On the night of December 3, 1971, Pakistani Air Force (PAF) launched a series of airstrikes on Indian airfields and military installations along the western front in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir as part of Operation Chengiz Khan a few hours before any formal declaration of war.
The coordinated airstrikes on Amritsar and Pathankot Airbase in Punjab, Jammu Airbase in Jammu & Kashmir, Sirsa Airbase in Haryana and Jaisalmer and Uttarlai Air Bases in Rajasthan were both swift and brutal. Pakistan deployed its fighter jets, including F-104 Starfighters, Sabre Jets, and A-5 ground-attack aircraft to destroy radar stations, hangars, and other critical infrastructure at the Indian airfields.
By striking first, Pakistan hoped that a quick and decisive blow to Indian airfields would give it a strategic advantage and cripple the Indian Air Force’s ability to launch air operations in the war.
This marked the official beginning of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which eventually led to the creation of Bangladesh. The attack was designed to prevent India from using its superior air capabilities and create a window of opportunity for Pakistan to gain the upper hand in the initial stages of the war.
The Pakistani airstrikes caused significant damage to Indian airfields and military installations. Several Indian aircraft were destroyed, particularly at the Jammu and Amritsar bases. The attacks disrupted Indian air operations in the initial phase of the war, forcing India to rely on aircraft from far away bases in the following days.
Operation Trident
On December 4, 1971 India retaliated by launching Operation Trident to weaken Pakistan’s naval capabilities, disrupt its economic infrastructure, and cripple Pakistan’s ability to sustain its military operations. This operation was targeted on the port city of Karachi, which was the epicentre of Pakistan’s naval operations, housing a majority of its naval fleet, including destroyers, submarines, and supporting vessels. Karachi was also an important base for repair and resupply for Pakistan’s naval forces and housed crucial naval shipyards.
By striking Karachi’s naval assets, the Indian Navy aimed to cripple Pakistan’s ability to launch offensive naval strikes, especially in the Arabian Sea or attack India’s shipping lanes and disrupt Indian supply lines. The attack on Karachi was also aimed to weaken Pakistan’s overall military preparedness and ability to launch a counteroffensive.
Karachi was not only Pakistan’s principal naval base handling both military and commercial shipments but also its economic hub and a key location for import and export of goods. Karachi was also home to industrial infrastructure that sustained Pakistan’s military and civilian supply chains and critical oil refineries that supplied fuel for its military vehicles, aircraft, and naval vessels.
By making this military and civilian infrastructure non-operational, India sought to hamper Pakistan’s ability and will to fight the war.
India’s objective behind Operation Trident was to assert its naval superiority by carrying out an effective and coordinated strike on Pakistan’s most critical maritime and industrial assets. By inflicting substantial damage on Pakistan’s navy and its key economic infrastructure, India wanted to demonstrate its strength not just to Pakistan, but to the entire world. The operation was aimed at sending a strong signal about India’s growing military prowess and serve as a deterrent against any future Pakistani attempts to challenge Indian naval forces in the region.
That was the time when the Indian Army was engaged in intense combat) against the Pakistani military in East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh). By launching Operation Trident and weakening Pakistan’s western naval capabilities, India aimed to divert Pakistan’s attention and resources away from the East, where the majority of the military conflict was unfolding.
The weakening of Pakistan’s naval capabilities would allow India to further consolidate its strategic advantage in East Pakistan. It was a calculated move to prevent Pakistan from using its naval strength to disrupt or block Indian supply lines, reinforce its forces in East Pakistan, or launch any counterattacks.
Operation Trident was also intended to have a psychological impact on Pakistan’s military and civilian morale. Karachi was Pakistan’s largest city as well as a strategic economic and military base. Hence, striking Karachi was intended to not only showcase the vulnerability of Pakistan’s coastal defence but also sent a powerful message to both the Pakistani military and the public that India could reach and strike vital areas deep inside Pakistan. The attack was thus meant to create a sense of insecurity in the minds of Pakistan’s leadership.
Operation Trident demonstrated India’s ability to plan and execute high-impact military operations with precision and effectiveness and was designed to undermine the confidence of Pakistan’s military leadership and demoralize its forces.
