India Says Farewell to First Godavari-Class Frigate
05:59 24.12.2015(updated 06:00 24.12.2015)
The Indian Navy has decommissioned the country's first indigenously designed and built Godavari-class frigate, thirty-two-years its induction.
Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) first laid the warship's keel on November 3, 1978. It was launched on May 15, 1980, and commissioned on December 10 1983.
According to IHS Jane's Fighting Ships, a Godavari-class vessel has an overall length of 126.5 meters, an overall beam of 14.5 meters, and a hull draught of 4.5 meters. The platform of the frigate is armed with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air guided missiles. INS Godavari was also among the first vessels in the world to carry two Sea King helicopters along with its 313-member crew.
'Being the first indigenously designed and constructed ship, she was showcased around the world as a symbol of India's growing military might and self-reliance,' stated an Indian Ministry of Defence commemoration announcement.
The ministry also honored the Godavari 's successful participation in numerous operations and deployments, across the Indian Ocean and beyond, including a significant role in the 1988 'Operation Cactus' Indian Armed Forces mission, in which India thwarted an attempted coup d'etat against the Maldivin Government.
'INS Godavari came about from the realization among naval planners that self reliance in design and shipbuilding was essential to build a strong navy,' a Ministry press release said.
The Godavari-class design became a basis for the Indian Navy's Brahmaputra (Project 16A)-class guided-missile frigates. The principal difference is that the platform of the newer ship includes SS-N-25 'Switchblade' surface-to-surface missiles in place of the SS-N-2 'Styx' series on the Godavari-class frigates.
A decommissioning ceremony was held in Mumbai on December 23.
© Sputnik
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