Starting in 1969, India acquired a total of 15 Westland Sea King Mk.42/42A and 20 Sea King Mk.42B anti-submarine helicopters, along with six Sea King Mk.42C SAR and utility helicopters. They were operated by INAS 330 and INAS 336. As of 1988, all were painted as shown here, in white on top surfaces and dark blue everywhere else. National markings and serials were applied on the rear of the fuselage, service titles on the boom and a white ‘W’ was frequently applied further forward, indicating their frequent deployment aboard INS Vikrant. The Sea King Mk.42B variant could be armed with Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles, but during Operation Cactus, no such armament was necessary: instead, Indian Sea Kings were deployed to search for and track ships used by the LTTE. (Artwork by Goran Sudar)