I was posted to Dwarka in Oct. 1963 and was there till the middle of Jun. 1967. There were two signal units at that particular moment in Dwarka - No. 114 SU and No. 607 SU, where I was posted, along with one DSC Guards unit. There was a Corporal Swamy (Radar Mechanic) who was trained on that particular radar equipment that were installed onto two big motor vehicles.
I was in the Electrical branch and others in Motor Transport Mechanics, others in Carpentry, Welding and Wireless Mechanics. We all worked on repairing vehicles right from tires and tubes to complete engine overhaul. In fact we all learned how to drive and to repair almost all kinds of vehicles including motorcycles, during our stay with that unit. It is 50 years now and I do member almost all the people by name and have their faces in my mind. Flg.Offr. S.Damodaran, was from the Air Force Signals branch, and was Commanding both the units and the only officer during that particular period.
The 1965 War
War had been declared and the trenches were dug all around the unit. On a regular morning, Sept. 7, 1965 I received a message that I was detailed to replace a sick guard. I was detailed for the third shift and my timing were 5.30 pm -7.30 pm; 11.30 pm - 01.30 am (on Sept 8) and 05.30 am - 07.30 am. Early in the afternoon we noticed a ship sailing from Bombay towards Okha, Gujarat,India’s last port. On contacting Air Force Station Jamnagar, we came to know that it was the INS Talwar patrolling the area. In the evening, around 5.30 pm, we saw the ship sailing in the opposite direction and thought that it might be INS Talwar going around on her routine duty. This ship sailed near the coast and all the lights on the ship were on. Everyone saw it taking its perfect position by moving up and down, going forward and backwards and it anchored there, after setting itself and turned all the lights off. Everyone forgot about that ship and was back on their routine, thinking that it was INS Talwar.
There is a light house (Asias second highest), a girls hostel, a girl’s school and a civil hospital near the Dwarka shore. All these were almost in the line of firing of that ship. We realised this fact only later. I was on my second round of the shift and after finishing a round of the camp, along with the DSC guard, we reached near a tree that was in the center of two barracks. The root of this tree was in such a shape that it was coming out of the ground at one place and the other end entered the ground forming a kind of a bench on which we normally sat during our break time. I looked at my watch and it was 0115 am on the morning of Sept 8.
Shelling
I turned to say something to my companion, then, there was a loud Swiiish and a Boom. Both, my companion and me looked towards that direction but the first Boom was followed by more Swiishes and Booms!! Everyone in the unit and in the city was up and running all around. People were jumping in the trenches and or falling flat on the ground to escape from the shelling. After about ten minutes the shelling stopped and slowly everyone started getting up.
Everyone was nervous and did not know what to do. Our Officer Commanding, Flying Officer S. Damodaran, Cpl Iyer and myself advanced towards the direction from where the shelling was coming. We did not find anything there. We took a Jeep and went around in the village to see if there were any damages. We did not find any damage or casualties in the entire village. Though the people in the village were now scared and there was a bit of panic around.
We turned our attention to the safety of our staff that was deployed on our Signal Vehicles, about 10 to 15 miles away from our base unit. Our Signal Vehicles (the Radar Units, that tracked the targets and directed the aircrafts for pinpoint bombing) were stationed far away from our base (in Varvala, between Dwarka and Mithapur on way to Okha). On hearing the shelling, the crews there had begun to drive towards our base to see what had happened to us. We met them on the way and both parties satisfied that everything was safe returned to our positions.
Propaganda
After refreshing ourselves, we had our breakfast and went back to normal routine. Soon we heard Radio Pakistan giving the news that the Pakistan Naval ship BABUR had shelled Dwarka, the citywas burning and the smoke could be seen from a distance of 10 miles.
The Aftermath
Our O.C. summoned everyone and asked us to send a telegram to our home to inform our family that everyone was safe. All the telegrams were collected and a couple of people rushed to the post office. The post master informed us that it will be better for us to write a letter than sending the telegram, as the lines were cut and it was not possible to send the telegrams!
Meanwhile, the villagers started bringing the shells from their fields after digging them out of the ground carrying them on their shoulders. We collected almost 25 to 30 shells. They were displayed in front of the Guard Room for the public to take a look. The amusing thing about them was that they bore the markings of Indian ordnance and were dated 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946 and so on. These shells were all pre-partition ammunition that was given to Pakistan during the partition in 1947. It turned out that the Indian ammunition was LOYAL to India! None of them exploded to harm its country. The one, that did explode, was the one that hit the Railway Retiring Room on the outer edge of the building that was not occupied at that time. All the other shells went over the village and into the fields.
The miracle behind this was that the sea level had risen from the time the Pakistani ship had taken its position to the time it started shelling. This resulted in most of the shells overshooting Dwarka. Of course, it is quite obvious that the learned and experienced officers and the crew on board of that Pakistani ship did ignore this fact and were rejoicing that they have shelled Dwarka without any resistance and destroyed it.
Vigil
Needless to say, even after this shelling we were on our toes. Our O.C., Cpl Iyer and myself did our rounds around the base, the village, and towards our Signal Vehicles and the surrounding areas around the clock, driving around for at least four days without a minute of sleep.