The daring strike on Pakistan’s naval assets and infrastructure had significant strategic, military, and psychological consequences, contributing to the eventual success of Indian forces in the war.
The war took place on multiple fronts, but the naval theatre was of particular importance given its role in blocking supply routes and disrupting the enemy’s military operations.
Execution of Operation Trident
Operation Trident was an ambitious and carefully planned assault by the Indian Navy using missile boats and aircraft on Pakistan’s coastal defence and was one of the first significant modern naval missile operations.
The Indian Navy deployed fast, agile Vidyut-class boats from the 22 Missile Boat Squadron under the command of Commander Babru Bhan Yadav. These missile boats were ideally suited for the task because of their speed and ability to operate in shallow waters, making them difficult to detect and intercept them.
The Indian Air Force and Navy launched coordinated airstrikes and bombed key targets, including oil refineries, military bases, and other critical infrastructure to further damage Karachi’s strategic installations.
The Indian Navy also deployed submarines in the Arabian Sea to ensure the safety of Indian vessels conducting the strikes and prevented Pakistani warships from launching counterattacks.
The strike on Karachi
At approximately 3:00 AM on December 4, as a part of Operation Trident a fleet of Vidyut-class missile boats: INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer approached Karachi under the cover of darkness because Pakistani aircraft during those days did not possess night-bombing capabilities and launched coordinated missile strikes on PNS Khyber and other Pakistani naval vessels docked in the harbour.
As a result PNS Khyber, a Zulfiquar-class destroyer, and PNS Shah Jahan, a Shah Jahan-class cruiser which was one of the main warships in Pakistan’s naval fleet at that time, were severely damaged and sank. Significantly, in the confusion that followed PNS Khaibar a Pakistani Battle-class destroyer failed to make out what hit it and sent an incorrect signal to the Pakistan Naval Headquarters (PNHQ) with wrong coordinates of the ship’s position. As a result the rescue teams couldn’t reach on time and the ship sank killing 222 sailors on board.
Likewise PNS Muhafiz, an adjutant-class minesweeper sank immediately before it could transmit a distress call to the PNHQ, killing 33 sailors.
In addition to this, a number of Pakistani merchant vessels including MV Venus Challenger, MV Swat and other Pakistani merchant vessels docked at Karachi were also damaged or sunk. MV Venus Challenger, which was carrying ammunition for the Pakistani forces, exploded 23 nm south of Karachi, while PNS Shah Jahan was severely damaged and had to be scrapped. Although MV Venus Challenger did not sink immediately, it was abandoned and declared as a total loss.
In the meantime, INS Nipat proceeded towards Karachi and fired two missiles – one of which hit and completely destroyed the Kemari oil storage tanks and refinery at the Karachi Harbour.
On the whole, at least four Pakistani vessels, including two destroyers, one minesweeper, and two civilian cargo ship were destroyed in Operation Trident, while the bombing raids by Indian Air Force on Karachi’s oil refineries and industrial sites caused widespread destruction and lead to massive fires that engulfed the city.
Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, the Chief of the Naval Staff during the 1971 war in his autobiography ‘The Man Who Bombed Karachi’ describes the missile attacks on the ships at Karachi harbour and subsequent burning of its oil fields as the biggest bonfire in the Arabian Sea that lasted for almost a week.
Operation Trident remains a textbook example of modern naval warfare. Operation Trident proved to be a turning point in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The events of December 4, 1971, highlighted the importance of naval power in modern warfare and marked the Indian Navy’s dominance in the region. The successful use of missile boats and coordinated airstrikes demonstrated the Indian Navy’s ability to strike quickly, and accurately.
The next day on December 5, 1971, Pakistan suffered another big blow when PNS Ghazi, one of the most advanced submarines in the Pakistan Navy sent to locate and destroy INS Vikrant, India’s aircraft carrier, was lost under mysterious circumstances off the coast of Visakhapatnam. The sinking of PNS Ghazi, which was seen as a formidable threat by the Indian naval forces, coupled with the losses suffered by Pakistan’s naval fleet in Karachi, left with a deep scar that took Pakistan a long time to recover from.
