Arjun Speaks

INS Angre turns 75! OTD in 1951, INS Dalhousie was renamed INS Angre, in honour of Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre, the formidable admiral of the Maratha Navy. 75 years later, the establishment remains at the heart of the @indiannavy’s presence in Mumbai. #ThisDayInIndianNavy Known over various periods of time as Manor House, Bombay Castle, Castle Barracks, HMIS Dalhousie and INS Dalhousie, its walls have witnessed centuries of maritime history! Today, INS Angre has three important roles - it houses the Naval Barracks, serves as the base depot ship of @IN_WNC and functions as the station headquarters. Meluha Maritime was privileged to be present today for the Platinum Jubilee commemorations. Our Co-founder, Cmde @srikantkesnur, participated in the Commemorative Lecture on the legendary Sarkhel. The commemorations also saw three releases - a special film, a book, Beyond the Castle Walls, and a commemorative First Day Cover issued by the Army Postal Service. Impressive addresses by the FOCinC WNC, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, and Commanding Officer, Cmde Prashant Chandrasekharan, brought the proceedings to a fitting close. INS Angre remains a remarkable meeting point of Mumbai’s maritime past and the Indian Navy’s present. May Angre live evermore. #INSAngre #PlatinumJubilee #IndianNavy #MaritimeHistory #Mumbai #MeluhaMaritime @MHSofIndia @thisdayin_IN

100 Years of Vice Admiral Mihir Kumar ‘Micky’ Roy Today marks the birth centenary of Vice Admiral Mihir Kumar Roy, PVSM, AVSM - one of the @indiannavy 's most distinguished admirals. #ThisDayInIndianNavy An aviator, spymaster, submariner, combat leader, strategist, and scholar, Micky belonged to a generation that helped shape the post-Independence Indian Navy into a confident and capable maritime force. Born #OTD in 1926 in Bogra in present-day Bangladesh, he grew up in the Madras Presidency, thanks to his Imperial Forest Service Officer father, Bejoy Kumar Roy. He was fluent in Tamil and Telugu, which would hold him in good stead in his later life. He attended the Presidency College, Madras and the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, before serving on cruisers, battleships and destroyers. At London, he met and forged a lifelong friendship with Raja Ramanna. Back in India, he joined the aviation branch and become India’s first observer (now called Naval Air Operations Officers) in May 1952. He commanded the Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU), followed by stints at NHQ and the High Commission in London. He then commissioned the INAS 310, the famed Cobras squadron, in Hyeres in France. The Cobras with the iconic Alizés was India’s first ASW squadron. Micky successively commanded the 22nd destroyer squadron (as CO INS Godavari), the naval air station INS Garuda and the 16th frigate squadron (as CO INS Brahmaputra). In 1970, Micky took over as Director Naval Intelligence and during the #1971War oversaw one of the most innovative operations of the war. Operation X saw the Indian Navy raise a naval guerrilla force of Mukti Bahini frogmen that struck ports, shipping and inland waterways across East Pakistan. It remains one of the most successful covert maritime campaigns in South Asian history. After the war, he attended RCSS and returned to become the first aviator to command the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. He brought her out of refit, took her on a diplomatic cruise to Iran, and achieved 1000 landings in a short time. In his flag appointments, Micky served as Assistant Chief of Personnel, commanded the Eastern Fleet, and served as Senior DS at NDC, before taking over as the 7th Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command. As the CinC with the longest tenure, Micky’s biggest contribution was to develop the naval aviation infrastructure in the East. He was instrumental in establishing four naval air stations and a naval air enclave. After retiring from the Navy, Micky, as the founding Director General of the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) Project, laid the foundations of India's indigenous nuclear submarine programme - one of the country's most ambitious strategic endeavours. For nearly a quarter of a century thereafter, he remained a tireless advocate for maritime consciousness, national security, and sea power, carrying the Navy's message into the corridors of power, academia, think tanks, and the wider strategic community. The story of the modern Indian Navy cannot be told without telling the story of Vice Admiral MK Roy. @srikantkesnur @zwerubae @SanjoyRoyTWA @probirpaymate @kirtitejas @SandeepUnnithan @MHSofIndia @thisdayin_IN