E. Chandy Kuruvila | |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Chandy Thambi |
| Born | (1922-10-04)4 October 1922 |
| Died | 17 March 1994(1994-03-17) (aged 71) |
| Allegiance |  British Raj India |
| Branch |  Royal Indian Navy Indian Navy |
| Service years | 1942–1976 |
| Rank | _OF-8.svg)  Vice Admiral |
| Commands | Southern Naval Area Western Fleet INS Vikrant 15th Frigate Squadron INS Trishul (F143) INS Garuda INS Kistna |
| Conflicts | World War II Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 |
| Awards |  Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal |
| Other work | Chairman and Managing DirectorMazagon Dock Limited |
Vice AdmiralElenjikal Chandy Kuruvila,PVSM,AVSM was a former Flag officer in theIndian Navy. He was the Fleet commander of theWestern Fleet during theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971, for which he was awarded theParam Vishisht Seva Medal. He later led theSouthern Naval Area and then served as the chairman and managing director ofMazagon Dock Limited.
Kuruvila was born on 4 October 1922 in a wealthySyrian Christian Elenjikal family to E. J. Kuruvila, a businessman who set up the Annamalais Timber Trust Company, and Anna Kuruvila, daughter of Chandy. He was born in Bangalore and grew up in Bangalore and Thrissur. He attended theSt. Thomas College, Thrissur and later theMadras Christian College (MCC). At MCC, he met and befriendedK. M. Mathew, later theeditor-in-chief of theMalayalam-language daily,Malayala Manorama.[1]
Kuruvila applied for a commission in the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR). Successful in the written test and the interview, he was commissioned in the RINVR on his 20th birthday, 4 October 1942 as anActing Sub-lieutenant in the Executive Branch.
As a temporary Sub-Lieutenant, Kuruvila served on the auxiliary patrol vessel HMISSitakhoond.[2] On 13 May 1944, he was promoted to the rank ofLieutenant.[3] He later served on theBlack Swan-class sloopHMIS Sutlej when it was deployed in theBay of Bengal. He then served on theBangor-class minesweeperHMIS Carnatic (J199).[4] In 1945, he participated inOperation Dracula, the amphibious assault on Burma. After the war, he was granted a permanent commission in theRoyal Indian Navy (RIN). He was selected to attend the Long Gunnery course in 1947, thus becoming the first Long 'G' officer post-Independence, and embarked for theUnited Kingdom. He attended theRoyal Naval College, Greenwich where he andSir Henry Leach, who rose to become theFirst Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff of theRoyal Navy were course-mates. Kuruvila quickly became popular with the course and with the locals.[5]
He completed the course atHMS Excellent on Whale Island at Portsmouth in January 1948. After completing the gunnery course, he returned to India and was appointed an instructor at the gunnery school in Cochin, which later became theINS Dronacharya.[6] He later served on theR-class destroyerINS Ranjit (1949) and was appointed thefirst lieutenant of the ship. TheRanjit was commanded by CommanderS M Nanda.[7] Kuruvila was promoted to acting lieutenant-commander (paid) on 31 December 1950.[8]
In early 1952,Princess Elizabeth andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh set out for a tour ofAustralia andNew Zealand by way of Kenya. TheRajput and theRanjit were nominated to escortHMY Britannia from Mombasa to Australia.[9] With the death ofKing George VI, this was cancelled. To commemorate theCoronation of Elizabeth II, a massive Coronation review of the fleet was held atPortsmouth. The flagship INSDelhi, destroyer INSRanjit and frigateINS Tir (K256) represented India at the review. A naval armada consisting of ships from the Indian Navy,Royal Navy,Royal Australian Navy and theRoyal New Zealand Navy sailed from Portsmouth to Gibraltar. The fleet carried out exercises along the way and was under the command ofLord Mountbatten. TheRanjit under Nanda acquitted itself well during these exercises. Subsequently, the Indian ships continued conducting exercises with the Mediterranean Fleet. They sailed from Gibraltar to Malta, theGreek islands and toIstanbul.[10]
