Rear Admiral Ajitendu Chakraverti was a Flag Officer in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. He served as the second Indian Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet, succeeding Rear Admiral

Ram Dass Katari Admiral Ram Dass Katari (8 October 1911 – 21 January 1983) was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 22 April 1958 to 4 June 1962. He was the first Indian to hold the office and succeeded the last B ...

. He was the first Indian to be promoted to the high rank of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

in the

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Naval career

Dufferin and early career

The Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship (IMMTS) '' Dufferin'' was established in 1927 to train young men for India's marine service. Chakraverti was in the second batch of Indian cadet-entry officers to join the ''Dufferin'' in 1928. He completed the course earning the Viceroy's gold medal in 1930. The future Chief of the Naval Staff Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman was his batchmate. They would have a healthy rivalry throughout their careers. In 1930, Chakraverti joined the

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(RIM) as a cadet. He was trained in the United Kingdom for three years, among which he spent on the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of monitors and the

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval T ...

. He was appointed a sub-lieutenant in the RIM on 1 September 1934. On 2 October 1934, the RIM was renamed Royal Indian Navy (RIN). He was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the RIN on 1 September 1937.

World War II

With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in September 1939, Chakraverti underwent a specialist gunnery course in the United Kingdom. He returned to India in March 1941 and was appointed Second-in-command of the RIN Gunnery School in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. He was promoted to the acting rank of

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

in October 1943 and was appointed Staff Officer Gunnery at Naval Headquarters. On 5 October 1944, he was given command of the , and was involved in

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...

operations off

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and the

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in the far-east. Chakraverti was promoted substantive Lieutenant Commander on 18 September 1945. For distinguished services during the war in the Far-East, he was mentioned in dispatches in June 1946. As the senior-most Naval officer, he led the Naval contingent at the

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. In 1946, he attended the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

. After completing the year-long staff course, he returned to India and was appointed Commanding Officer of the gunnery school, HMIS ''Himalaya'', in

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. In June 1947, he was promoted to the acting rank of Captain. He subsequently took over as the Chief of Administration (COA) at Naval HQ.

Post-Independence

After the partition of India, Chakraverti continued as COA. In March 1948, the Chief of Staff at Naval HQ, Commodore M. H. St. L. Nott was killed in an air crash. Chakraverti took over as the officiating Chief of Staff and was promoted to the rank of Commodore 2nd Class in May. He thus became the first Indian officer to be promoted to a high rank. In November 1948, Chakraverti handed over charge of Chief of Staff to Commodore H Drew and embarked for the United Kingdom. India was acquiring three destroyers from the UK - , and which were being renamed to , and . Chakraverti was appointed Commanding Officer of the ''Rajput'' and the Captain of the 11th Destroyer Flotilla. The ships were commissioned with much ceremony in

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. The flotilla underwent an intensive four-month work-up with the Mediterranean Fleet of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. The flotilla, under, Chakraverti, was adjudged the best and most efficient among all British and Commonwealth destroyer squadrons in the

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. In January 1950, the flotilla arrived in Bombay and was inspected by the

Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

Vice Admiral Sir William Edward Parry. The Governor of Bombay

Raja Maharaj Singh Raja Sir Maharaj Singh (17 May 1878, Kapurthala, Punjab – 6 June 1959, Lucknow) was the first Indian Governor of Bombay. He was also the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir during Maharaja Hari Singh's rule and also the Dewan of Jodhpur for ...

also inspected the flotilla. Chakraverti was promoted substantive captain on 31 December 1950. In November 1951, he relinquished command, handing over charge to Captain Ram Dass Katari. Chakraverti was subsequently appointed to a key naval post - Captain Superintendent Indian

Naval Dockyard A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...

at Bombay. In December 1953, he was appointed the next Commodore-in-Charge Bombay (COMBAY) in the rank of

. He relinquished command of the dockyard, handing over to Captain S. G. Karmarkar in March 1954. He then assumed office of COMBAY from Commodore R M T Taylor, the first Indian Officer to do so. This appointment was later upgraded to Rear Admiral and re-designated Flag officer Bombay in 1958, and to Vice Admiral and re-designated

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in 1968. Later that year, he was selected to attend the

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in the UK. He relinquished command to Commodore

Adhar Kumar Chatterji Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji (4 March 1914 – 6 August 2001) was an Admiral in the Indian Navy. He served as the 6th Chief of the Naval Staff, from 4 March 1966, until 28 February 1970. He was the first Indian officer of the navy to hold ...

in November. After the year-long course, he returned to India and took over as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff on 10 March 1956 from Commodore Ram Dass Katari, who took charge as the first Indian Fleet Commander.

Fleet Commander

In February 1958, it was announced that Chakraverti was appointed the Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF), the second Indian officer to hold the appointment. He was promoted to the acting rank of Rear Admiral on 8 February and went on a five-week study tour. On 2 April 1958, he assumed the office of FOCIF and was promoted substantive rear admiral, flying his flag on the newly commissioned flagship, the cruiser (formerly Crown Colony-class cruiser . Soon after taking command, he led the Indian fleet in the Joint Commonwealth Exercises off Ceylon. The fleet consisted of the flagship , the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

, destroyers , , , frigates , and with the fleet tanker INS Shakti. The fleet exercised with the

Royal Ceylon Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

and the Pakistan Navy starting off from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

. In June 1959, Chakraverti led the fleet on a ten-week exercise. The flagship ''Mysore'' was escorted by the ''Kaveri'' and ''Kistna''. The 14th frigate squadron comprising and and the 11th destroyer squadron comprising , and also joined them. the ships called on ports on the east coast of India and the Andaman Islands. In August, the fleet conducted exercises with the Royal Navy off

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. Chakraverti conducted these exercises from the air, flying in a Short Sealand aircraft. In March 1960, he led the fleet in the Joint Commonwealth exercises which was the largest till then, with the Royal Navy,

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, Royal Ceylon Navy, Pakistan Navy,

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and Royal Malaysian Navy participating.

Later career and retirement

Chakraverti relinquished command of the Indian fleet in April 1960, handing over to Rear Admiral B S Soman. In the same month, the National Defence College was inaugurated by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. Chakraverti was selected to be the first Naval Senior Directing Staff of the college. In April 1962, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

chose B S Soman over Chakraverti as the next Chief of Naval Staff. Chakraverti retired in June 1963.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chakraverti, Ajitendu Indian Navy admirals Flag Officers Commanding Indian Fleet Deputy Chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Royal Indian Navy officers Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies