Indian Navy Finds Wreckage of Pakistani Submarine PNS Ghazi Lost in 1971 War

The recently acquired deep submergence rescue vehicle of the Indian Navy has made a significant discovery.

PNS/M Ghazi entering Karachi harbour, Pakistan, upon arrival from the USA in 1964.
Image credits: pakdef.info.

It has found the wreck of the PNS Ghazi, a Pakistani Submarine which sank off the coast of Visakhapatnam during the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, leading to the formation of Bangladesh.

PNS Ghazi was a Tench-Class Submarine, earlier called USS Diablo when it was a part of the U.S Navy.

It was found at a depth of around 100 m, just 2 to 2.5 km off the coast. The Indian Navy will not touch the site of the wreck out of respect for the sailors who lost their lives.

The sub had 93 crew members, including 82 sailors and 11 officers, when it sank off the coast of Visakhapatnam.

The U.S.-made submarine was acquired by Pakistan, which deployed it to gather intelligence about India’s eastern seaboard and to sink India’s aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant.

PNS Ghazi left Karachi on November 14, 1971, covering 4800 km around the Indian Peninsula before arriving near the Vizag coast. It was sunk by INS Rajput, an Indian Navy destroyer which dropped depth charges. Though India claims that Ghazi was sunk in naval action, Pakistan says it met its fate due to internal explosions.

Nonetheless, its discovery adds to the historical significance of the Bay of Bengal’s floor close to the coast of Visakhapatnam. Another wreck of an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine that sank in the Second World War on February 12, 1944, also lies in the vicinity.

References: Times of India, WION, Herald Goa

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