N C B (Chennai)
Historical Background
In 1749, the British established the Madras Coast Battery (MCB) as the first line of defence to defend ‘Madras Presidency’. In 1943, the MCB was shifted to its present location with 6” and 4.5” guns and commissioned as 5th Indian Coast Battery ‘Defiant’. This area was known as ‘Clive Battery – Royal Puram’ (now ‘Royapuram’) and Flag Street. The MCB was manned by 05 officers and 315 combatants consisting of mixed crew of British and Indian Officers and men.
In 1949, the MCB was handed over to Indian Army when TA Battalion was raised and was named as ‘506 Coast Battery (TA)’. On 21 Oct 1964 the Indian Coast Batteries were taken over by Indian Navy from Indian Army and the ICBs were renamed as Naval Coast Batteries. The 6” and 4.5” guns were phased out in mid seventies and were replaced with one 105 MM IFG and two 40 / 60 Bofors guns.
Roles
The main roles of the Naval Coast Battey (Chennai) are : -
- Seaward defence of harbour
- Gun fire support for Examination Service
- Air defence of port
- Surveillance and monitoring of coastline when so equipped
- Mobile gun battery for coastal defence of VA’s and VP’s
