Black Swans and the Royal Indian Navy

Black Swans and modified ships entered Royal Indian Navy service, later appearing as survey ships and in Pakistani service. Six Royal Indian Navy Black Swans were ordered on 8 September 1939, using an established type for wartime expansion. HMIS Hindustan, identified as a Folkestone-class vessel, provides a baseline for what the service already possessed. A counterfactual sequence of Folkestone, Bittern, and Black Swan orders could have produced roughly twelve sloops in service by 1939 with six more coming. Sustained investment in small warships would have expanded the capacity and choices available to the developing navy, although numbers alone would not determine its strategy.