Pakistani Navy revolver gifted to NDA
Vice Admiral MP Awati, PVSM, VrC (Retd) and Ex Commandant at National Defence Academy (NDA) was in NDA on 29 September to present his prized possession, A Webley .38 revolver which was handed over to him as a token of surrender by two senior Pakistan Navy officers during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
The revolver was handed over by the Admiral to Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, AVSM, VSM, Commandant, National Defence Academy, Pune.
The revolver was till now kept as a souvenir and displayed in the museum Ship Vikrant but henceforth will be kept permanently in the NDA museum as a treasure trove for this iconic institution.
Vice Admiral MP Awati was born on 07 Sept 1927 and was selected for the Royal Indian Navy in 1945. A specialist in signal communication, he served on Indian Navy ships like Ranjit, Vendurthy, Betwa, Tir and Mysore. As the Commanding officer of INS KAMORTA during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, he was awarded the Vir Chakra for leadership and gallantry where he successfully faced the breakneck operations by the enemy for almost a fortnight.
Vice Admiral MP Awati while handing over the revolver on the occasion spoke at length of the incident leading to surrender wherein he was commanding INS KAMORTA, leader of the five-ship 31st Patrol Vessel Squadron, which constituted Eastern Fleet. In addition to being the senior officer of the blockading force, On 18 Dec 1971 he was summoned aboard by his Commanding Officer along with Capt Swaraj Prakash to reach Chittagong where the situation was still to be stabilized by the Indian Army which had entered the city on 15/16 Dec 71. They both took off in an Alouette, landed on a top of a concrete gun emplacement and were surrounded by wailing women, all wishing to be evacuated. A little later two senior Pakistan navy officers approached and turned in their personal weapons to Vice Admiral MP Awati as a token of surrender.
The Webley .38 revolver was in service between 1932-1963 and was used in Second World War, Korean War and in British Colonial Conflicts. It is a double action 266 mm revolver with 9 mm calibre having 20 to 30 rounds per minute rate of fire and with 50 yard of effective firing range. Commandant, NDA thanked Vice Admiral MP Awati for presenting the weapon and assured him that the weapon will be having a special place in the museum at NDA.
#webley #revolver #bangladeshliberationwar #1971war #pakistan#bangladesh #india #nda #nationaldefenceacademy #mpawatiIndian Navy Pakistan News National Defence Academy
