In 1935, Krishnan was successful in the entrance examination and joined the Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship (IMMTS) Dufferin. After two years, he topped the class in the examination for entry into the Navy. He was one of the two cadets who were successful and joined the Royal Indian Navy - the other being Jal Cursetji.[7]
In 1939, Krishnan was serving on the Foxhound during the outbreak of World War II. In late 1939, he was transferred to the County-class cruiserHMS Suffolk, which was a part of the Northern Patrol.[9] He served on board the Suffolk when she participated in the Norwegian Campaign. In April 1940, the ship arrived at Tórshavn to commence the British pre-emptive occupation of the Faroe Islands and she sank the German tanker Skagerrak northwest of Bodø, Norway. Later in the month, Suffolk and four destroyers, HMS Kipling, HMS Juno, HMS Janus and HMS Hereward, were sent to bombard the airfield at Sola, Norway. The operation had little effect and the retaliation from German bombers severely damaged the aft of the ship, forcing her to return to Scapa Flow. He was subsequently transferred to the Renown-class battlecruiserHMS Repulse.[10]
In August 1941, Britain and the Soviet Union invaded Iran, with the sloopHMS Falmouth in charge of the landings at Khorramshahr, carrying two companies of the 3/10th Baluch Regiment. She was accompanied by the Yarra and the Investigator. During this mission, Krishnan's tug was to standby and assist if necessary. The jetty had four gunboats, one of which started firing at the tug. Krishnan brought his ship alongside the gunboat and boarded it. The ship was captured after a brief firefight. Twenty prisoners were captured and three were killed. Khorramshahr was captured and the Iranian sloop Babr sunk and two Iranian gunboats captured.[14][15][16]
For this action, Krishnan was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). He was the first recipient of the award in the Royal Indian Navy.
The citation for the DSC reads as follows:[17][18]
CITATION
Sub-Lieutenant Nilakanta Krishnan
Royal Indian Navy, HMIS Investigator
In the first list of awards of bravery made to the Royal Indian Navy, the Distinguished Service Cross is awarded to Sub-Lieutenant N. Krishnan for dash and daring in the capture of a ship at the beginning of the Iranian operations last August. Sub-Lieutenant N. Krishnan, R.I.N. (HMIS Investigator) led a boarding party to capture an enemy ship, the crew of which offered stout resistance. Krishnan himself was engaged in a personal duel with the Captain of the enemy ship and proved himself to be the better shot. After killing him and seriously wounding two officers and four men, he captured the ship undamaged with twenty prisoners.
Krishnan was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 16 August 1941.[19] In early 1942, he was given command of the gunboat he had captured and designated senior officer of the fleet of three gunboats consisting of the Simorgh, Shahbaz and Shahrokh. The flotilla was to report at Bombay en route Karachi. Later that year, he took command of the Basset-classtrawler HMIS Baroda.[20]
During the partition of India, Krishnan was posted to HMIS Himalaya in Karachi as the Officer in charge Chamak, the radar school.[23] After a short stint, he returned to India and given command of the Motor Launch ML 420 as an escort to two Landing Ship, Tanks (LST). The LSTs were to be part of a naval force consisting of three sloops - HMIS Kistna, HMIS Cauvery and HMIS Jumna, two fleet minesweepers - HMIS Konkan and HMIS Madras which participated in the Annexation of Junagarh. The naval force was commanded by Commander Ram Dass Katari, who later became the first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS).[24] After establishing a communication centre at Porbandar,[25] Krishnan was appointed Naval Liaison Officer to the Commander of the Kathiawar Defence Force (KDF), Brigadier Gurdial Singh. [26]
In late-1947, Krishnan was promoted to the acting rank of Lieutenant Commander and appointed Senior Officer Reserve Fleet (SORF). The fleet consisted of multiple wartime ships which were now put in reserve and was now based at Trombay. A few months later, he was handpicked by the chief of staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian NavyCommodoreMartin Henry St. Leger Nott to join the Plans and Intelligence directorate at Naval HQ. He joined the directorate, headed by Commander Adhar Kumar Chatterji, as Staff Officer (Plans).[27] He was promoted to substantive Lieutenant Commander on 16 August 1949.[28] Subsequently, he replaced Chatterji as the Director of Naval Plans and Intelligence at Naval HQ. Krishnan, as Director of Naval Plans and Intelligence, was part of the Joint Planning Committee (JPC) consisting of Directors of Plans of the three services. Lieutenant ColonelSam Manekshaw, Director of Military Operations (DMO) at Army HQ and Wing CommanderPratap Chandra Lal, Director of Policy and Plans at Air HQ were also a part of the JPC.[29]
