Farewell to veterans: Indian Navy bids adieu to INS Cheetah, Guldar, and Kumbhir after four decades of service
By Anish Kumar | First Published Jan 13, 2024, 4:09 PM ISTINS Cheetah, Guldar and Kumbhir were inducted into the Indian Navy in 1984, 1985 and 1986 respectively, in presence of S K Arora (Cheetah and Guldar) and A K Das (Kumbhir) then Ambassadors of India to Poland.
After being in service for four decades, the Indian Navy retired its three naval ships --- INS Cheetah, Guldar and Kumbhir at Port Blair, on Friday. In a traditional decommissioning ceremony, the National Flag, the Naval Ensign and Decommissioning Pennants of the three ships were lowered for the last time, at sunset.
These ships were built at Gdynia Shipyard in Poland as Polnocny class Landing Ships.
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INS Cheetah, Guldar and Kumbhir were inducted into the Indian Navy in 1984, 1985 and 1986 respectively, in presence of S K Arora (Cheetah and Guldar) and A K Das (Kumbhir) then Ambassadors of India to Poland.
The Commanding Officers of the three ships were Cdr V B Mishra, Lt Cdr SK Singh and Lt Cdr J Banerjee respectively.
During her initial years, Cheetah was based at Kochi and Chennai for brief periods, and Kumbhir and Guldar were based at Visakhapatnam.
The ships were subsequently re-based at Andaman and Nicobar Command, till they get decommissioned.
These ships collectively traversed about 17 lakh nautical miles whilst being at sea for over 12,300 days. As the amphibian platforms of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, these ships have conducted over 1300 beaching operations for landing of army troops ashore.
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During their illustrious journeys, these ships participated in numerous maritime security missions and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations.
These ships had also participated in Operation Aman as part of Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operations and Operation Tasha a joint operation carried out between Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard in May 1990 to control smuggling of arms and ammunition and illegal immigration across Indian and Sri Lankan border and made stellar contributions in relief operations post 1997 cyclone off Sri Lanka and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
Indian Navy PRO Commander Vivek Madhwal said that Indian Naval Ships Cheetah, Guldar and Kumbhir have left an indelible mark on the maritime landscape and their decommissioning marks the end of a significant chapter of the Indian Navy’s history.
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