INS Vela (S40)

For other ships with the same name, see INS Vela.

History
India
NameINS Vela
NamesakeVela (Stingray)
Launched28 January 1972
Commissioned31 August 1973
Decommissioned25 June 2010
General characteristics
Class and typeVela-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,952 t (1,921 long tons) surfaced
  • 2,475 t (2,436 long tons) submerged
Length91.3 m (299 ft 6 in)
Beam7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Draught6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Speed
  • 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced
  • 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) submerged
Range
  • 20,000 mi (32,000 km) at 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 380 mi (610 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged
Test depth250 m (820 ft)
Complement75 (incl 8 officers)
Armament
  • 10 x 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes with 22 SET-65E/SAET-60 torpedoes
  • 44 mines in lieu of torpedoes

INS Vela (S40) was the lead ship of four diesel-electric Vela-class submarines of the Indian Navy. The submarine was commissioned on 31 August 1973 in Riga, Latvian SSR. Along with her sister ship Vagli, she spent almost 10 years undergoing a protracted refit by Hindustan Shipyard.[1] After 37 years of service, the submarine was decommissioned on 25 June 2010. The submarine was claimed by the Eastern Naval Command to be the oldest operational submarine in the world at the time of her decommissioning.[2][3][4][5]

Vela is the name of an Indian fish from the stingray species known for its aggression and offensive power, and the ability to camouflage itself from predators.[6]

  1. ^ Unnithan, Sandeep (17 November 2008). "Navy's sub induction plan suffers blow". India Today.
  2. ^ "Submarines of Indian Navy". Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  3. ^ "INS Vela decommissioned". Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  4. ^ Staff Reporter. "INS Vela decommissioned". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  5. ^ Special Correspondent (24 June 2010). "Submarine to be decommissioned". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 June 2018. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ Siddiqui, Huma (25 November 2021). "Indian Navy gets new deadly submarine! INS Vela gets commissioned". The Financial Express. Retrieved 25 November 2021.