K. R. Nair


K. R. Nair

Nickname(s)Jerry[1]
Born1915
Died2007
Allegiance British Raj
India
Branch Royal Indian Navy
Indian Navy
Years of service1942–1971
Rank Rear Admiral
CommandsEastern Naval Command
Flag Officer, East Coast
INS Venduruthy
INS Valsura
22nd Destroyer Squadron
INS Rana
Battles / warsWorld War II

Rear Admiral Kesavapillai Ramakrishnan "Jerry" Nair PVSM (1915–2007) was a former Flag officer in the Indian Navy who served as the first Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.

Career

Early career

Nair was commissioned in the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR) in 1942,[2] and was promoted temporary acting lieutenant on 8 April 1943.[3] In 1944, he attended a specialist anti-submarine course in the United Kingdom.[2] On 21 January 1945, he was posted to HMIS Machlimar at Bombay, whose executive officer was Lieutenant-Commander Ram Dass Katari.[4]

Post-Independence

Nair was promoted to acting commander (paid) on 31 December 1949 and to substantive commander on 30 June 1951.[5][6] On 3 January 1955, he was appointed CO, INS Venduruthy at Cochin with the acting rank of captain,[7] receiving promotion to the substantive rank on 31 December 1955.[8] He held several important commands, including CO of INS Rana, captain of the 22nd Destroyer Squadron and INS Valsura at Jamnagar.[2] He was appointed Chief of Personnel (COP) at Naval Headquarters on 20 November 1959, in the rank of commodore,[9] and served until 1963, when he was appointed chief of staff to the Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF),[2] serving under Rear Admirals Adhar Kumar Chatterji and Benjamin Abraham Samson. In June 1965, he was appointed to a second tenure as Chief of Personnel and was promoted rear admiral in August when the post was raised to flag rank.[2]

In July 1967, Nair was appointed the first Flag Officer East Coast, based at Vishakhapatnam.[10] Eight months later, on 1 March 1968, he became the first Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command (FOC-in-C, ENC) when the post was upgraded. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) on 26 January 1969,[11] and retired from the Navy in March 1971.[12] He died in 2007.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Govil, Jyotsna (2012). "Admiral "Jerry" Nair" (PDF). Quarterdeck 2012. Noida: The Navy Foundation. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Naval Promotions to Flag Rank" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 17 August 1965. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Officers of The Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve". The Navy List: June 1944. H.M. Government. 1943. p. 1977.
  4. ^ "The Royal Indian Navy". The Navy List: July 1945. H.M. Government. 1945. p. 3443.
  5. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 January 1950. p. 93.
  6. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 July 1951. p. 133.
  7. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 29 October 1955. p. 214.
  8. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 14 April 1956. p. 74.
  9. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 9 April 1960. p. 87.
  10. ^ "Admiral Nair - New Flag Officer, East Coast" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 17 July 1967. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Part I-Section 1". The Gazette of India. 12 April 1969. p. 335.
  12. ^ "Admiral Krishnan Takes Over as FOC-in-C Eastern Naval Command" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 February 1971. Retrieved 16 January 2021.