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In the late sixties and early seventies the Pakistan Navy submarine Ghazi was the symbol of an irretrievable depth of fear for the Indian Navy, it remained a nightmare for the Indian fleet for years. In the early phase of the 1971 war, Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant was forced to find shelter nearly 1000 miles away from its home port Vishakhapatnam. Indian Navy was well aware of the prowess of Ghazi that had earlier wrecked their operational plans in the 1965 War. Vice Admiral Krishnan, the Commander of Indian Eastern Naval Command was in no position to afford keeping his centre of gravity open to Ghazi's attack, so he moved it deep down South. It was a terrible misfortune for the submarine that Vikrant wasn't in the area!
The politico-military situation in East Pakistan compelled Pakistani military commanders to recalibrate their options. Internal strife, coupled with India's active support to Bengali separatists, required necessary measures by both political and military leaders in Pakistan. Moreover, as part of 'defence of the east lies in the west' strategy, the military leadership must have argued for 'releasing pressure' on the East by doing something in the West or at sea. According to Pakistani military calculus, it was no wonder that after decapitating our Air Force in the East, India would blockade East Pakistan, primarily through INS Vikrant, for a decisive blow. The Indians must have estimated that with absolutely no road link, and the sea routes cut, Pakistan would be in no position to continue hostilities and would bow down to Indian demands. The only naval vessel that could keep India's major operational strategy of bringing INS Vikrant into the theatre, at bay, was PNS/M Ghazi. If Ghazi could bottle up the Indian fleet in Vishakhapatnam port and strike INS Vikrant, the outcome of the war would tilt enormously towards Pakistan - this could have been thought by the Pakistani military leadership during those days of November 1971.
PNS Ghazi was a Tench Class ex US Navy submarine with the name USS Diablo. The submarine was commissioned in the uS Navy on 31 March 1945, and served mainly on the US side of the Atlantic and Caribbean. USS Diablo was decommissioned and decommissioned...