Vice Admiral Vasudeva Anant Kamath,

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 ...

(1921-2017) was a former 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 sig ...

. He was the founding Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, which he led from

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

. He also served as the 4th

Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) may refer to: *Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India) *Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan) * Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom) The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (V.C.N.S.) was a senior appoint ...

(VCNS) from

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, the longest tenure in the Indian Navy's

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he

led A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

the Southern Naval Area, for which he was

awarded An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.

Early life

Kamath was born 1921 to Dr A V Kamath, a doctor working for the government of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. He was the oldest of nine children - five boys and four girls. Two of the brothers joined the Indian Navy while another joined the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

, retiring as a Wing Commander. The other two brothers joined the Merchant navy and the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

Naval career

Early career

Kamath joined the Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship (IMMTS) '' Dufferin'' as a cadet in 1936. In December 1938, he was one of three cadets selected to join the Royal Indian Navy (RIN). The other to cadets later joined the

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

and rose to become its Commander-in-Chief -

Afzal Rahman Khan Vice-Admiral Afzal Akram Rahman Khan ( Urdu: افضل رحمان خان; born: 1921— 2005; popularly known as Admiral A. R. Khan), HQA, HPk, HJ, was a Pakistan Navy admiral, politician, and the Commander in Chief of Pakistan Navy, serv ...

and

Syed Mohammad Ahsan Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan ( ur, سید محمد احسن b. 1920 – d. 1990) often known as S. M. Ahsan, was a senior admiral of the Pakistan Navy who was the Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Navy, serving under President Ayub ...

. After joining the RIN, Kamath was trained in the United Kingdom. He was trained on the

Hawkins-class cruiser The ''Hawkins'' class consisted of five heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War, although none of them saw service during the war. The first ship to be completed, , was renamed from HMS ''Cavendish'' and converted int ...

and then on .

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 opposin ...

, Kamath was promoted to the rank of

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

and posted to the Revenge-class battleship , part of the

2nd Battle Squadron The 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, t ...

of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

. The ''Royal Sovereign'' was assigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet. She was assigned to the North Atlantic Escort Force, which was based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was tasked with protecting convoys to Britain. In July 1940, he was aboard the ship when she participated in the

Battle of Calabria The Battle of Calabria, known to the Italian Navy as the Battle of Punta Stilo, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the World War II, Second World War. Ships of the Kingdom of Italy, Italian ''Regia Marina'' were oppose ...

. On 1 May 1941, Kamath was commissioned as an acting

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

. He was subsequently trained at the Anti-Submarine school in Castle barracks in Bombay. After the course, he was posted as anti-submarine warfare officer to the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

HMIS Clive which was a part of the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air L ...

. In February 1943, he was posted as an instructor to ''HMIS Bahadur'', the boys' training establishment in Karachi. He also served at the junior boys' training establishment ''HMIS Dilawar''. In 1944, Kamath was selected to attend the Long Gunnery course and embarked for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He completed the course at

HMS Excellent A ship and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Excellent'': * was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1787. She was converted into a 58-gun fourth rate in 1820 and became a gunnery training ship in 1830. She was broke ...

on Whale Island at Portsmouth in December 1944. After completing the gunnery course, he returned to India and was posted to ''HMIS Himalaya'', the RIN gunnery school in Karachi, as an instructor. After a two-year stint, he was selected to take Indian ratings to the United Kingdom to train them at the ''Excellent''. This was done since the Leander-class

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

was being acquired by the Indian Navy as and Kamath was to be the commissioning gunnery officer.

Post-Independence

Kamath 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 rank i ...

in July 1948. The ''Delhi'' was commissioned on 5 July 1948 by the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom

V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawa ...

. She was commanded by Captain H N S Brown, her

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

was Commander

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 ...

and Lieutenant Commander

Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas 'Charles' Nanda (Punjabi: ), PVSM, AVSM (10 October 1915 – 11 May 2009) was an Indian Navy admiral who served as the 7th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 March 1970 until 28 February 1973. He led the Indian Nav ...