Krishnan was promoted to substantive commander on 30 June 1952.[35] On 15 July 1955, Krishnan was appointed Director of Personnel Services at Naval HQ, with the acting rank of Captain.[36][37] He was appointed Deputy Secretary (Military Wing) in the Cabinet Secretariat on 9 January 1956.[38] He was the first Naval officer to serve in this appointment.[39] He was promoted to the substantive rank of captain on 31 December 1957.[40] On 18 March 1958, he was promoted to Commodore 2nd Class while still serving as Deputy Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat.[41]
On 23 December 1958, Krishnan reverted to his permanent rank of captain and took over as the Commanding Officer of the Leander-class cruiserINS Delhi.[42] He was in command of the Delhi for two-and-a-half years. In June 1959, he led the Delhi which was part of the Indian fleet which embarked on a ten-week exercise. The flagship Mysore was escorted by the Kaveri and Kistna. The 14th frigate squadron comprising INS Brahmaputra and INS Khukri and the 11th destroyer squadron comprising INS Rajput, INS Ranjit and INS Rana also joined them. The ships called on ports on the east coast of India and the Andaman Islands.[43] In March 1960, the Delhi, under Krishnan was part of the fleet in the Joint Commonwealth exercises which was the largest till then, with the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Ceylon Navy, Pakistan Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal Malaysian Navy participating.[44] Under him, the ship also called on Penang and spent five days on a goodwill mission.[45]
In June 1961, Krishnan was appointed commanding officer of the Navy's Engineering College INS Shivaji in Lonavala. Shortly thereafter, in December, he was asked by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ram Dass Katari, to take command of the Delhi immediately and prepare her to put to sea in two weeks. The ship was to participate in the Annexation of Goa providing distant support to the Indian Army units storming Diu. On 11 December, he positioned the ship close to the coast and fired a barrage on the Diu Fortress. She also sunk four ships off the harbour and sent a landing party to the citadel of the fortress and hoist the Indian Flag.[46][47] After the annexation, he returned to INS Shivaji and was in command for a year.
On 16 April 1963, Krishnan was appointed the second commanding officer of the aircraft carrierINS Vikrant, then the only aircraft carrier in Asia.[46] While the carrier was in dry dock, he did a short operational stint on board Royal Navy's HMS Hermes, which later joined the Indian Navy as INS Viraat. He led the carrier in a commonwealth joint exercise off Singapore as well as on joint exercises with the Indian Army off the coast of Madras in August 1964.[48] After an eighteen-month stint, he was selected to attend the Imperial Defence College in the United Kingdom.[49] After completing the course, Krishnan was promoted to the rank of Commodore on 1 January 1966.[50] He was appointed Naval Advisor to the High Commissioner of India to the United KingdomJivraj Narayan Mehta at India House, London. After a year as Naval Advisor, he took over as Chief of Naval Aviation at Naval HQ on 17 January 1967.[39] In May, the appointment was re-designated as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (ACNS).[51] In June, he was sent to Ghana as an advisor to the Ghana Navy in the aftermath of the 1966 coup d'état.[52]
Flag Rank
On 12 December 1967, Krishnan was appointed Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) with the acting rank of Rear Admiral (paid from 18 February 1968).[53] He was promoted to substantive Rear Admiral on 16 June 1968.[54] During his tenure as VCNS, he was involved in the acquisition of Osa-class missile boats.[55] On 26 March 1969, the post of VCNS was upgraded to the rank of Vice Admiral, with Krishnan being promoted to the acting rank from the same date.[56]
