Former Navy chief Admiral Tahiliani passes away

Former Indian Navy chief Admiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani passed away on Wednesday, an official statement said. Born on May 12, 1930, Tahiliani joined the navy in 1950 and served as the 11th Chief of Naval Staff from December 1984 to November 1987. A graduate of the French Test Pilot School and an outstanding pilot, he was the first to land on the deck of INS Vikrant on a Sea Hawk fighter on May 18, 1961, ushering carrier based aviation into the Indian Navy. The Admiral had commanded the carrier borne squadron INAS 300 during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. He had also command of the INS Trishul and the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.