OB Sjaaf with BS Soman, Jalesveva Jayamahe, p60

Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman (30 March 1913 – 8 February 1995) was an

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 sig ...

Admiral. He was in command of the

from 1962 to 1966 as the 5th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS).Bharat Rakshak: Chiefs of the Indian Navy
/ref>

Early life

Soman was born in

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

, the capital of the eponymous princely state. He received his early education at the Indian National Congress' Tilak Vidyalaya and at a school in

Sangli State Sangli State was one of the 11-gun salute Maratha princely states of British India. It was under the Kolhapur-Dekkan Residency in the Bombay Presidency, and later the Deccan States Agency. The Principality of Sangli covered an area of 2,880 s ...

Career

He subsequently entered the

Royal Indian Marine Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

(RIM), and following initial training on the training ship ''T/S Dufferin'', was selected for officer training in the United Kingdom in 1932. He was appointed a sub-lieutenant in the RIM on 1 September 1934, and was promoted to

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 ...

on 1 September 1937. During

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 opposin ...

, Soman was promoted to acting lieutenant-commander on 29 April 1944, and to the permanent rank of lieutenant-commander on 1 September 1945. During the war, he served in various shore establishments and in the service's Landing Craft Wing. Soman was promoted to the acting rank of Commander in 1946 and was appointed Drafting Commander of the RIN, becoming the first Indian appointee to the post. He was promoted to acting

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 21 July 1947. He was subsequently appointed Chief of Personnel, followed by appointment as Chief of Administration (COA) at Naval HQ. On 5 October 1949, he relinquished office, handing over to Captain S. G. Karmarkar and took over as Senior Officer, RIN Frigate Flotilla, commanding HMIS ''Jumna''. He received promotion to the substantive rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 31 December 1950. In 1952, he was appointed the first Indian Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC), Vishakapatnam, which oversaw the Boys' Training Establishment. In January 1954, he was appointed Commodore-in-Charge, Cochin (COMCHIN), with appointment as Commodore-in-Charge, Bombay, towards the end of 1956.

Flag Rank

With the upgrading of the post, he was promoted to Rear Admiral on 12 June 1958 and reappointed as Flag Officer Commanding Bombay (FOB). In April 1960, he took over as Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF), and was in charge of India's naval operations during the 1961

Liberation of Goa The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the Republic of India annexed ', the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961. In India, ...

. He was appointed CNS on 5 June 1962 taking over from Vice 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 ...

, with the acting rank of Vice Admiral, and was confirmed in the substantive rank on 22 November.

Post-retirement

Soman retired from the Indian Navy on 22 November 1966, relinquishing the post of CNS as a Vice Admiral, then the highest attainable rank in the Navy. In 1968, the post of CNS was upgraded to the rank of

full admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

, and on 21 October 1980, Soman and

, his predecessor as CNS, were promoted to the honorary rank of full Admiral on the retired list by President

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (; 19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence ...

. Soman suffered a mild stroke in December 1994. In February 1995, he suffered a more serious stroke which led to his death at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soman, Bhaskar Sadashiv Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India) Indian Navy admirals Flag Officers Commanding Indian Fleet Chiefs of Personnel (India) 1913 births 1995 deaths Royal Indian Navy officers Admirals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 People from Gwalior