Thread by @srikantkesnur

Tomorrow, 06 May, at Sunset, Indian Navy will decommission #INSMagar, after 36 years of Service to the Nation. Magar (L 20), was the Lead Ship, in the Landing Ship Tank (Large) or LST (L) category. Much history is associated with the Ship & its namesake predecessor. A thread. 👇

2/n. Amphibious Ships going by an alphabet soup of nomenclatures - LPD, LST, LCU - don't have the glamor of powerful destroyers or sleek corvettes, the aura of aircraft carriers they don't radiate terror of submarines, yet they form a most important component of Navy, especially

3/n. Any big & credible Navy. Their flexibility, ability to essay a wide range of roles from power projection to Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) & everything in between gives them unique status. Amph may not have Oomph, but are perfect combination of hard & soft

4/n. Power that Navies are frequently required to bring to the table. For more about Amph forces & what they do, my article of Jun 2020 may provide some perspective. 👇
thedailyguardian.com/why-india-need…
It is in this context we must look at #INSMagar. A large Landing Ship, of more

5/n. Than 5600 tons displacement & capable of carrying 15 Tanks, 8 APCs, 500 troops, she was larger than anything India had seen in Amph category. Additionally, her ability to operate Seaking helicopter & carry more LCVPs (smaller amphibious craft), meant a huge fillip to our

6/n. Amph capabilities at that time. Commissioned on 15 Jul 87, with then CNS, Adm RH Tahiliani as the Chief Guest, she joined the Fleet at a time when several combatants were acquired or built. Most importantly, she was designed inhouse by Navy Design Bureau & built indigenously

7/n. At the @OfficialGRSE Kolkota. #CaptMohanRam, Navy's highly reputed ship designer who also was responsible for the Godavari class Frigates, was the main designer for Magar class too. While the designs evolved from 1973 and Staff requirements kept getting ambitious the final

8/n. Order was placed only in 1981 & commissioning happened 6 years later. This gap between design & delivery indicates why Magar Class was a 'work in progress' & Navy got a more optimized product in the follow on Shardul class LSTs. That should not detract from the fact that

9/n. When Commissioned Magar was the largest vessel to have been designed and built indigenously. She was thus a pioneer and saw service soon thereafter during Operation Pawan, our Peace Support Operation (PSO) in Sri Lanka, wherein she ferried troops, tanks, other logistics and

10/n. Carried out a range of other Naval missions. #CdrDBRoy was the first CO and many of my contemporaries did their initial training on this ship. In the course of its 36 year service Magar has proved to be a doughty workhorse, engaged in a wide variety of operations and other

11/n. Tasks that Navies undertake in support of National objectives. Of particular mention are her role in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami when she provided relief to more than 1300 persons & more recently, during Covid, when she along with sister amph Ships were involved in

12/n. Evacuation of Indians (Op Samudra Setu) & delivery of food and medical aid (Mission Sagar), from/to countries in the Indian Ocean Region. In 2018, she was converted to a Cadets training ship and player a stellar role in training Navy leaders of tomorrow. Many of those who

13/n. Who have served in her or associated with her will fondly reminisce their experiences tomorrow as the Naval Ensign will be hauled down for the final time at Kochi, the HQ of Navy's Training Command. While I have not served in #INSMagar, my two tenures in Visakhapatnam as

14/n. CO INS Jalashwa & Director MWC also saw me dual hat in Amphibious assignments. This provided many opportunities to exercise together at sea, interact in Harbour & cogitate on matters Amph, with the Ship & its crew. At another level, the journey of #INSMagar has been

15/n. Parallel to that of ours. My contemporaries and I began our Navy career in 1986 & most of us retired over last few years, mirroring the journey of #INSMagar & other such ships. It's a connection that's difficult to explain but since we regard ships as animate beings bonds

16/n. Are formed in mysterious ways. #INSMagar was important part of a landscape of the Navy we grew in as we saw the Service grow. There is also the history of its previous avatar which bears retelling. The first Magar also an LST, though smaller, was a ship acquired from Royal

17/n. Navy. It served in WW 2 as HMS Avenger (LST 3011). Magar (first) was commissioned on 11 Apr 1949 and was thus, the second ship to be commissioned in Independent India after the INS Delhi in Jun 1948 and before the R class Destroyers later in 1949. The interesting part is

18/n. HMS Avenger was among the four Landing Ships requisitioned by the Indian Army (QMG) on behalf of Govt of India to dump excess ammunition into Sea. These ships were however manned by Royal Indian Navy (RIN) crew & due to personnel shortage only one ship was used at a time.

19/n. Capable of carrying 2000 tons of stores in varied combinations independent India's Navy saw an innovative use of Avenger/Magar. Given the limited communication links between Bombay & Kochi and the fact that Navy was developing its training facilities at Kochi, the ship was

20/n. Utilized to carry large volumes of stores & equipment from Mumbai to Kochi. The 4 LSTs were also utilized to transport steel from Kolkota & Cement from Mumbai to Visakhapatnam and Kochi. In other words, the first Magar played an important role not only at sea but also in

21/n. Development of Naval infrastructure especially at Kochi. We must also not forget her important role in 1971 war as part of the Eastern Fleet. Under Command of Cdr TN Singhal she functioned as the Fleet Tanker as the Fledgling Fleet had no Tanker of its own. Her fuelling of

22/n. INS Vikrant at Port Cornwallis, in Andamans, just a day before the war began was to prove most crucial for Vikrant to last the operation & play her decisive role. She was decommissioned on 31 March 1976 after 27 years of Service to the Navy. It took ten years for her next

23/n. Version to be born and now that too is on its way out. But historical connections have come together in a serendipitous manner for her decommissioning. First, Kochi is an apt place considering the role of first #INSMagar in development of that place. Second, the FOCinC

24/n. Southern Naval Command (SNC) #VAdmMAHampiholi, has been the Commanding Officer of INS Magar earlier. Third, the Chief Guest at decommissioning, fittingly, is #GenManojPande, the Army Chief illustrating the Synergy between two services best reflected in Amphibious Forces.

25/n. Go Gently Lady. You will be missed #INSMagar.
References - Navy's Official History Volumes & Autobiographies of VAdm SH Sarma & Capt Mohan Ram.
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