Nilakanta Krishnan

Vice Admiral
Nilakanta Krishnan
PVSM, DSC
Image of Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan from cover of biography
Born 1919
Died January 1982
Allegiance  British India
 India
Service/branch  Royal Indian Navy
 Indian Navy
Years of service 1938-1947, 1947-1976
Rank Vice Admiral
Commands held Eastern Naval Command
Awards Padma Bhushan[1]
Lt Gen A A K Niazi signing the Instrument of Surrender under the gaze of Lt Gen J S Aurora. Standing immediately behind (L-R) Vice Admiral Krishnan, Air Marshal Dewan, Lt. Gen Sagat Singh and Maj Gen JFR Jacob.

Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, PVSM, DSC (1919 – January 1982) was a former Indian Navy Admiral. He was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. He is credited with using a very innovative strategy, while commanding the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, in the Bay of Bengal. He is believed to have tricked the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi, which was on a search and destroy mission, into entering Visakhapatnam; where it was eliminated.

Early Life

Krishnan was the youngest son of Rao Bahadur Mahadeva Nilakanta Ayyar, an Executive Engineer.[2][3] While his eldest brother, Nilakanta Mahadeva Ayyar pursued his career in the Indian Civil Service, Krishnan joined the Royal Indian Navy.

Krishnan was appointed a Sub-Lieutenant of the Royal Indian Navy on 1 September 1940.[4] In 1942, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for "courage, enterprise and devotion to duty in operations in the Persian Gulf".[5] He had been serving on HMIS Investigator at that time,[6]

After India's independence in 1947, by which time he was an acting Lieutenant Commander, Krishnan continued in the new Indian Navy. He was promoted to Lieutenant commander on 16 August 1949,[7] and was appointed Director of Naval Plans on 19 December with the acting rank of Commander.[8] He was promoted to Captain on 31 December 1957,[9] and was appointed Deputy Military Secretary on 18 March 1958 with the rank of Commodore 2nd Class.[10]

His command during the 1971 war led the crew of Vikrant to earn two Mahavir Chakras and 12 Vir Chakras.Under his leadership in 1971, the aircraft carrier's Sea Hawks struck shipping in the Chittagong and Cox's Bazar harbours, sinking or incapacitating most ships in harbor. Admiral Krishnan retired from the Indian Navy in 1976.

Krishnan wrote an autobiography, A Sailor' Story, which was edited by Arjun Krishnan.[11] He had also written No way But Surrender — An Account of the Indo-Pakistani War in the Bay of Bengal.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  2. ↑ Doyle, Patrick (1905). Indian engineering, Volume 37. Calcutta. pp. xii.
  3. ↑ Krishnan, N. A Sailor's story. Bangalore: Punya Pub. ISBN 9788189534141.
  4. ↑ "No. 34960". The London Gazette. 4 October 1940. p. 5841.
  5. ↑ "No. 35481". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 March 1942. p. 1105.
  6. ↑ Cannon, Peter (2011). "HMAS Yarra and Operation Marmalade". Australian Maritime Issues 2010: SPC-A Annual (PDF). Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs, No. 35. Sea Power Centre, Australian Department of Defence. p. 96. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  7. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 27 August 1949. p. 1171.
  8. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 31 December 1949. p. 1807.
  9. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 29 November 1958. p. 268.
  10. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 28 June 1958. p. 147.
  11. ↑ Krishnan, Nilakanta (2011). Krishnan, Arjun, ed. A Sailor's Story. Punya Publishing. ISBN 978-8189534134.
  12. ↑ Krishnan, Nilakanta (1980). No way But Surrender — An Account of the Indo-Pakistani War in the Bay of Bengal. Vikas,. ISBN 0706910184.
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