Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, PVSM, DSC (8 June 1919 – 30 January 1982), was a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.
Born in a Tamil Brahmin family in Nagercoil, Krishnan joined the Training Ship Dufferin in 1935, where his batchmate was Jal Cursetji. After training on various ships of the Royal Navy, he was posted to the survey ship HMIS Investigator. During the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941, Krishnan boarded and captured an Iranian gunboat after a firefight. For this action, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the first awarded to the Royal Indian Navy.
Following the Independence of India, Krishnan served as Staff Officer Plans and later as Director of Naval Plans and Intelligence at Naval headquarters. He subsequently attended the Joint Services Staff College, Latimer and appointed Deputy Naval Advisor at High Commission of India in London. In 1951, he returned to India and commanded the 31st minesweeping squadron and subsequently the training ship , which represented India at the Coronation review of the fleet. Krishnan subsequently served as the Director of Personnel Services at NHQ and Deputy Secretary (Military Wing) in the Cabinet Secretariat. Krishnan then commanded during the Annexation of Goa and the Navy's Engineering College INS Shivaji. In 1963, he took over as the second commanding officer of the aircraft carrier . After attending the Imperial Defence College in 1965, he took over as the Naval advisor to the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom.
Promoted to flag rank in 1967, Krishnan was appointed the second Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. He subsequently commanded the Western Naval Command and then the Eastern Naval Command. He is credited with using a very innovative strategy, while commanding the Eastern Navy which had the aircraft carrier , in the Bay of Bengal. He is believed to have tricked the Pakistani submarine , which was on a search and destroy mission, into entering Visakhapatnam; where it was eliminated. He was present at the Ramna Race Course when the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender was signed by Lieutenant General A. A. K. Niazi. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award apart from the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
Early life and education
Krishnan was born into a Tamil Brahmin Iyer family based in Nagercoil. He was the youngest son of Rao Bahadur Mahadeva Nilakanta Ayyar, an Executive Engineer. He went on to serve as the Superintending engineer of Madras Presidency. While his eldest brother, Nilakanta Mahadeva Ayyar pursued his career in the Indian Civil Service, Krishnan joined the Royal Indian Navy. Krishnan's other brothers included Nilakanta Ganapathy Iyer and Nilakanta Anjaneya Subramanian. NA Subramanian was a Constitutional lawyer and a professor at Madras Law College and author of the book Case Law on the Indian Constitution. The third of five brothers was Dr Nilakanta Sitaraman, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a prominent doctor in their hometown Nagercoil and the neighboring area.
In 1935, Krishnan was successful in the entrance examination and joined the Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship (IMMTS) Dufferin. After two years, he topped the class in the examination for entry into the Navy. He was one of the two cadets who were successful and joined the Royal Indian Navy - the other being Jal Cursetji.
Naval career
Krishnan embarked for the United Kingdom and joined the monitor . Subsequently, he trained on board the Hawkins-class cruiser . In late 1938, after the end of his training, he was promoted to the rank of midshipman and posted to , a part of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla.
World War II
In 1939, Krishnan was serving on the Foxhound during the outbreak of World War II. In late 1939, he was transferred to the , which was a part of the Northern Patrol. He served on board the Suffolk when she participated in the Norwegian Campaign. In April 1940, the ship arrived at Tórshavn to commence the British pre-emptive occupation of the Faroe Islands and she sank the German tanker Skagerrak northwest of Bodø, Norway. Later in the month, Suffolk and four destroyers, , , and , were sent to bombard the airfield at Sola, Norway. The operation had little effect and the retaliation from German bombers severely damaged the aft of the ship, forcing her to return to Scapa Flow. He was subsequently transferred to the .