The total manpower in our unit at that time was hardly 75 to 80 men including the DSC guards, with a limited supply of arms and ammunition. We were all thinking about what our fate would have been if the Pakistanis had decided to start an ‘invasion.’ They could have done anything to us or to the public.
(Madan joined the Indian Air Force in 1959 as an airman and took part in the 1965 and 71 conflicts. He was on site when the Pakistani Navy shelled Dwarka. He narrates the events in this candid story of that day. Ramesh Madan left the IAF as a Sgt.)
The 1965 War
War had been declared and the trenches were dug all around the unit. On a regular morning, Sept. 7, 1965 I received a message that I was detailed to replace a sick guard. I was detailed for the third shift and my timing were 5.30 pm -7.30 pm; 11.30 pm - 01.30 am (on Sept 8) and 05.30 am - 07.30 am. Early in the afternoon we noticed a ship sailing from Bombay towards Okha, Gujarat,India’s last port. On contacting Air Force Station Jamnagar, we came to know that it was the INS Talwar patrolling the area. In the evening, around 5.30 pm, we saw the ship sailing in the opposite direction and thought that it might be INS Talwar going around on her routine duty. This ship sailed near the coast and all the lights on the ship were on. Everyone saw it taking its perfect position by moving up and down, going forward and backwards and it anchored there, after setting itself and turned all the lights off. Everyone forgot about that ship and was back on their routine, thinking that it was INS Talwar.
There is a light house (Asias second highest), a girls hostel, a girl’s school and a civil hospital near the Dwarka shore. All these were almost in the line of firing of that ship. We realised this fact only later. I was on my second round of the shift and after finishing a round of the camp, along with the DSC guard, we reached near a tree that was in the center of two barracks. The root of this tree was in such a shape that it was coming out of the ground at one place and the other end entered the ground forming a kind of a bench on which we normally sat during our break time. I looked at my watch and it was 0115 am on the morning of Sept 8.
Shelling
I turned to say something to my companion, then, there was a loud Swiiish and a Boom. Both, my companion and me looked towards that direction but the first Boom was followed by more Swiishes and Booms!! Everyone in the unit and in the city was up and running all around. People were jumping in the trenches and or falling flat on the ground to escape from the shelling. After about ten minutes the shelling stopped and slowly everyone started getting up.
Everyone was nervous and did not know what to do. Our Officer Commanding, Flying Officer S. Damodaran, Cpl Iyer and myself advanced towards the direction from where the shelling was coming. We did not find anything there. We took a Jeep and went around in the village to see if there were any damages. We did not find any damage or casualties in the entire village. Though the people in the village were now scared and there was a bit of panic around.
We turned our attention to the safety of our staff that was deployed on our Signal Vehicles, about 10 to 15 miles away from our base unit. Our Signal Vehicles (the Radar Units, that tracked the targets and directed the aircrafts for pinpoint bombing) were stationed far away from our base (in Varvala, between Dwarka and Mithapur on way to Okha). On hearing the shelling, the crews there had begun to drive towards our base to see what had happened to us. We met them on the way and both parties satisfied that everything was safe returned to our positions.
Propaganda
After refreshing ourselves, we had our breakfast and went back to normal routine. Soon we heard Radio Pakistan giving the news that the Pakistan Naval ship BABUR had shelled Dwarka, the citywas burning and the smoke could be seen from a distance of 10 miles.
The Aftermath
Our O.C. summoned everyone and asked us to send a telegram to our home to inform our family that everyone was safe. All the telegrams were collected and a couple of people rushed to the post office. The post master informed us that it will be better for us to write a letter than sending the telegram, as the lines were cut and it was not possible to send the telegrams!
Meanwhile, the villagers started bringing the shells from their fields after digging them out of the ground carrying them on their shoulders. We collected almost 25 to 30 shells. They were displayed in front of the Guard Room for the public to take a look. The amusing thing about them was that they bore the markings of Indian ordnance and were dated 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946 and so on. These shells were all pre-partition ammunition that was given to Pakistan during the partition in 1947. It turned out that the Indian ammunition was LOYAL to India! None of them exploded to harm its country. The one, that did explode, was the one that hit the Railway Retiring Room on the outer edge of the building that was not occupied at that time. All the other shells went over the village and into the fields.
The miracle behind this was that the sea level had risen from the time the Pakistani ship had taken its position to the time it started shelling. This resulted in most of the shells overshooting Dwarka. Of course, it is quite obvious that the learned and experienced officers and the crew on board of that Pakistani ship did ignore this fact and were rejoicing that they have shelled Dwarka without any resistance and destroyed it.
Vigil
Needless to say, even after this shelling we were on our toes. Our O.C., Cpl Iyer and myself did our rounds around the base, the village, and towards our Signal Vehicles and the surrounding areas around the clock, driving around for at least four days without a minute of sleep.
The total manpower in our unit at that time was hardly 75 to 80 men including the DSC guards, with a limited supply of arms and ammunition. We were all thinking about what our fate would have been if the Pakistanis had decided to start an ‘invasion.’ They could have done anything to us or to the public.
(Madan joined the Indian Air Force in 1959 as an airman and took part in the 1965 and 71 conflicts. He was on site when the Pakistani Navy shelled Dwarka. He narrates the events in this candid story of that day. Ramesh Madan left the IAF as a Sgt.)
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