PNS Hangor (S131)

Hangor on 4 December 1971
History
Pakistan
Name:	PNS Hangor
Launched:	28 June 1968
Commissioned:	20 December 1970
Decommissioned:	2 January 2006
Identification:	S-131
Status:	Preserved at Pakistan Maritime Museum, Karachi
General characteristics
Class and type:	Daphné-class submarine
Length:	57.75 m (189 ft 6 in)
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric, two shafts, 1,600 shp
Speed:	Snorkelling: 8 knots (15 km/h) Surfaced: 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Range:	Surfaced: 10,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 7 knots (13 km/h)
Endurance:	30 days
Test depth:	300 m (980 ft)
Sensors and processing systems:	DRUA 31 radar DUUA 2B sonar DSUV 2 passive sonar DUUX acoustic telemeter
Electronic warfare & decoys:	ARUR 10B radar detector
Armament:	12 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes (8 bow, 4 stern) 12 torpedoes or missiles

Sinking of INS Khukri
Part of the Naval Conflict of Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
Date 9 December 1971 Location Arabian sea Result Khukri sunk
Belligerents
Pakistan Pakistan Navy	India  Indian Navy
Commanders and leaders
CDR Ahmed Tasnim	Capt. Mahendra Nath Mulla †
Strength
PNS Hangor (Submarine)	INS Khukri (Frigate) INS Kirpan (Frigate)
Casualties and losses
None	INS Khukri sunk 194 sailors lost their lives

PNS Hangor (nickname "The Shark") was a Daphné-class submarine that served in the Pakistan Navy from 1970 to 2006. She was built by France and was a diesel-electric submarine. She earned renown when, in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, she sank the Indian Navy's anti-submarine frigate INS Khukri with two homing torpedoes. This was the first submarine kill since World War II, and it would remain the only one until a Royal Navy nuclear submarine, HMS Conqueror, sank an Argentine cruiser, General Belgrano, during the Falklands War.

The sinking inflicted the largest number of casualties on the Indian Navy by the Pakistan vessel during the war which resulted in the loss of 194 Indian sailors, on the night of December 8/9, 1971.

Hangor was the lead ship of its class and was launched in France on 28 June 1968. The Pakistan Navy commissioned Hangor on 20 December 1970. Many of her crew members over the course of her time in the Pakistan Navy later ascended to senior commanding ranks within the Pakistan Navy. Her one-time commander, Commander Ahmed Tasnim (retiring as Vice Admiral), would later be awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat, Pakistan's 2nd highest military decoration, while her torpedo officers Lieutenant A. U. Khan (later Vice Admiral), Electrical Engineer Officer Lieutenant R. A. Kadri (Later Rear Admiral) and Lieutenant Fasih Bokhari would later command the Pakistan Navy and became senior 4-star rank naval officers.