In 1953, he was selected to attend theDefence Services Staff College,Wellington.[11] In January 1956, Kuruvila was appointed to the staff at theHigh Commission of India in London in the rank ofCommander. TheHigh Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom during his stint wasVijaya Lakshmi Pandit.[12] India was in the process of acquiring theCrown Colony-class cruiserHMS Nigeria (60) which became theINS Mysore (C60). Apart from theMysore which was to become the flagship, threeanti-submarine warfare (ASW)Blackwood-class frigates were also being acquired which were to becomeINS Khukri (F149),INS Kirpan (F144) andINS Kuthar (F146). Kuruvila was the liaison officer at theAdmiralty during the acquisition of these ships. He visited the ASW ships periodically and provided help and advice to thecommissioningcommanding officers.[13] He was promoted substantive commander on 30 June 1957.[14]
After a three-year stint, in 1959, Kuruvila returned to India was appointed Commander (Executive officer) of the erstwhile flagship – theLeander-class cruiserINS Delhi (C74). TheDelhi was commanded by CaptainNilakanta Krishnan. Krishnan and Kuruvila made a great team and led the ship admirably. In March 1960, theDelhi, under Krishnan, was part of the fleet in the Joint Commonwealth exercises which was the largest till then, with theRoyal Navy,Royal Australian Navy,Royal Ceylon Navy,Pakistan Navy,Royal New Zealand Navy andRoyal Malaysian Navy participating.[15][16]
In 1960, Kuruvila was appointedCommanding Officer of the cadet training ship, theBlack Swan-class sloopINSKistna. His executive officer on theKistna was Lieutenant CommanderMahendra Nath Mulla. In July 1961, he led the ship, which was part of a squadron consisting of theINS Mysore (C60) and theLeopard-class frigateINS Beas (1958) on a goodwill tour to East Africa.Kistna andBeas called onTanga and participated in the celebrations ofTanganyika National Union Day.[17] Thereafter, for a short stint, he also commanded theNaval air stationINS Garuda at Cochin. In 1963, Kuruvila was promoted to the acting rank ofCaptain and appointed Captain (F) 15th Frigate squadron as well as the Commanding Officer of the lead frigate of the squadron, theWhitby-class frigateINS Trishul (F143). The other ship in the squadron wasINS Talwar (F140).[18] He was promoted to the substantive rank of Captain on 30 June 1964.[19]
After a two-year stint, in 1965, Kuruvila was appointed commanding officer of INSCircars, the boys' training establishment inVisakhapatnam. In early 1967, he attended theNational Defence College as part of the 7th course. After the course, in December that year, he took over as the fifth commanding officer of the Navy'sflagship – theaircraft carrierINS Vikrant. He commanded theVikrant for two full years, till December 1969. After handing over command to CaptainKirpal Singh, he moved to Naval Headquarters. He was promoted to the rank ofCommodore and officiated as theChief of Personnel (COP) at Naval HQ. As the COP, he also served as the President of the Services Sport Control Board.[20]
In August 1970, Kuruvila was appointed the next Commander of theWestern Fleet.[21] In October, he was promoted to the rank ofRear Admiral and took over as the thirdFlag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) from Rear AdmiralV. A. Kamath. As the FOCWF, Kuruvila flew his flag on his old ship, theVikrant. On 26 January 1971, he was awarded theAti Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service of an exceptional order.[22]
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was sparked by theBangladesh Liberation war, a conflict between the traditionally dominantWest Pakistanis and the majorityEast Pakistanis. In 1970, East Pakistanis demanded autonomy for the state, but thePakistani government failed to satisfy these demands and, in early 1971, a demand for secession took root in East Pakistan. In March, thePakistan Armed Forces launched a fierce campaign to curb the secessionists, the latter including soldiers and police from East Pakistan. Thousands of East Pakistanis died, and nearly ten million refugees fled toWest Bengal, an adjacent Indian state. In April, India decided to assist in the formation of the new nation ofBangladesh.[23]
In mid-1971, the aircraft carrierVikrant, along with the frigatesINS Brahmaputra (1957) andINS Beas (1958) were moved from the Western Fleet to theEastern Naval Command. With this, theEastern Fleet came into being. TheMysore, commanded by CaptainR K S Ghandhi, became the flagship of the Western Fleet on which Kuruvila flew his flag.[24] He argued in favour of using theVidyut-class missile boats offensively. He suggested that taking the missile boats in tow with the Fleet would"decisively tilt the scales in any encounter between the opposing Fleets." He even wrote to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C)Western Naval CommandVice AdmiralSurendra Nath Kohli in a proposal stating:
