12 Interesting Facts About the PNS Ghazi Submarine

PNS Ghazi, also known as USS Diablo, was a diesel-electric submarine. It was the first fast-attack submarine in the Pakistan Navy, which was at the forefront of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and also the war of 1971. She was leased from the U.S. Navy in 1963.

Read along to learn 12 interesting facts about the PNS Ghazi.

1. Only U.S Navy Warship Named Diablo, meaning Devil in Spanish

PNS Ghazi, earlier called Diablo, was a Tench class submarine launched on December 1, 1944. She was 95 m long, 8.33 m wide and displaced 1570 long tonnes when surfaced and 2453 tonnes when submerged. She sailed at a speed of 8.75 knots when submerged.

She was the only U.S. Navy Warship named Diablo, which means Devil in Spanish. Her insignia patch showed the devil running with a torpedo in the sea.

Diablo was commissioned on 31 March 1945 at Portsmouth Navy Yard. She headed to Pearl Harbour in July and went for her first war patrol in August. She was to halt at Siam; however, after the ceasefire declaration, she began her voyage towards Guam. Later, she left for New York and visited Charleston, South Carolina, in October, where she remained until January 1946.

2. Service with the U.S Navy

In 1947, she accompanied submarines Conger and Cutlass on simulated war patrols near the west coast of South America and Tierra del Fuego. The same year, she participated in antisubmarine warfare exercises in Key West, Florida. Diablo was based in the Panama Canal Zone from January to April 1949, where she participated in naval exercises and offered services in the Caribbean Sea.

She arrived at her home port, Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, on 5 June 1949. She participated in Operation Convex and performed her duty at the Sonar School, Key West. Her home port changed to New London in 1952, where she arrived to offer training for the Submarine School.

In 1954, she tested new weapons and equipment at Key West. She also participated in Operation Springboard in 1955 and, in 1959, cruised through the Panama Canal along the coasts of Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru for naval exercises with South American Navies.

In 1960, she went to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for an overhaul. In 1962, her hull classification symbol changed to AGSS-479. She was finally decommissioned on 1 June 1964 and was commissioned in the Pakistan Navy on the same day.

3. Procured by the Pakistan Navy under the Security Assistance Program

A lengthy negotiation between the governments of Pakistan and the U.S. led to the commissioning of Diablo/ PNS Ghazi into Pakistan’s Navy. Pakistan had been trying to procure submarines from the Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy since the 1050s.

Pakistan procured Ghazi under the Security Assistance Program authorised by the Kennedy Administration on a 4-year lease. An option was renewing the lease or buying the submarines later in 1963.

4. First Submarine operated by a Navy in South Asia

Ghazi was the first submarine operated by a navy in South Asia. She was endowed with 14 vintage Mark-14 torpedoes and arrived at the Naval Dockyard in Karachi in September 1964. After that, she joined the country’s Navy as its first long-range fast-attack sub. The Pakistan Navy named her Ghazi in 1964.

Ghazi’s presence was seen as a challenge to the Indian Navy. However, contrary to popular belief, its technological feats were downgraded and refitted under the U.S. Navy’s Guppy Program. Hence, she was not a highly technologically advanced sub when she entered service with the Pakistan Navy.

Naval Historians called it an unarmed ‘clockwork mouse’, mainly used for training. However, at that time, the Indian Navy thought it was a heavily militarised and advanced sub that could be a severe threat.

5. Role in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965

War broke out between India and Pakistan on 5 August 1965 over the Kashmir issue. At that time, Ghazi was deployed in the war arena, and her mission was to attack major Indian Navy warships, especially India’s aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. However, PNS Ghazi could not detect INS Vikrant throughout the conflict.

On 17 September 1965, PNS Ghazi fired three Second World War Mark 14 torpedoes at INS Brahmaputra. According to the submarine war logs, three explosions were heard, but neither the Brahmaputra was damaged nor did it sink. Ghazi left for her base and was bestowed with 10 war awards upon her return. It remains unknown what her targets were, and the mysterious explosions were since no inquiry report was submitted.

PNS Ghazi submarine — Image credits: Wikipedia

6. Underwent major refits in Turkiye in 1970

After the war, an arms embargo placed on India and Pakistan was waived by the U.S. In 1967, Pakistan applied to renew the lease agreement approved by the United States.

However, PNS Ghazi was in bad shape, with deteriorating equipment and physical state. Hence, a deal was forged with the Turkish Navy for a refit and mid-life update to be carried out in Golcuk, Turkey, the only facility that handled Tench-class subs.

Tensions in the Middle East led to the closure of the Suez Canal for a brief period after it was blocked by the Egyptian Navy in 1967. Hence, Ghazi had to go from Africa to Western Europe.

During this voyage, she stopped at Mombasa in Kenya for refuelling and in Maputo. She also stopped in Angola and made a stopover in Toulon, France.

Her final stopover was Turkiye’s Izmir. She continued moving forward while being submerged through the Marmara Sea’s east coast to dock at Golcuk Naval Shipyard, where her computers, electromechanical equipment, etc., were upgraded. The cost was around $1.5 million. The process began in 1968 and ended in 1979.

7. Deployed to face Indian Navy Ships in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971

In 1971, the Indian Navy shifted the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant to the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. In response, the Pakistan Navy adjusted its naval operations. Before 1971, many proposals highlighted the need to strengthen the maritime defence of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. However, the government did not take them seriously, so now the Navy was not in a position to defend itself against approaching Indian naval advances.

Several of the Pakistan Navy’s Bengali sailors and officers defected to India. Pakistan faced internal pressure to counter the advance of the Indian Armed Forces. The government asked the Navy to reinforce the defences of the East, while the latter did not favour deploying PNS Ghazi since there was no proper seaport or any defence infrastructure. Many naval officials felt that the deployment would be dangerous and quite impossible. However, they had to comply as war had begun.

