Qualla: PNS Hangor (S131)

PNS Hangor (S131): Introduction

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On 9 December 1971, a single homing torpedo launched from beneath the Arabian Sea changed the course of a war. PNS Hangor, a French-built diesel-electric submarine nicknamed 'Shark,' sank an Indian Navy anti-submarine frigate that evening, achieving something no submarine had accomplished since the closing days of World War II: a confirmed kill of an enemy warship by a submerged vessel. Pakistan celebrates the anniversary as Hangor Day.

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PNS Hangor (S131): A Shark Built in France

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Negotiations for the Hangor began in 1966, part of the Pakistan Navy's strategic pivot after the 1965 war with India. Unable to match the Indian Navy's surface fleet expansion ship for ship, Pakistan focused on strengthening its Submarine Command. France designed and built the le...

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PNS Hangor (S131): The Kill That Changed Naval History

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Hangor's first wartime deployment came in August 1971, gathering intelligence on Indian naval movements and clearing coastal waters around Manora Island and Ormara Bay. When full-scale war erupted in December, Tasnim positioned his submarine in the Arabian Sea off the Indian coas...

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PNS Hangor (S131): From the Deep to the Museum

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Hangor served the Pakistan Navy for 37 years, accumulating more operational gallantry awards than any other single warship in the fleet's history. She was decommissioned in 2006 and found a final berth as a museum ship in Karachi, where visitors can walk through the cramped compa...

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