On International Museum Day, a look at Visakhapatnam’s iconic maritime museums

On International Museum Day, a look at Visakhapatnam’s iconic maritime museums showcasing three significant chapters of the Indian Navy

The Integrated Museum and Tourism Complex (IMTC) at the Beach Road featuring the three museums – Sea Harrier Museum, TU – 142 Aircraft Museum and INS Kursura Submarine Museum – showcases three significant chapters of the Indian Navy and the country’s maritime history.

The Sea Harrier Museum inaugurated recently has been attracting a steady stream of visitors. The British aerospace make jet fighter is highly maneuverable, versatile, and was one of the key weapons of the Indian Navy.

At the entrance of the museum, the glass facade says the aircrafts were operational from 1983 to 2016. Inside, there are sections that throw light on the crew. They also demonstrate features such as simulator flying, weapons, radar and electronic warfare, and engineering subsystems.

Visitors to the space first see a figure of a wide-eyed western marsh harrier, a bird of prey, symbolic of imperial power and war, which the Sea Harriers were associated with.

Walk through this section to get an overview of the history of world aviation extending for more than two thousand years, from kites and tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight by powered jets, and the evolution of the world naval aviation.

The next section highlights the induction of the sea harriers in the Indian Navy. The fighter jet was capable of air to air refuelling to operate at extended ranges.

An elaborate chart describes the journey of the Sea Harrier that operated from both INS Vikrant and INS Viraat where the use of a ski jump allowed the aircraft to take off from a short flight deck with a heavier load than otherwise possible.