Q&A · 3:18:04-3:18:48

Royal Indian Navy combat in the Second World War

The Royal Indian Navy appears to have engaged submarines and smaller craft, but its wartime record is harder to reconstruct from British-centered archives.

Question

Did the Royal Indian Navy sink any Russian or Axis warships during the Second World War?

Short answer

No major surface warship sinking is identified. Royal Indian Navy vessels attacked submarines and smaller or landing craft, but the exact record needs dedicated archival research.

Notes

The available evidence here concentrates on Royal Navy activity in the Indian Ocean, so the assessment remains cautious. Royal Indian Navy ships were often sloops and other smaller vessels rather than the theater's largest combatants. They attacked submarines and took part in at least one action involving light or landing craft, although no firm sinking is claimed without further checking. The uncertainty also illustrates how British-centered archives can obscure the operational record of another service.