INS Vikrant (1961)

INS Vikrant in 1984
History
United Kingdom
Name	Hercules
Builder	Vickers-Armstrongs, High Walker Harland & Wolff
Laid down	14 October 1943
Launched	22 September 1945
Commissioned	Never commissioned
Identification	Pennant number: R49
Fate	Laid up, 1947; Sold to India, 1957
India
Name	Vikrant
Acquired	1957
Commissioned	4 March 1961
Decommissioned	31 January 1997
Homeport	Bombay
Identification	Pennant number: R11
Motto	Sanskrit: Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah English: I completely defeat those who dare to fight with me
Fate	Scrapped, 2014
General characteristics
Class and type	Majestic-class light carrier
Displacement	16,000 t (15,750 long tons) (standard) 19,500 t (19,200 long tons) (deep load)
Length	700 ft (210 m) (o/a)
Beam	128 ft (39 m)
Draught	24 ft (7.3 m)
Installed power	40,000 ihp (30,000 kW) 4 Admiralty three-drum boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 Parsons geared steam turbines
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range	12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) 6,200 nmi (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement	1,110
Sensors and processing systems	1 × LW-05 air-search radar 1 × ZW-06 surface-search radar 1 × LW-10 tactical radar 1 × Type 963 aircraft-landing radar
Armament	16 × 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (later reduced to 8)
Aircraft carried	21–23
Aviation facilities	1961: Catapult Assisted Take-Off 1989: 9.75 degree ski jump

INS Vikrant (from Sanskrit vikrānta, "courageous") was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. The ship was laid down as HMS Hercules for the British Royal Navy during World War II, but was put on hold when the war ended. India purchased the incomplete carrier in 1957, and construction was completed in 1961. Vikrant was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy and played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

In its later years, the ship underwent major refits to embark modern aircraft, before being decommissioned in January 1997. She was preserved as a museum ship in Naval Docks, Mumbai until 2012. In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November 2014 after final clearance from the Supreme Court.