PNS ''Muhafiz'' was an
''Adjutant''-class minesweeper of the
Pakistan Navy.
It was built by the United States for transfer to Pakistan.
[ PNS ''Muhafiz'' was sunk by a missile from of 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 ...
during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
.[
PNS ''Zulfiqar'' (K265) of Pakistan was also damaged beyond repair by friendly fire from aircraft of the ]Pakistan Air Force
, "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional)
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(PAF) which mistook her for a missile boat of 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 ...
during the same war.
Operation Trident
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
, The minesweeper PNS ''Muhafiz'' was tasked to patrol the approaches to port of Karachi. To do so it was deployed on the inner cordon.
Late that evening on 4 December 1971, around 70 miles south of Karachi, the detected a large Pakistan Navy target, later identified as the ''Muhafiz'' on patrol to its north. ''Veer'' launched a single SS-N-2
The P-15 ''Termit'' (russian: П-15 "Термит"; en, termite) is an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, its NATO reporting name was ''Styx'' or SS-N-2. China ...
''Styx'' missile on the target, sinking ''Muhafiz''.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 ...
strike group sank the Pakistan Navy destroyer, and the merchant ship (carrying navy personnel and ammunition for Pakistan),[ and caused irreparable damage to the destroyer .
]
See also
* Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
* Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March 1971 and ended on 16 December 1971. Some of the major events of the war are listed in the timeline below.
Timeline
Interactive Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War
Before the war
*1 March ...
* Military plans of the Bangladesh Liberation War
Prior to Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, India had no plans for large scale military action in East Pakistan. Since the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the primary objective of the Indian Army Eastern Command was the defence of the Indian northern and ...
* Mitro Bahini order of battle
The Indian Army had no standby force ready in 1971 with the specific task of attacking East Pakistan, one of the many reasons why India did not immediately intervene after Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight in March 1971. Indian Army's Ea ...
* Pakistan Army order of battle, December 1971
On 25 March 1971, the Pakistani military, supported by paramilitary units, launched the military operation to pacify the insurgent-held areas of East Pakistan, which led to a prolonged conflict with the Bengali Mukti Bahini. Although conventio ...
* Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan
The Eastern Command of the Pakistan Army was a corps-sized military formation headed by a lieutenant-general, who was designated the Eastern Command Commander. After the partition of India by United Kingdom, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was ...
* 1971 Bangladesh genocide
* Operation Searchlight
Operation Searchlight was the codename for a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971. Pakistan retrospectively justified the opera ...
* Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts
Since the Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir and ...
* Military history of India
The predecessors to the contemporary Army of India were many: the sepoy regiments, native cavalry, irregular horse and Indian sapper and miner companies raised by the three British presidencies. The Army of India was raised under the British R ...
* List of military disasters
A military disaster is the defeat of one side in a battle or war which results in the complete failure of the losing side to achieve their objectives. It often, but not always, involves a high and disproportionate loss of life. The causes are var ...
* List of ships sunk by missiles
* List of wars involving India
*
References
External links
PNS Muhafiz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhafiz
1954 ships
Ships built in Bellingham, Washington
Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
Minesweepers of the Pakistan Navy
Maritime incidents in 1971
Shipwrecks in the Arabian Sea