INS Shikra, formerly known as INS Kunjali, is an

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n naval air station located at

Colaba Colaba (; or ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Kolbhat ...

Mumbai 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- ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. It is a

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

History

NAS Kunjali was commissioned as a new establishment in Mumbai, post-Independence. The locale chosen for the establishment was the old Gun Carriage Basin on the sea front in Colaba, in the heart of South Mumbai. The area was used during the

Second World War 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 ...

as a depot for munitions of war and as a boat repair facility. With the acquisition of

Alouette III Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

helicopters (now

HAL Chetak HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

) in 1963, the establishment was considered suitable for a helipad. The first time a helicopter operated from the base was on a temporary grass helipad in 1964. Alouette flights thereafter continued to operate from the helipad, on a makeshift and as required basis. Finally, on 3 April 1972 ‘Bombay flight’ of the Goa-based

INAS 321 The INAS 321 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Shikra, Mumbai 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 ...

was established with one Alouette III helicopter, two pilots and 17 sailors. On 1 August 1980, one more Chetak was added to the flight and the role of the squadron was enhanced to include VIP flight commitment, Fleet Requirement task including tracking for weapon alignment, casualty evacuation and SAR duties. With the introduction of helicopters on board ships, the base housed and operated these helicopters, when disembarked and a helicopter maintenance facility was set up in 1983. The Naval Air Station was renamed to INS Shikra in an impressive commissioning ceremony presided over by the Chief of the Naval Staff,

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, ...

Sureesh Mehta Admiral Sureesh Mehta, PVSM, AVSM (born August 18, 1947) served as 19th Chief of the Indian Navy from 31 October 2006 until 31 August 2009. He was succeeded by Nirmal Kumar Verma. He is the first service chief from India's armed forces to be born ...

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

on 22 January 2009. The commissioning

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

was

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 ...

Philipose George Pynumootil.

Objective

INS Shikra has grown from a small helipad to a full-fledged Heliport providing support and maintenance facilities to the integral flights of the fleet and aviation requirements of the

Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the A ...

. The facilities continue to expand to cater for increasing numbers of helicopters being inducted on board ships. Its primary role is to provide administrative, technical and logistic support for all squadrons and flights based in Mumbai. In addition, it undertakes coastal patrol, air surveillance in the area and meets the operational flying requirements of the

. It also has a major helicopter maintenance depot providing accommodation and maintenance facilities for

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...

s, Kamov Ka 27s and

s, adding up to 17 helicopters and meeting a task of over 4000 flying hours annually.

Units

Naval Air Squadrons based at ''INS Shikra'' include: *

, a

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

and logistics squadron, operating

helicopters *

INAS 330 The INAS 330 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Shikra, Mumbai. History Among the most potent weapon platforms in the Naval inventory is the Westland Sea King helicopter. This versatile and advanced multi role aircraft has taken mo ...

, an

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

squadron, operating

Mk.42B helicopters

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:INS Shikra

Shikra The shikra (''Accipiter badius'') is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk. The African forms may represent a separate species but have usual ...

History

Objective

Units

See also

References