Jal Cursetji

Admiral Jal Cursetji, PVSM (20 May 1919 – 29 January 1991) was a former Flag Officer in the Indian Navy.

Cursetji was born in 1919 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in a Parsi family.

He attended the St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School in Jabalpur.

Born in a Parsi family in Jabalpur, Cursetji joined the Training Ship Dufferin in 1935, where his batchmate was Nilakanta Krishnan.

After training on various ships of the Royal Navy, he served on the Aubrietia-class sloop HMIS Clive and the Bathurst-class corvette HMIS Bombay.

In 1935, he was successful in the entrance examination and joined the Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship (IMMTS) Dufferin.

After two years, he took the examination for entry into the Navy.

He was one of the two cadets who were successful and joined the Royal Navy - the other being Nilakanta Krishnan.

Cursetji embarked for the United Kingdom and joined the monitor HMS Erebus.

Subsequently he trained on board the Hawkins-class cruiser HMS Vindictive.

In late 1938, after the end of his training, he was promoted to the rank of midshipman and posted to HMS Foxhound, a part of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla.

In 1939, Cursetji was serving on the Foxhound during the outbreak of World War II.

In late 1939, he was transferred to the County-class cruiser HMS Suffolk, which was a part of the Northern Patrol.

He served onboard the Suffolk when she participated in the Norwegian Campaign.

In April 1940, the ship arrived at Tórshavn to commence the British pre-emptive occupation of the Faroe Islands and she sank the German tanker Skagerrak northwest of Bodø, Norway.

Later in the month, Suffolk and four destroyers, HMS Kipling, HMS Juno, HMS Janus and HMS Hereward, were sent to bombard the airfield at Sola, Norway.

The operation had little effect and the retaliation from German bombers severely damaged the aft of the ship, forcing her to return to Scapa Flow.

He was subsequently transferred to the Renown-class battlecruiser HMS Repulse.

Cursetji was commissioned as an acting sub-lieutenant in the RIN on 1 April 1940, with confirmation as a sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1940 (pre-dated from 1 April).

He qualified as a Hydrography Specialist in the United Kingdom, and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 October 1941.

He was transferred to the Aubrietia-class sloop HMIS Clive.

He subsequently served on the Bathurst-class corvette HMIS Bombay.

In 1944, he commanded HMIS Bombay.

After specialising in hydrography in the United Kingdom, he was tasked with the planning of setting up a hydrographic office in India.

He served as the Surveyor-in-Charge, Marine Survey of India and commanded the survey ship INS Investigator.

In early 1944, he took command of the Bombay.

After the independence of India, Cursetji opted to join the Indian Navy.

He was the senior most Indian officer in the Hydrographic Survey branch, and took part in the coastal surveys of Burma, Malaya and Indonesia.

In April 1949, then an acting Commander, he was sent to the United Kingdom to prepare a report on establishing a Hydrographic office in India.

He was the first Indian to serve as the Chief Hydrographer of the Navy, from 1955 to 1957.

Cursetji subsequently commanded the 11th destroyer squadron and the lead ship INS Rajput and served for about four years as the Naval attaché at the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C., from 1961 to 1965.

Returning to India, he commanded the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant (1961) from 1966 to 1967.

Promoted to flag rank in 1967, he took over as Chief of Personnel at Naval headquarters.

In 1970, he was appointed the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and served in this appointment during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Cursetji was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 1971 and was the first recipient from the Indian Navy of the Legion of Merit.

Cursetji served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command from 1973 to 1976, before taking over as the Chief of Naval Staff.

During his tenure as the CNS, the maritime reconnaissance role was taken over by the Navy, the Indian Coast Guard came into being and the Goa Naval area was established.

The Southern Naval Area was also upgraded into a full-fledged command.

He served as the ninth Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 1 March 1976 until 28 February 1979.

He was the first hydrographer to serve as the CNS.