‘Albatross’ may land at Mukundapur soon

KOLKATA: The state government has granted Indian Navy clearance to park ‘Albatross’, the maritime reconnaissance aircraft that served the nation for 29 years before retiring in 2017, in Kolkata. This will be the second such installation in the country after Vizag.
With a length of nearly 175 feet and wingspan of 164 feet, the Tupolev Tu-142M with a museum on board will require nearly half a football field to park.Apart from reconnaissance, the Tu-142M was very effective in tracking down enemy submarines and destroying them. Apart from the ‘Albatross’, they were also called the Navy’s ‘Submarine Killers’. The one on display at Vizag is a walkthrough museum that draws a large number of visitors.

“Such installations are very attractive to people who haven’t seen military hardware up close. It also helps in inspiring youngsters to join the armed forces. In Vizag, the museum is already paying for its upkeep,” vice admiral Karambir Singh, flag officer commanding-in-chief, Eastern Naval Command, said during his visit to Kolkata recently.
According to Commodore Suprobho K De, naval officerin-charge, West Bengal, a memorandum of understanding will be signed between the Navy and the state government soon. While the state government will maintain the museum, the Navy will bring in the 90,000kg mammoth to the location in pieces and reassemble it.
“There were two options. One was at Ecospace in New Town, which attracts a lot of people every day. The state, however, wants us to explore a location near Mukundapur as there are few attractions towards the southern end of the Bypass,” Commodore De said.
The Tupolev Tu-142Ms were procured from Russia in 1988 and based at Dabolim in Goa. Their primary role was long range reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare. In 1992, their base was shifted to INS Rajali near Chennai from where they undertook several operations. These aircraft participated in several exercises and operations, including those in the Maldives and by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. Its 29-year career was accident free and all six aircraft were decommissioned together. As a tribute to this workhorse, the Navy decided to turn them into museums to be set up at locations across the country.
The Tu-142Ms have been replaced by the P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft that are armed with Harpoon antship missiles and torpedoes along with state-of-the-art sensors. The Tu-142Ms carried torpedoes, free fall bombs and depth charges. The Tu-142Ms were also considered the fastest turbo-props in the world.