawan, the Cobras had one more occasion to witness

action on the southern front in 2005 06. On 19 Dec 2005 the Cobras moved out in quick

time to the small airfield at Ramnad, with a two aircraft detachment anticipating heavyflying. Though initially planned for a week or two, the detachment continued operations

through December and well into Jan 2006. The Cobras were instrumental in the success

of the ensuing operations against the LTTE and their supply ships by the Sri Lanka Navy.

The Cobras in the new millennium spread their wings overseas, being tasked around theworld from the Middle East to the small island nations of the Indian Ocean to South EastAsia such as Mauritius, Seychelles and Singapore. Most of these missions were of aclassified nature, but suffice it to say that the Cobras continued to draw praise and

admiration from all quarters for a job well done.

The Cobras have participated in all Naval Operations both major and minor, exercised

with foreign Navies, and rendered assistance to littoral and neighbouring island nations in

combating piracy.

In fact, squadron aircraft are presently deployed to the Seychelles for assisting the

Seychelles Coast Guard in anti piracy operations.

Earlier this month (March,2011), the squadron successfully foiled a pirate attack on MV.

After tracking the pirate mothership, Vega 5 for over a day, aircraft from the squadron

vectored naval ships Khukri and Kalpeni to the fleeing mother ships. On the night ofMarch 12, Kalpeni sank the mothership after a brief exchange of gunfire. 61 pirates were

captures making it the largest such group to be captured to date. 13 crew members were

rescued although 9 are thought to have drowned along with several pirates.

Presumably, the squadron has also been involved in the other successful operations to

capture and neutrAliz pirate mother ships in January and February.

Flying into the Golden Jubilee year, the Cobras are going as strong as ever. It remains the

most heavily tasked naval air squadron flying almost 3000 hours annually. The Cobras

have the distinction of being the most highly decorated squadron in the Indian Navytoday.


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Off Vizag during the 2006 PFR

With a glorious 50 years in their wake, the Cobras look to the future with wings (and

Hoods!) spread and propellers spinning.

With 50 years of gallant service to the nation, the editorial team at Bharat Rakshak

wishes the Cobras another 50 years of safe flying and success in their endeavours as they

continue to carry out frontline missions.

IN MEMORIAMWe remember these Cobras who gave their lives while serving.

20 Jul 1964 - Lt S M Rajmachikkar, Lt BT Acharya, Lt VK Jaykumar, Lt KD Jayal (?) crashed upon launching from Vikrant

Sep 1965 - Lt SC Malviya, CPO (ACM) PK Unni crashed while flying from Kochi to

Bombay

10 Dec 1971 Lt Cdr A Roy, Lt HS Sirohi, MCPO Vijayan crashed while evading a

Pakistani F-104 Starfighter

Oct 1976 - Lt Cdr P Kumar, Lt PC Handa and Lt Suharu - crashed off Goa.

25 Sep 1986 - Cdr S Mukherjee, Lt Cdr SK Kapila and NAM Dalip Singh crashed off

Karwar

Indian Naval Air Squadron 310 Golden Jubilee

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Transcript of Indian Naval Air Squadron 310 Golden Jubilee