The INAS 315 is an Indian naval air squadron based at

INS Hansa INS Hansa, is an Indian naval air station located near Dabolim in Goa, India. Data current as of October 2006. It is India's biggest naval airbase. The military air base has a civil enclave, that operates as Dabolim Airport. History ''INS ...

, Goa.

History

INAS 315 was commissioned on 1 October 1977 by

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

M. K. Roy. Cdr B K Malik was the first Squadron Commander. The squadron was initially equipped with three

Ilyushin Il-38 The Ilyushin Il-38 "Dolphin" ( NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport. Design and development ...

aircraft and later two more Il-38 aircraft were inducted. With the induction of the Il-38s, the Navy acquired modern maritime reconnaissance and fixed-wing

Anti Submarine Warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typic ...

(ASW) capability. In January 1978, the squadron aircraft using the on board

Magnetic Anomaly Detector A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) is an instrument used to detect minute variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The term refers specifically to magnetometers used by military forces to detect submarines (a mass of ferromagnetic material c ...

(MAD) equipment successfully located the wreckage of the ill-fated Air India Jumbo which had crashed soon after take-off of the Mumbai coast. The Winged Stallions completed 25,000 hours of accident free flying in 1996. The squadron's Il-38 aircraft were given "Sea Dragon" mid-life upgrades in 2009. On 1 October 2002, two Il-38s of INAS 315 collided in mid-air during a flypast near

Panjim Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary ...

, Goa, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the squadron. The collision and subsequent crashes killed all six crew members in each aircraft and three bystanders on the ground. Prior to the collision, the squadron had flown 30,000 hours over 25 years without a serious accident.

References

{{Indian Navy Aircraft squadrons of the Indian Navy Naval units and formations of India