"I have no doubt whatsoever that the correct utilisation of the missile boats is to use them offensively, two at a time, in company with the Fleet. If I have these boats with me at sea, as your Fleet Commander I can guarantee total victory once contact has been made with enemy surface units, regard less of his superiority in speed and gun power".[25]
The Order of Battle of the Western Fleet in 1971 was:[26]
Fleet Commander:Rear AdmiralElenjikal Chandy Kuruvila,PVSM
Flag ShipINS Mysore -CaptainRKS Gandhi,VrC
15th Frigate Squadron
14th Frigate Squadron
31 Patrol Squadron
Patrol Vessels
Frigates
Destroyer
Submarines
OSA Class Patrol Boats25 K Squadron -CommanderBabru Bhan Yadav,MVC
251K Division
252 K Division
On 4 December, the fleet successfully executedOperation Trident, a devastating attack on the Pakistan Naval Headquarters atKarachi that sank a minesweeper, a destroyer and an ammunition supply ship. The attack also irreparably damaged another destroyer and oil storage tanks at the Karachi port.[27] To commemorate this, 4 December is celebrated as theNavy Day.[28] This was followed byOperation Python on 8 December 1971, further deprecating the Pakistan Navy's capabilities.[27]
For his command of the Western Fleet during the war, Kuruvila was awarded theParam Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) on 26 January 1972.[29] The citation for the PVSM reads as follows:[30]
CITATIONREAR ADMIRAL ELENJIKAL CHANDY KURUVILA, AVSM
Flag Officer Commanding Western FleetREAR ADMIRAL ELENJIKAL CHANDY KURUVILA, Flag Officer Commanding, Western Fleet, was the Operational Commander of all Indian Naval forces in the Western Sector, He was responsible for the Defence of the Western Coast and for conduct of offensive operations against Pakistan's Naval forces at Sea. The officer guided the Naval operations in his theatre of war with exemplary skill and determination and displayed an offensive spirit and ingenuity of the. highest order in the execution of Naval war plans. His forces gained a decisive victory over the enemy in the crucial Naval action of the war and attacked the so far impregnable defences of Karachi port causing serious damage to vital harbour installations. The officer's action confined the Pakistani Naval ships to the sanctuary of Karachi s inner harbour, giving us Undisputed superiority in Pakistani waters. This denied enemy forces the much needed support from outside the country and severely restricted their ability to continue to fight. He has displayed outstanding leadership and ability in the conduct of his duties as Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet.
Kuruvila continued to lead the Western Fleet after the war. In May 1972, he led two ships of the fleet – the flagshipMysore flying his flag and theLeopard-class frigateINS Betwa (F139) to a goodwill visit to ports in the gulf. The ships called on Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Bahrainand Kuwait.[31][32]
In March 1973, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Area (FOCSOUTH).[33] He took over as the second FOCSOUTH from Rear Admiral V A Kamath. This was a short stint, as he was appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) of theMazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.[34][35] During his stint as CMD of MDL, he was promoted to the rank ofVice Admiral. Kuruvila retired from the Navy on 1 March 1976.
Kuruvila married Pinky and the couple had two daughters – Pria and Laila. After Pinky's death in 1982, Kuruvila married Priya. The Kuruvilas moved to Ooty after his retirement. He served as the President of the Ootacamund Club from 1987 to 1990.[36] He died in Ooty in March 1994.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commanding Officer INS Vikrant 1967–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Chief of Personnel (officiating) 1970–1970 | Succeeded by R N Batra | |
| Preceded by | Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet 1970–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Flag Officer CommandingSouthern Naval Area 1973–1973 | Succeeded by | |