Published on: 11/14/2015IST

Anuj Tiwari Last updated on: 11/14/2015, Permalink

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It was 35?C below zero. The sea between a remote island near Vladivostok (present-day Russia) and the mainland had frozen. In this biting cold stood a bunch of young Indian naval officers and sailors undergoing rigorous military training. But deadly winters were just the tip of the iceberg. The crew faced bigger challenges during their 18-month training, but, surprisingly, none of it deterred their passion to become skilled submariners.

A year later, in 1967, these young men created history by becoming a part of India's first-ever submarine crew. INS Kalvari S(23) wasn't simply headed by Commander K S Subramanian from Chennai, but four of the 10 commanding officers, including Lt PK Ramanathan, Surg (surgeon) Lt Cdr A Abraham and Lt R Ramesh*, hailed from the city . Today, pride and nostalgia come together as these four officers see the first of the navy's six Kalvariclass submarines, INS Kalvari S(50), undergo its sea trials.

In 1966, the naval officers took a 24-hour-journey from Bombay via Delhi and Moscow to Vladivostok, travelling across nine time zones, west and east, to begin their training in Vladivostok. Interestingly, the crew was given three months training in Russian before they left for Vladivostok. "We were taught from Russian textbooks and spoke to officers in Russian as they did not know English," says Ramanathan.

The hiccups began with low temperatures and unappetising food. The lack of bathing facilities saw the crew tiptoeing on ice to reach their bathing hut, 100m from their residence. "Even the submarine had a capacity of only six tonnes for water for the 78 of us so we went without a bath for many days," says Ramanathan who later retitred as Commander.

Being a relatively underdeveloped part of the Soviet Union, the crew was greeted with dehydrated potatoes and onions among other things, says Surg Lt Abraham, who was first sent to Leningrad for his training in underwater medicine and escape training as he was a medical doctor.

INS Kalvari S(23) was commissioned at Riga on December 8, 1967, which has since been known as Submarine Day. "On that day, the temperature was -17?C. Despite this, I decided that our sailors would turn out in their normal winter uniform without overcoats to look smart, as the overcoats supplied by the Indian Navy were of shoddy material," says Subramanian.

INS Kalvari S(23) embarked on her maiden passage from Riga on April 18, 1968. She visited Le Havre, Casablanca, Las Palmas, Conakry and Port Louis before arriving in Vishakapatnam on July 16, 1968. "The Suez canal was closed at that time so we had to stealthily sail round Africa for about 29 days before visiting Mauritius and proceeding to Vizag," says Ramanathan, who received his initial training in operating submarines in the UK in 1961.

"While we went around the Cape of Good Hope, we were constantly followed by the 7th fleet of the US. To indicate that we were not enemies, the submarine never dived in," says Dr Abraham. He later established the Escape Training School in Vizag in 1969 for training officers how to escape from sunken submarines. He took premature retirement in 1984 when he was a surgeon commander. The trip to Paris during their halt at Le Havre was the most memorable for all of them. They travelled by foot to Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and Montmartre as they relied on meagre salaries.

"We had four Russians on board to ensure the submarine was operated as per the manual. Except in Paris, they were never revealed to the public during our halts as Russians weren't allowed to travel out of the country then. Since they wanted to visit tourist spots too, they smuggled themselves through Paris and avoided public transport while visiting monuments," says Ramanathan.

But the most challenging part was after the crew arrived in Vizag. "We had a major task at hand as we had to train the support crew here. Every day, from 7am to 1.30pm, we maintained the submarine and in the evenings we trained the support crew," says Ramesh, who went on to become a Vice Admiral.

The decommissioning of INS Kalvari S(23) - the Grand Old Lady - on May 31, 1996 left the crew teary-eyed. "In the case of a ship or submarine you have commanded, particularly if she is the first of her kind in the Navy, her decommissioning is a poignant occasion," says Subramanian, who was then a retired Commodore, the chief guest for the occasion.

The life of a submariner is anything but envious and becoming one isn't easy. Among other things, a submariner must clear a difficult medical test that checks if he can handle high pressures, temperatures and closed environments. "It is very gratifying to see how despite prolonged neglect by the government and consequent avoidable submarine accidents, the submarine arm is developing soundly, albeit slowly and maintaining standards of technical ability," says Subramanian, stressing that people operating such technology deserve to be cared for.

It is with this view that these veterans hope to get recognition for their contribution to the Indian Navy from the state government and look forward to a meeting with the chief minister for this purpose.