On 26 January 1970, Krishnan was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service of the most exceptional order.[57] In February 1970, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Western Naval Command and took over on 25 February.[58] He was promoted to substantive Vice Admiral on 1 March 1970.[59] On 1 March 1971, he moved to the helm of Eastern Naval Command as the FOC-in-C.[60]
His command in the eastern theatre during the 1971 war led the crew of the Aircraft CarrierINS Vikrant to earn two Mahavir Chakras and 12 Vir Chakras. Under his leadership in 1971, the aircraft carrier's Sea Hawks struck shipping in the Chittagong and Cox's Bazar harbours, sinking or incapacitating most ships in harbour.[51]
Krishnan was present during the signing of the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender at the Ramna Race Course. He also received the Naval surrender from the Flag Officer East Pakistan Navy, Rear Admiral Mohammad Shariff.[61] Sharif surrendered his TT pistol to at 16:31 hrs saying "Admiral Krishnan, Sir, soon I will be disarmed. Your Navy fought magnificently and had us cornered everywhere. There is no one I would like to surrender my arms to other than the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Fleet."[62] His TT Pistol is still placed in a covered glass display at the Indian Military Academy's Museum.[61] For his leadership of the Eastern Naval Command, Krishnan was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 1972.[63][64]
Post-war career
Krishnan was to retire in 1973, but was given a two-year extension in service. In February 1973, he was appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) of Cochin Shipyard Limited.[65] The two-year extension was given to enable Krishnan to be in the running for the post of Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) when AdmiralSourendra Nath Kohli retired. In January 1976, the Government of India announced that Jal Cursetji would be the next CNS.[66] Krishnan retired from the Indian Navy on 29 February 1976.[67] In August 1977, when the system of Captain Commandants of the branches of the Navy was instituted, he was appointed the first Captain Commandant of the executive branch.[68] He continued as the CMD of Cochin Shipyard Limited till 1979, when he retired.[6]
Personal life
Krishnan married Sita, his cousin and childhood sweetheart, on 15 December 1943. He referred to her as his consort battleship. The couple had two children - Chitra and Arjun.[69] Chitra was an educator and author of children's books and died in 1987, aged 41. Arjun is an information technology professional based in the United States. He edited Krishnan's autobiography and released it in 2014.[6]
Post-retirement
After his retirement, Krishnan wrote a book on the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 - No way But Surrender — An Account of the Indo-Pakistani War in the Bay of Bengal.[70] He also wrote his autobiography titled A Sailor's Story, which was edited and released by his son Arjun.[71]
Krishnan died in his sleep at Hyderabad on 30 January 1982.[2]
^Cannon, Peter (2011). "HMAS Yarra and Operation Marmalade". Australian Maritime Issues 2010: SPC-A Annual(PDF). Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs, No. 35. Sea Power Centre, Australian Department of Defence. p. 96. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
Krishnan, Arjun (2014), A Sailor's story, Punya Publications, ISBN978-8189534141
Collins, J. T. E. (1964). The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945. Official History of the Indian Armed Forces In the Second World War. New Delhi: Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India & Pakistan) – via Hyperwar.
Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN1-85367-117-7.
Gill, G. Hermon (1957). The Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942. Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Two Navy. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.
Nanda, S. M. (2004), The man who bombed Karachi, HarperCollins Publishers India, ISBN978-8172235628
Sarma, S. H. (2001), My years at sea, Lancer Publishers & Distributors, ISBN978-8170621218
Singh, Satyindra (1991), Blueprint to bluewater: The Indian Navy, 1951-65, Lancer International, ISBN978-8170621485
Hiranandani, G. M. (1999), Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975, Spantech & Lancer, ISBN978-1897829721
Singh, Satyindra (1986), Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy, 1945-1950, Oxford & IBH Pub. Co, ISBN978-8120400948
British India (1938–1947)
India (1947–1976)
Royal Indian Navy
Indian Navy
Vice Admiral
Padma Bhushan
Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Distinguished Service Cross
