Navy to display submarine prototype in Kolkata R-Day parade

Kolkata: To increase awareness on the important role played by submarines in military operations, the Navy would for the first time display a model of it during the Republic Day parade in Kolkata. “Since submarines fight under the sea, not many people know about its functioning. So we have decided to display a model of a Sindhughosh-class submarine during the parade for the first time in Kolkata,” Commodore Ravi Ahluwalia, naval officer in-charge of West Bengal, told reporters.[caption id=“attachment_1349889” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A Indian Navy submarine. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] The Russian-made submarine INS Sindhughosh specialises in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities and carries all armaments like torpedo and missile. Besides the submarine prototype, the model of a ship would be part of the R-Day tableau this time. Highlighting the relationship of submarines with Bengal, Ahluwalia recounted that the first and only Indian to make a passage on a naval submarine was a civilian from Kolkata - Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It is widely known that Bose had escaped from Germany to Japan in 1942 on submarines belonging to the two nations which included a mid-sea transfer from one vessel to another. Fittingly, the naval base in Kolkata is also named INS Netaji Subhas. Noting that submarines are among the country’s most economical weapons, Commodore Ahluwalia said it is a very risky business. “Accidents are very few but very fatal,” he said. Submarines lurk undetected beneath the sea, but are capable of sinking even the mightiest of warships single handedly. Meanwhile, in a separate demonstration held off the ‘Man O’ War’ jetty, naval divers who were camping here for the just-concluded Ganga Sagar mela showed how they operate in water to save lives and for other operational tasks. PTI