List of frigates of India

Frigates, which are naval vessels intermediate between corvettes and destroyers,[1] have had a significant role in the naval history of India. Although the Maratha Navy, the naval branch of the armed forces of the Maratha Empire, used Grabs and Gallivats to project naval power,[2] the concept of frigates (formerly called sloops) was introduced by the British.[3] HMIS Clive, HMIS Lawrence and HMIS Cornwallis, of the Aubrietia class, were some of the early sloops commissioned into the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during the 1920s. These ships later served in the Second World War. Later, in the 1930s, sloops of the P, Anchusa, Hastings, Grimsby, and Black Swan[citation needed] classes were commissioned.[4][5]

The RIN was expanded significantly during the Second World War.[citation needed] The sloops HMIS Sutlej and HMIS Jumna, of the Black Swan class, took part in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily.[6] In 1945, HMIS Dhanush and HMIS Shamsher, of the River class, were the first frigates, so-called, to be commissioned. Several frigates of the River class were also commissioned. Some of them were later transferred to Pakistan during partition.

In the post-war period, the Indian Navy operated frigates from the Blackwood,[7] Whitby,[8] Leopard,[9] Leander,[10] and Nilgiri classes.[11] The Nilgiri-class frigates were the first major warships to be built in India, in association with Yarrow Shipbuilders of the United Kingdom.[11] Later in the 2000s, the Indian Navy, collaborating with Russia for the first time, acquired six under Project 1135.6, designated as Talwar-class.[12] As of May 2022, 12 guided-missile frigates from three different classes – Shivalik, Talwar, and Brahmaputra – are operated by the Indian Navy.[13][14]

  1. ^ "Definition of FRIGATE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  2. ^ Sridharan 2000, p. 43.
  3. ^ Bhatia 2008, p. 30.
  4. ^ "Steel Sloops". www.leander-project.homecall.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WWII Frigates was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "The Second World War in the Mediterranean, North Africa and Italy". Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. ^ Friedman 2008, p. 14.
  8. ^ Friedman 2008, pp. 214–216.
  9. ^ Friedman 2008, p. 202.
  10. ^ Friedman 2008, p. 13.
  11. ^ a b Lt Cdr Kalesh Mohanan (14 December 2012). "Indigenous Warship Building". Indian Defence Review. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Launch of sixth Project 11356 Talwar Class frigate for Indian Navy. was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Shivalik Class, Talwar Class, Kamorta Class". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Brahmaputra Class". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 27 November 2022.