Sunday, December 19, 2010

30 Years of Indian Naval Aviation (1953 - 83)

Date of Issue: December 04, 1983

I added this cover to my collection recently.

This special cover was issued on Navy Day (December 4th), 1983 and also to commemorate 30 years of Naval Aviation in India. The Naval aviation formally took birth with the commissioning of INS Garuda, a Naval Air Station at Kochi/Cochin on May 11, 1953.
The cachet shows INS Vikrant (R11) (formerly HMS Hercules), the first aircraft carrier in Indian Navy, commissioned on March 04, 1961, and was decommissioned on January 31, 1997, after nearly 36 years of service to the country. The name Vikrant was taken from Sanskrit vikrānta meaning "stepped beyond", i.e. "courageous", "victorious". The crest of the carrier (as seen on right side) showed a combination of bows and arrows portraying the fighter planes taking off the carrier to strike the enemy. The motto "Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah" was taken from Rig Veda which means ‘I completely defeat those who dare to fight with me’.

Source: Wikipedia, indiannavy.nic.in, militaryphotos.net

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