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The commissioning signal from the Naval Headquarters
said:
“Your commissioning today marks an
important milestone in the development of our
Navy’s blue water capability. May your operational
prowess match your gigantic name and good fortune
attend on you wherever you may sail. I wish all
officers and men a happy, challenging and rewarding
commission”
The message from the crew of the Hermes read:
“Bringing forward HMS Hermes for hand
over to the Indian Navy and commissioning as INS
VIraat… It is with a mixture of sadness,
pride and confidence that we today handover this
magnificent ship to the Indian Navy; sadness in
that we with our happy memories witness her passing
from the Royal Navy, pride in the capabilities
noting that she will be in good hands and confident
that she will prove equal and worthy of all the
aspirations the Indian Navy have for her as Viraat.
The Captain, officers and ships company of HMS
Hermes congratulate the Captain, officers and
ships company on the majesty of INS Viraat and
may good fortune attend all who sail in her quest
to control the sea and be all powerful.
The words proved prophetic as INS Viraat has
been maintained and run successfully by the professional
men of the Indian Navy for a full 25 years, making
Viraat one of the longest serving aircraft carriers
in the history of naval operations anywhere in
the world.
This speaks volumes of the Indian Navy’s
capability in maintaining and operating ships
so as to extract the utmost from them.
On the occasion of Hermes-Viraat completing 50
years in service in 2009, Naval Chief Admiral
Nirmal Verma, who commanded Viraat from 08 Nov
1996 to 13 Dec 1997 said:
“The fact that a warship designed in 1940s
and built in the 1950s could evolve and adjust
to the technological and strategic imperatives
of the post war years, the Cold War and continues
to have utility in the 21st century is testimony
to the men and women who built her and also those
who have contributed to transforming her over
the years. The ship has over the years truly stood
up to its slogan “Any Mission, Any Time,
Anywhere”
Some Interesting Facts of INS Viraat
When commissioned in 1987, her envisaged life
was 10 years. There were refits, the last major
modernisation and life enhancement refit in 2008-09,
enabling a life extension of a few more years,
or till the arrival of Vikramaditya in 2013. All
the refits have been done at the Cochin Shipyard
Ltd. (CSL).
INS Viraat was the flag ship of the Western Fleet,
the Indian Navy’s spearhead, during Op Parakram.
With its full strength of Sea Harriers embarked,
Viraat was central to the Western Fleet deployment
for over six months. She was at sea with Capt
(now VAdm) DK Joshi as the Commanding Officer
and R Adm (later VAdm) JS Bedi as the Fleet Commander.
INS Viraat is currently commanded by Capt Ajendra
Bahadur Singh, the 19th CO of the ship.
The ship has seen 18 Commanding Officers, three
of whom became Chiefs of Naval Staff, viz Adm
Madhvendra Singh, Adm Arun Prakash and Adm Nirmal
Verma.
INS Viraat has done over 40,000 hours of steaming
and traversed over 5,00,000 nautical miles across
the proverbial seven seas. The ship has undertaken
over 20,000 hrs of flying from its deck, a record
for a carrier of that vintage.
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