The Indian Navy decommissioned its last Foxtrot-class submarine, the INS Vagli, last Thursday after 36 years of service.
According to the navy, the Type 641B was commissioned by the then Lieutenant Commander, Lalit Talwar, on August 10, 1974 at Riga, Latvia, in the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Having served under 23 COs (Commanding Officers), she was the first of the ‘Vela’ class of submarines to be commissioned into the Indian Navy. “Even in its last Operational cycle she completed 137 days at sea and 1232 dived hours,” said the navy in its statement.
INS Vagli was one of eight Foxtrot-class submarines inducted between 1971 and 1974.
The 1800-ton submarine was capable of diving to more than 150 meters and was manned by a crew of 10 officers and 70 sailors.
The first CO of INS Vagli, Captain (Retd) Lalit Talwar was the Chief Guest at the decommissioning ceremony, where he joined Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Vice Admiral Anup Singh in witnessing the final lowering of the National Flag and the Naval Ensign.
‘A paying off pennant was lowered after sunset’ to the Last Post sounded by the Naval Band, following which, the CO, Commander Ajay Bhatia reported the boat decommissioned to Admiral Singh. The first crew of the Vagli was also present at the ceremony.
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