8. Twin missions of mine laying & destroying INS Vikrant

PNS Ghazi suffered from equipment failures and other technical problems before her deployment. She had become old; however, being the only submarine of the Pakistan Navy, she was the only ray of hope. She had the range and capabilities to undertake operations in waters dominated by India, so she was expected to damage or destroy INS Vikrant.

On 14 November 1971, PNS Ghazi undertook a 4800 km journey around the Indian Peninsula from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. She was commanded by Zafar Muhammad, commanding a naval submarine for the first time, accompanied by 10 officers and 82 sailors.

She had two missions: locating and sinking INS Vikrant and mining India’s east coast. However, PNS Ghazi faced another issue: the poor facilities at East Pakistan’s Chittagong Port.

9. The mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi

The PNS Ghazi sank on 4 December 1971 while trying to find INS Vikrant and laying mines at the Visakhapatnam Port in the Bay of Bengal. The cause of the sinking is unclear, and Indian and Pakistani sources have different views on the sinking of the submarine.

On 16 November, Ghazi was around 400 km off Bombay. Two days later, she headed to Sri Lanka, entering the Bay of Bengal on 20 November 1971. PNS Ghazi began to look for Vikrant and was off to Madras, where the Indian Aircraft carrier was thought to be stationed. However, Ghazi was 10 days late, and Vikrant was now somewhere else, close to the Andaman Islands.

Unable to find Vikrant, Ghazi’s commanders decided to turn back to Visakhapatnam and lay mines off the harbour, confident they would find Vikrant soon or at least weaken the Indian Navy’s fleet by targeting this significant naval base on 2 and 3 December 1971.

On 1 December 1971, the Indian Navy realized a Pakistani Submarine was close to the Sri Lankan coast and was certain that it could come around Madras or Visakhapatnam. It was decided that once INS Rajput had been refuelled, it must leave the harbour with its navigational equipment turned off.

Per Indian claims, INS Rajput left Visakhapatnam on December 3, 1971. However, shortly afterwards, the starboard lookout reported seeing something on the water surface. INS Rajput changed its course and dropped two depth charges. The explosions were massive, and INS Rajput continued dumping bombs and went to the coast of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.

On the night of 4 and 5 December 1971, PNS Ghazi sank with all of its 93 servicemen, including 11 officers and 82 enlisted under unknown circumstances off the Visakhapatnam coast.

10. The Aftermath of the Sinking

The Navy NHQ waited for Ghazi to submit its mission report on 26 November 1971. Repeated efforts were made to communicate with her but in vain. Days passed, but Ghazi did not return to her base. Naval officers worried about the submarine; however, the Senior Command told them there could be many reasons the submarine could not communicate with them.

The Indian Navy stated on 9 December about Ghazi’s fate. The first indication came when a message from Indian NHQ, claiming the sinking of Ghazi on the night of 3 December, was intercepted.

11. Indian version of the Ghazi Sinking

After the war ended, the Indian Government investigated the incident and claimed that Ghazi was sunk by INS Rajput, whose crew were endowed with Gallantry awards for achieving victory. However, the details were not revealed. A Victory at Sea Memorial was also built on the coast close to where Ghazi had sunk.

However, many Indian authors and naval officers disagreed with the incident. Vice-Admiral G.M. Hiranandani, author of the official history of the Indian Navy, ‘Transition to Triumph’ quotes naval records and naval officers saying that INS Rajput was sent to track down Ghazi and the book also mentions that time of dropping charges, the explosions heard by people near the coast and a clock found from Ghazi matched. However, he opines that the sub most probably suffered from an internal explosion.

In 2003, the Indian Navy sent some divers who found war logs, official backup tapes, and mission files, which were sent to the Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command. The divers said that Ghazi suffered an internal explosion which blew its mine and torpedoes.

In 2010, Lieutenant-General J. F. R. Jacob of Eastern Command said that Ghazi was destroyed and the Indian Navy was not involved. Many authors shared this view, unlike what the Indian Navy had said. The same year, it became known that the Indian Navy had destroyed all records of Ghazi’s sinking.

In 2011, former Indian Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash said in the national security conference that Ghazi had sunk under mysterious conditions and not by INS Rajput as claimed earlier. In 2021, he published an article in Indian Media stating that PNS Ghazi sank due to an internal explosion.

12. Pakistan’s Investigation into Ghazi’s Sinking

The Naval Intelligence conducted its investigation and concluded that Ghazi sank when the mines it was laying exploded accidentally. The conclusion was made after several years of investigations. Pakistan did not accept the early Indian claims that Ghazi was sunk by INS Rajput and offered alternative explanations.

According to one theory, there was an internal explosion due to the overproduction of hydrogen gas when the submarine’s batteries were being charged underwater. The second theory says that one of the sub’s mines detonated inside it.

A Ghazi Monument was built at the Naval Dockyard in Karachi to remember the submarine and its crew. Her loss was a watershed event, and the Pakistan Navy realised the importance of implementing a rigorous submarine safety programme.

Several movies on PNS Ghazi were made by India and Pakistan, like the 1998 movie Ghazi Shaheed, the Ghazi released in 2017 and Meghna Gulzar’s famous Razi, which revolved around the life of an Indian spy who provided intelligence about PNS Ghazi’s mission to attack INS Vikrant.

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Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid writer, possessing immaculate research and editing skills. Author of several academic papers, she has also worked as a freelance writer, producing many technical, creative and marketing pieces. A true aesthete at heart, she loves books a little more than anything else.