ROLE OF SOVIET NAVY in 1971 INDO PAK WAR. The US Task Force 74 was a US Navy task force of the United States Seventh Fleet that was deployed to the Bay of Bengal by Nixon administration in December 1971, at the height of the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Led by the Aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the deployment of the task force was seen as a Show of force by USA in support of the beleaguered West Pakistani forces, and was claimed by India as an indication of US tilt towards Pakistan at a time that Indian forces were close to capturing Dhaka. On December 10, even as Nixon and Kissinger were frothing at the mouth, Indian intelligence intercepted an American message, indicating that the US Seventh Fleet was steaming into the war zone. The Seventh Fleet, which was then stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, was led by the 75,000 ton nuclear powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise. The world’s largest warship, it carried more than 70 fighters and bombers. The Seventh Fleet also included the guided missile cruiser USS King, guided missile destroyers USS Decatur, Parsons and Tartar Sam, and a large amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli. Meanwhile a British Royal Navy fleet headed by HMS Eagle steamed into the Arabian sea. he British and the Americans had planned a coordinated pincer to intimidate India: while the British ships in the Arabian Sea would target India’s western coast, the Americans would make a dash into the Bay of Bengal in the east where 100,000 Pakistani troops were caught between the advancing Indian troops and the sea. To counter this two-pronged British-American threat, Russia dispatched a nuclear-armed flotilla from Vladivostok on December 13 under the overall command of Admiral Vladimir Kruglyakov, the Commander of the 10th Operative Battle Group (Pacific Fleet). Though the Russian fleet comprised a good number of nuclear-armed ships and atomic submarines, their missiles were of limited range (less than 300 km). Hence to effectively counter the British and American fleets the Russian commanders had to undertake the risk of encircling them to bring them within their target. This they did with military precision. The order from Kremlin to the Soviet task force was the subs should surface when they were in visual range of the Americans so as to demonstrate to them that the Soviet navy was already in the Indian oceans and any move to intimidate the Indians will result in the nuclear annihalation of the USS Enterprise led CBG .The subs and surface fleet encircled them and trained their missiles at the Enterprise.In this way the Soviets blocked them and did not allow them to close in on Karachi, Chittagong or Dhaka At this point, the Russians intercepted a communication from the commander of the British carrier battle group, Admiral Dimon Gordon, to the Seventh Fleet commander: “Sir, we are too late. There are the Russian atomic submarines here, and a big collection of battleships.” The British ships fled towards Madagascar while the larger US task force stopped before entering the Bay of Bengal. #USTaskforce_74_owned
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 15:32:16 +0000
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