The Indian navy’s silent but deadly sub surface fighting arm has undergone tremendous changes since the first Foxtrot submarine was inducted into the service on 8th December 1967. The submarines have been a complex mix of diesel-electric - nuclear propulsion; Soviet - Western - Indian design; and imported - licence - indigenous build. Be it a two man swimmer delivery vehicle or deep water Kilo’s and HDW’s or blue water Charlie I and Akula II class SSGN’s or strategic Arihant class SSBN’s, the navy has operated the entire spectrum of submarine types. The grit and determination of the submariners is not just limited to fighting but also to build their own machines and fight. The submarine arm is also a bit of mystery and usually finds mentions in few pages in naval books or makes headlines during accidents. The book traces the origin and growth of the submarine arm of the Indian navy.
The book has been written in consultation with Cmde Arun Kumar, AVSM, NM (Retd.) who has served 28 years in the submarine arm and has headed critical submarine upgrade and procurement plans. In his twenty eight years of submarine career, he held various staff and command appointments. He was Commodore Commanding Submarines (East) & Commanded INS Virbahu, the submarine base in the East which is still regarded as the 'Alma Mater' by the submariners of the Indian Navy; commanded the guided missile destroyer Rajput; and the Submarine Training school Satavahana. His last appointment in service was Principal Director of Submarine Acquisitions at NHQ.
VAdm K.N Sushil, PVSM, AVSM, NM, ADC, Former Chief Southern Naval Command (Redt.) has written the preface. Cmde Ranjit B. Rai (Retd.) has contributed 3 chapters to the book.
What Reviewers say:"The book is a complete meal for a reader, because it is laden with history and lessons of yore..... This book is more than a modest effort to try and encapsulate a lot with comments by those in the arm, critiqued by contributors and despaired at points, but with an aim to Salute India’s submarine arm." - CMDE Ranjit Rai (Naval Analyst, Author & Contributor)
There have been quite a few books about the Indian Navy. However this book is perhaps the first of its kind as it talks exclusively about the submarines in Indian Navy. The book covers the details of IN’s submarine forces in past (‘Foxtrot’) present (‘Kilo’ and ‘Type 1500’) and future Scorpene, Arihant and her sisters. Very informative.... This books gives a good account of our submarines in 1971 war. As they were not in the limelight a lot of people (including yours truly) had always wondered what IN submarines actually did in the 1971 war. In fact the book gives a good account of IN’s submarine forces from 1970s till date .... Some of the anecdotes, like a navy personnel having undergoing a appendectomy, 100 feet below the sea, are more than enough to give goose pimples. - Kersi Dotiwala (Enthusiast)
Joseph P. Chacko is a defence journalist, entrepreneur and the publisher of Frontier India, a portal publishing news and current affairs. He specializes in defence and strategic affairs. He holds an M.B.A in International Business from the Maharishi University of Management, Iowa, USA. He has co-authored book Warring Navies - India and Pakistan
