INAS 300

The INAS 300 is the longest serving combat unit of the Indian Navy,[5] based at INS Hansa.[2][3]

INAS 300
Active7 July 1960 - Present[1]
Country India
Branch Indian Navy
Garrison/HQINS Hansa
Nickname(s)The White Tigers[2]
Aircraft flown
Fighter

History

The White Tigers were commissioned on 7 July 1959[5] at RNAS Brawdy, United Kingdom with the Indian High Commissioner to UK, Vijay Laxmi Pandit, in attendance. The first Squadron Commander was Lt Cdr B D Law. The squadron was initially equipped with the Hawker Sea Hawk aircraft. On 18 May 1961, Lt Cdr R. H. Tahiliani carried out the first deck landing on INS Vikrant on Sea Hawk IN 156. The squadron left RNAS Brawdy on 31 July 1961 with eleven Hawker Sea Hawks and embarked INS Vikrant off the Isle of Wight. During the course of the next ten years the Indian Navy inducted fifty-four Sea Hawks in a phased manner, the last aircraft being delivered in December 1971.[6] The Sea Hawks were retired from the Indian Navy in a phased manner in the late-70s and early-80s.[5] The Sea Harriers were replaced by MiG-29KUBs on 11 May 2016 in a ceremony held at INS Hansa. They now act as an operational conversion unit for the INAS 303, the black panthers.[4]

  • A Sea Harrier flanked by a pair of MiG-29Ks
    A Sea Harrier flanked by a pair of MiG-29Ks
  • Plaque commemorating the retirement of the Sea Harrier
    Plaque commemorating the retirement of the Sea Harrier
  • 50 years of INAS 300 postal stamp (2010)
    50 years of INAS 300 postal stamp (2010)

References
  1. "Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 300". Global Security. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  2. "The White Tigers Go Golden" (PDF). Vayu Aerospace. 21 December 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  3. "INAS 300 – The White Tigers". Indian Navy. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  4. "INAS 300 retires Harriers". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. "'White Tigers' squadron turns 60: Facts on Indian Navy's longest serving combat unit". India Today. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  6. "SEA HARRIER | Indian Navy". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 6 May 2016.


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