After the independence and the partition of India on 15 August 1947, the ships and personnel of the Royal Indian Navy were divided between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The division of the ships was on the basis of two-thirds of the fleet to India, one third to Pakistan. This was then called the Indian Fleet. After her commissioning in 1948, HMIS Delhi became the Flagship of the Indian Fleet. The Fleet commander was styled as Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet. In 1956, Rear Admiral Ram Dass Katari became the first Indian flag officer, and was appointed the first Indian Commander of the Fleet on 2 October, when he took over from Rear Admiral SirSt John Tyrwhitt. In 1957, INS Mysore was commissioned and the flag of Rear Adm Katari was transferred from INS Delhi to INS Mysore, thus becoming the flagship of the Indian Fleet. The first Aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, INS Vikrant was commissioned in 1961 and became the flagship of the Indian Fleet. On 1 March 1968, the Eastern Naval Command was established and the Indian Fleet was renamed as the Western Fleet.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
At the outbreak of war, the Western Fleet was commanded by Rear Admiral E C Kuruvilla, PVSM, AVSM. In mid 1971, The Aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, along with the frigates INS Brahmaputra and INS Beas were moved from the Western Fleet to the Eastern Naval Command. Due to this, INS Mysore, once again, became the flagship of the Western Fleet. According to Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli, the then Commander-in-Chief Western Naval Command, "The Western Fleet was given a broad directive to seek and destroy enemy warships, protect our merchant shipping, deny sealanes to enemy shipping and render ineffective the maritime line of communication between West Pakistan and East Pakistan to prevent any reinforcements from reaching the beleaguered Pakistani forces at that end."
On 4 December, the fleet successfully executed Operation Trident, a devastating attack on the Pakistan Naval Headquarters at Karachi that sank a minesweeper, a destroyer and an ammunition supply ship. The attack also irreparably damaged another destroyer and oil storage tanks at the Karachi port. To commemorate this, 4 December is celebrated as the Navy Day. This was followed by Operation Python on 8 December 1971, further deprecating the Pakistan Navy's capabilities. In the war, The Indian frigate, commanded by Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, MVC was sunk by, while was damaged on the west coast.
Kargil War
The Indian Navy launched Operation Talwar on 25 May 1999. The entire Western Fleet had sailed from Mumbai to the North Arabian Sea to increase surveillance and adopt a deterrent posture. Elements of the Eastern Fleet joined the Western Fleet in the Arabian Sea later. The joint Western and Eastern Fleets blockaded the :Category:Ports and harbours of Pakistan|Pakistani ports. They began aggressive patrols and threatened to cut Pakistan's sea trade. This exploited Pakistan's dependence on sea-based oil and trade flows. Later, then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif disclosed that Pakistan was left with just six days of fuel to sustain itself if a full-scale war had broken out.
Fleet Commander
The Fleet Commander is titled Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet. The appointment has been known by several titles since 1947:
1947 - 1951 - Commodore Commanding Indian Naval Squadron
1951 - 1952 - Rear Admiral Commanding Indian Naval Squadron
1952 - 1957 - Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet
1957 - 1968 - Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet
1968 - present - Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet
