SUBMARINE OPERATIONS: STRATEGIES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

 

I have received a firsthand report from Mr. D.H. Rao, Chairman of the Naval Philatelic Society of India and a veteran Maritime philatelist who was especially  invited by the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi to exhibit his philatelic collections on "Submarines and Maritime history of India".

Here is the report (unedited version)of Mr. D.H.Rao .

 

 NAME  -  SUBMARINE OPERATIONS: STRATEGIES FOR THE 21ST CENT..

VENUE - INDIA HABITAT CENTER

ORGANISED BY - NATIONAL MARITIME FOUNDATION .

DATE - 16 - 17TH FEB. 2011.

 

WELCOME ADDRESS BY      -  ADM [RETD] ARUN PRAKASH

INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY   -  ADM NIRMAL VERMA, CNS

DIFFERENT SESSIONS          -  16TH FEB

                                                      SUBMARINE OPERATIONS  - 4 PAPERS

                                                      SUBMARINE CONSTRUCTION- 3 PAPERS

                                                   - 17TH FEB

                                                     SUBMARINE RESCUE & SAFETY - 3 PAPERS

                                                     SUBMARINE ACQUISITION,TRAINING & ASW - 3 PAPERS

                                                     NUCLEAR SUBMARINE OPERATIONS - 3 PAPERS

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAPERS READ -16

VALEDICTORY ADDRESS -     ADM [RETD] V S SHEKAWAT

CONCLUDING REMARKS -    CMDE [RETD] C UDAY BHASKAR.     

PAPERS WERE PRESENTED BY A HOST OF INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE EXPERTS FROM

CHILEAN NAVY,ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY,SWEDISH ARMED FORCES,FRENCH NAVY,

BRAZILLIAN NAVY,JAPANESE MARITIME SELF DEFENCE FORCE, NETHERLANDS NAVY,

US NAVY,RUSSIAN NAVY, BESIDES OUR INDIAN NAVY"S EXPERTS.

MOST REMARKABLE WAS THE PRESENCE OF CMDE[RETD] K SUBRAMANIAM, THE FIRST

SUBMARINER TO COMMAND INDIA'S FIRST SUBMARINE - INS KALVARI.

ADDED INTEREST WAS THE PHILATELIC EXHIBITION BY THE CHAIRMAN, NAVAL

PHILATELIC SOCIETY, MR D H RAO, WHO WAS SUDDENLY INVITED TO EXHIBIT HISMARITIME

 HISTORY OF INDIA AND TWO FRAMES ON -THIRD DIMENSION [INDIAN NAVAL SUBMARINES].

AFTER THE INAUGURAL OF THE SEMINAR, ADM NIRMAL VERMA,CNS, REQUESTEDCMDE[RETD]

 K SUBRAMAINIAM TO INAUAGURATE THE PHILATELIC EXHIBITION. MUCHAPPRECIATION WAS

 THERE FROM THE EMINENT VIPS.

THE SEMINAR PROCEEDINGS WERE EXCELLENT, ADHERING TO TIMINGS.

TWO DAYS FLEW BY, AND DINNER ON THE 15TH AND 16TH GAVE ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO

GET AUTOGRAPH FROM ALL THE SPEAKERS, INCLUDING, THE CNS AND ADM ARUN PRAKASH

AND ADMIAL SHEKAVAT. I GOT AT LAST AUTOGRAPH OF ADM SC CHOPRA., ON FLEET REVIEW

COVER OF 1989..

THE ORGANISERS PREPARED FEW SPL. COVERS FOR THIS EVENT, AND THEY SPARED, ABOUT

20 COVERS FOR MY SPECIALISED PASSION -FOR GETTING THE AUTOGRAPHSOF ALL THOSE

Veera Rani Abbakka Devi-Queen of Ullal ; Inshore Patrol Vessel CGS Rani Abbakka

 A couple of days back a friend of mine presented me a special cover of MANGALAPEX-2003 issued on 15 January 2003, in tribute to Veera Rani Abbakka Devi. Honestly speaking, I was  not known, till I got this special cover, about this valiant lady who fought the Portuguese invaders during the later half of 16th century and regarded by many as the "First woman freedom fighter of India". The pictorial cancellation depicts 'men-of-war' at the Mangalore coastal area of the Arabian sea.

 

Veera Rani Abbakka Rani  or Abbakka Mahadevi was the queen of Ullal (1594-1640). Veera Rani belonged to the Chowta dynasty who ruled over the area from the temple town of Moodabidri. The port town of Ullal served as their subsidiary capital. The Portuguese made several attempts to capture Ullal as it was strategically placed. But Abbakka repulsed each of their attacks for over four decades. For her bravery, she came to be known as Abhaya Rani ('The fearless queen'). Source; Wikipedia.

 In a fitting tribute, the first of the five IPVs (Inshore Patrol Vessel) for the Indian Coast Guard, launched on 28 May 2009, at Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam, was named after "Rani Abbakka". The vessel, meeting International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standards, was built for dual class certification by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Indian Registered Shipping (IRS). It was a high speed patrol vessel built of light steel hull and fitted with water jet propulsion system to get high speed operations at 34 knots.