INS VIRAAT Originally: INS VIRAAT was originally commissioned by British Royal Navy in 1957 as HMS HERMAS. It served for 14 years as HMS HERMAS and decommissioned from active duty at 1985. In April 1986, Hermes was towed from Portsmouth Dockyard to Devonport Dockyard to be refitted, re-activated and sold to India. Introduced: INS VIRAAT was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 12 May 1987 and served for 3 decades(30 years).It was the oldest aircraft carrier in the world and today 6 March 2017, it was taken out from the its active duty for Indian Navy. Symbolize: The crest of VIRAAT shows an eagle which symbolizes air power and the five arrows held in the talons of the eagle depict the ship’s versatile weapon capability. Carrier: The operational birds on the carrier were Sea Harrier — (White Tigers-fighter aircraft), Speaking 42B (Harpoons- Anti-Submarine helicopters) & Speaking 42C (Commando Carrier helicopters) and Chetak (Angles- SAR helicopter).