Sinking of PNS Ghazi: A Symbol of Pakistan’s Naval Power
PNS Ghazi, was a British-built submarine, originally called HMS Totem. Commissioned into the Pakistan Navy in 1964, it was a Type 14 “T-class” submarine, known for its stealth and underwater warfare capabilities.
PNS Ghazi, one of the most advanced submarines in the Pakistan Navy, which was seen as a formidable threat by the Indian naval forces. Ghazi was often deployed to intercept enemy ships, gather intelligence, and carry out other covert operations. Its mere presence was a constant source of concern for India.
On the night of December 3, 1971, PNS Ghazi left its base in Karachi and was positioned to intercept Indian naval vessels around the coast of Visakhapatnam. Its mission was to track down and destroy INS Vikrant as well as to prevent India from launching an amphibious assault on East Pakistan through the Bay of Bengal.
However, Ghazi’s fate was sealed when it was spotted by Indian Navy’s guided-missile destroyer INS Rajput, which was conducting anti-submarine operations in the area. On December 4, 1971, Ghazi was reported missing under mysterious circumstances after an explosion in its vicinity. Even today the explosion which caused the submarine to sink remains a mystery.
Indian naval accounts mention that Ghazi was destroyed by depth charges laid down by INS Rajput. Pakistan Navy however refutes this and maintains that Ghazi sank due to an internal explosion in its torpedo tube. Yet another theory suggests that Ghazi probably collided with underwater mines laid by the Indian Navy off the coast of Visakhapatnam leading to the blast that sank the vessel.
Whatever be the cause of the blast, no one can deny the fact that Ghazi never returned from this mission. Sinking of PNS Ghazi was a crippling blow to the Pakistani Navy more so because all 93 crew members on board including its captain, Commander Zafar Muhammad perished in the incident.
The sinking of PNS Ghazi had profound implications for Pakistan’s military and its morale because it was Pakistan’s most advanced warship. The loss of PNS Ghazi was also a blow to the pride of Pakistani naval forces, which took pride in its ability to challenge India’s dominance at sea.
Operation Python (December 7, 1971)
Three days after Operation Trident, India launched Operation Python to further damage Pakistan’s naval infrastructure at Karachi which was Pakistan’s largest naval and commercial hub.
India’s aim was to destroy or incapacitate more Pakistani naval vessels and infrastructure, making it difficult for Pakistan to defend its coastlines or launch further naval operations.
Execution of Operation Python
As a part of Operation Python four fast-moving Osa-class missile boats from the Indian Navy’s 25th Missile Vessel Squadron namely INS Nipat, INS Nirghat, INS Veer, and INS Vidhyut were deployed to strike enemy ships and land-based targets.
The Indian Navy’s small, and fast missile boats were well-suited for hit-and-run tactics to destroy or damage Pakistani ships, dockyards, and other critical infrastructure, further crippling Pakistan’s naval operational capacity.
As expected the Indian Navy’s missile boats managed to significantly damage several Pakistani ships, and naval infrastructure, which had already been weakened by Operation Trident.
The Pakistani Navy was caught off guard by the speed and effectiveness of the Indian missile boats, which were able to attack and retreat quickly before Pakistan could mount a proper defence.
By the end of Operation Python, the Indian Navy had established complete dominance over the Arabian Sea and left Pakistan to rely on its army and air force, which were stretched thin by the war on multiple fronts.
Operation Python added to the psychological pressure on Pakistan, which was unable to reinforce its forces in East Pakistan or defend its coastline. It seemed impossible for Pakistan to receive reinforcements or supplies by sea. The Pakistani merchant fleet was also disrupted, affecting trade and logistical operations.
Conclusion
This had an impact on the outcome of the 1971 war which ended with the breakup of Pakistan on December 16, 1971, and creation of Bangladesh as an independent nation.
And in the process Pakistan was so badly disheartened that it ordered its ships not to venture out at sea, especially during night, while the Pakistan Air Force was also affected by the loss of fuel.
