About INS Vikrant:
- It is the first ever indigenously designed and constructed aircraft carrier which will strengthen the country’s stand as a ‘Blue Water Navy’.
- The ship has been designed in-house by Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and constructed by M/s Cochin Shipyard Limited.
- India also joined the elite group of nations – the US, Russia, France, the UK and China – who are capable of designing and constructing aircraft carriers.
- Also, with a displacement of 43,000 tonnes when fully loaded, INS Vikrant is set to be the seventh largest among the carriers or carrier classes in the world.
Historical facts about INS Vikrant
- INS Vikrant, with pennant number R11, was the first-ever aircraft carrier that was operated by the Indian Navy.
- The ship was officially laid down in 1943 and was being built for the Royal Navy as HMS (Her Majesty’s Ship) Hercules when the constitution was put on hold after World War II ended.
- Like many other ships at the time, the under-construction HMS Hercules was put up for sale by the United Kingdom and was purchased by India in 1957.
- The construction work was completed and the ship was commissioned in the Indian Navy as INS Vikrant in 1961.
