The latest new bike from Indian firm Bajaj has been built from reclaimed steel that was once part of one of the most famous ships in the Indian navy.
The Bajaj V is due to be launched on 1st February and its name derives from the initial of the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The ship was a hero of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war and, after a retirement as a museum ship, was finally scrapped in 2015. Bajaj has now revealed that the metal from the 15,700 ton ship is being used to make the new V model.
Details of the bike are scant. It appears to be an air-cooled single-cylinder, probably using a 150cc engine and aimed only at the Indian market.
Details of the ship the bikes are made from are easier to find. It was built in Britain during WW2, when it was named HMS Hercules, but never went into service. India bought the unfinished hulk in 1957 and called on famous shipbuilder Harland and Wolff to complete it, now with the name INS Vikrant. It went into service in the Indian navy in 1961, with a wing of Hawker Sea Hawk jets stationed on board, and a decade later went on to play a key role in the Indo-Pakistani war.
The ship later hosted BAe Sea Harriers and was eventually decommissioned in 1997, becoming a museum ship. After the museum closed in 2012, the ship was finally sold for scrap in 2014 and dismantled last year.
Each new Bajaj V will carry the inscription “made with the invincible metal of INS Vikrant.”
