INS Sindhukirti (S61)

INS Sindhukirti (S61) is the seventh Sindhughosh-class diesel-electric submarine of the Indian Navy. She was built at the Admiralty Shipyard and Sevmash in the Soviet Union.

A Sindhughosh-class submarine underway
History
India
Name: INS Sindhukirti
Builder: Admiralty Shipyard and Sevmash
Commissioned: 09 December 1989[1]
Recommissioned: 23 May 2015
Refit: June 2006 - May 2015
Status: in active service[2]
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Sindhughosh-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 2,300 t (2,500 short tons) surfaced
  • 3,100 t (3,400 short tons) dived
Length: 72.6 m (238 ft)
Beam: 9.9 m (32 ft)
Draught: 6.6 m (22 ft)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × 3,650 hp (2,720 kW) diesel-electric motors
  • 1 × 5,900 hp (4,400 kW) motor
  • 2 × 204 hp (152 kW) auxiliary motors
  • 1 × 130 hp (97 kW) economic speed motor
Speed:
  • Surfaced; 10–12 knots (19–22 km/h)
  • Submerged; 17–25 knots (31–46 km/h)
Range:
  • Snorting: 6,000 mi (9,700 km) at 7 kn (13 km/h)
  • Submerged: 400 miles (640 km) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h)
Endurance: Up to 45 days
Test depth:
  • Operational Depth; 240 m (790 ft)
  • Maximum Depth; 300 m (980 ft)
Complement: 68 (incl. 7 Officers)
Armament:
Notes: underwent refit from June 2006 - May 2015 at Hindustan Shipyard

Sindukirti was commissioned on 9 December 1989 in the Soviet Union, with Cdr. Ramdas signing her commissioning orders. She underwent a protracted "medium refit" from June 2006 until May 2015 at the Hindustan Shipyard at Visakhapatnam. The midlife upgrade was projected to be completed in 3 years but numerous delays postponed the submarine's return.[3] Having spent one third of her life in refit, she finally returned to service on 23 May 2015.[4]

Description

Sindhukiriti has a length of 72.6 m (238 ft) overall, a beam of 9.9 m (32 ft) and a draft of 6.5 m (21 ft). She displaces 2,300 t (2,264 long tons) surfaced, 3,100 t (3,051 long tons) submerged and has a maximum diving depth of 300 m (980 ft). The complement is about 68, including 7 officers and 61 sailors.[5][6]

The submarine has a shaft with one seven-blade propeller. It is powered by two diesel generators, each of which produce 1,000 kW (1,300 hp). It also has an electric motor with 5,500–6,800 hp (4,100–5,100 kW) of power. She can achieve a maximum speed of 10–12 knots (19–22 km/h) when on surface and 17–25 knots (31–46 km/h) when submerged.[5]

Operational service and refit

INS Sindhukirti was commissioned on 9 December 1989, by Cdr. Kannan Ramdas. She is the seventh of the ten Sindhughosh-class submarines.[5]

Midlife Medium refit

Sindhukirti was docked at Hindustan Shipyard in June 2006 for a midlife refit which included installation of USHUS sonar and the Klub-S cruise missiles and other hull works. It was originally planned to send her to Russia for the upgrade, like her sister ships Sindhughosh, Sindhuvir, Sindhuratna, and Sindhuvijay. However, it was decided that Sindhukirti would be upgraded indigenously. Hindustan Shipyard was selected for the refit due to political wrangling, against the wishes of the navy staff.[7][8][9][10] HSL had a history of prolonging submarine refits, taking ten years to upgrade each of the Vela-class submarines Vela and Vagli.[11]

Sindhukirti's refit was scheduled for 3 years, but the refit dragged on as problems arose. The ship became known as the dockyard queen.[9] In 2009, Admiral Sureesh Mehta explained, "That kind of expertise did not exist in India before and this is for the first time that we are trying it out here. Instead of sending them to Russia all the way, this one is being offloaded to Hindustan Shipyards. There are some problems in their procurement procedures. It takes a little longer than is expected".[8] While a Russian shipyard would deploy 200 workers in three shifts to complete the refit in two years, HSL deployed only 50 workers to work on Sindhukirti.[11]

After nine years in refit, Sindhukirti finally returned to sea on 23 May 2015 and is currently active.[4]

INS Sindhukirti was featured in series 'Breaking point Indian Submariners' which was released on Veer by Discovery YouTube channel.

References
  1. Sindhukirti (S61), Indian Navy
  2. "Submarine INS Sindhukirti sets sail for sea trials". Business Standard. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  3. "Russia delayed sub refit to weaken shipyard?". Business Standard. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  4. "Navy gets INS Sindhukirti back". Business Standard. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  5. "S 55 Sindhu Ghosh Class". Global Security. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  6. "Sindhughosh class". Indian Navy. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  7. S. Anandan (15 August 2013). "Body blow to Navy's submarine arm". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  8. Vishal Thapar (14 January 2009). "Navy's submarine repair costs India losses". IBN Live. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  9. "Submarine INS Sindhukirti stuck in refit for 8 years". The Times of India. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  10. http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/scorpene-subs-to-join-fleet-without-torpedoes-114051500200_1.html
  11. Unnithan, Sandeep (17 November 2008). "Navy's sub induction plan suffers blow". India Today.
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