, her

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

. On her way to India, she called at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. The

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

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 ...

himself welcomed the ship at Bombay. She went on a cruise round the coasts of India, calling at

Karwar Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India. Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, Trincomalee,

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Vizag , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museum, ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South And ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

and

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

before returning to Bombay. In May 1949, she left on her

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

cruise. She called at Victoria, Seychelles,

Port Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The cruise to the Indian Ocean republics and East Africa generated a tremendous amount of goodwill. Kamath was promoted substantive lieutenant-commander on 16 March 1950. On 24 September 1952, he was promoted to the acting rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and appointed Director of Naval Plans at Naval Headquarters. He was promoted to substantive commander on 31 December 1953. In 1955, he was appointed Commander (Executive Officer) of ''INS Delhi''. In 1956, he took command of the training ship . After a year-long stint, he was appointed Chief Instructor at the Defence Services Staff College,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 25 February 1957, with the acting rank of captain. By 1959, two Whitby-class Anti-submarine frigates (ASW frigate) were launched in the United Kingdom and were to join the Indian Navy as and . Kamath was selected to be 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 ...

of ''Trishul''. ''Trishul'' was the first ASW frigate to join the Indian Navy. After commissioning in January 1960, he led the ship on exercises around the UK and sailed for India. She called on Toulon, Naples and Athens and arrived in Bombay in May 1960. Kamath was promoted to substantive

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 30 June 1960. In 1961, Kamath moved to Naval HQ having been appointed Director of Naval Plans for the second time, this time in the rank of captain. He served in this appointment during the Annexation of Goa. In late 1964, Kamath was appointed the third commanding officer of the Navy's

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

- the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. He took command from Captain

Nilakanta Krishnan Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, PVSM, DSC (8 June 1919 – 30 January 1982), was a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Born in a re ...

in November. In early 1965, he led the ship in large air-sea exercises in the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

. The Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral

Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman (30 March 1913 – 8 February 1995) was an Indian Navy Admiral. He was in command of the Indian Navy from 1962 to 1966 as the 5th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). Early life Soman was born in Gwalior, the capita ...

flew his flag on the flagship ''Vikrant''. During the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

, the ''Vikrant'' was under refit and did not sail and participate. However, her squadrons - INAS 300 and participated in the war. In late-1966, Kamath was selected to attend the Imperial Defence College.

Flag Rank

After returning to India, in January 1968, he was appointed Chief of Materiel at Naval HQ in the acting rank of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

. After a year-long stint, he was appointed the next Commander of the Western Fleet. In January 1969, he took over as the second

Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) is the title of the Indian Navy Officer who commands the Western Fleet, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The FOCWF is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The appointment is consi ...

(FOCWF) from Rear Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli. As the FOCWF, Kamath flew his flag on his old ship the ''Vikrant''. In February, he led the , and the on a goodwill tour to Sri Lanka. He was at the helm of the Western Fleet for about eighteen months. Until 1970, the Southern Naval Area with its headquarters in Cochin was commanded by an officer of the rank of Commodore designated Commodore-in-Charge Cochin (COMCHIN). In August 1970, the appointment was upgraded and re-designated Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Area (FOCSOUTH) and Kamath took over as the first FOCSOUTH. In December 1970, he took the salute at the

passing out parade Passing out is the completion of a course by military or other service personnel or the graduation from a college, largely in Commonwealth nations. Soldiers sometimes take part in a passing out parade upon completion of a basic training course. T ...

of the first batch of cadets at the Naval Academy in Cochin. He served in this appointment of FOC South during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. On 26 January 1972, he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. On 21 March 1973, he was promoted to the acting rank of Vice Admiral and was appointed the fourth

(VCNS), with promotion to substantive vice-admiral on 26 March 1973. He succeeded Vice Admiral Jal Cursetji and had a long tenure of four years as VCNS. This remains the longest tenure that a VCNS has served. He retired on 31 March 1977, handing over to Vice Admiral

Ronald Lynsdale Pereira Admiral Ronald Lynsdale 'Ronnie' Pereira, PVSM, AVSM (25 May 1923 – 14 October 1993) was a flag officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the ninth Chief of Naval Staff from 1979 to 1982. He is considered to be one of the architects of the mo ...

Director General Indian Coast Guard

The

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally esta ...

(ICG) came into being on 19 August 1978. The new service was to function under the overall command and control of a Director General (DGICG). Kamath was selected as the founding Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. Kamath proposed a five-year plan to develop the ICG into a potent force by 1984. After a two-year stint, he retired after handing over the command of the Coast Guard to Vice Admiral

Swaraj Parkash Vice Admiral (India), Vice Admiral Swaraj Parkash, PVSM, Maha Vir Chakra, MVC, AVSM (3 September 1923 – 20 January 2004) was a Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the Captain of the aircraft carrier during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 f ...

in 1980.

Personal life

Kamath married Lalitha Kamath (née) in 1945. The couple had one son and two daughters. Kamath died on 15 January 2017.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamath, V A 1921 births 2017 deaths Indian Navy admirals Vice Chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Directors General of the Indian Coast Guard Flag Officers Commanding Western Fleet Chiefs of Materiel (India) Royal Indian Navy officers Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies