The Sainik School of Kazhakootam is now home to a relic of the 1971 war against Pakistan.
A Vijayanta Mark 1 main battle tank (MBT), the mainstay of India’s armoured regiments on the western front during the war, will be unveiled as a permanent exhibit in the school on Saturday.
The event will coincide with the 43rd reunion of the Old Boys’ Association of the school. “It saw action in the western sector. The tank was commissioned in 1971 and was decommissioned in 2008,” school registrar Lt Colonel Suresh Kumar said.
The tank was brought from Jodhpur. Its 105-mm main gun is capable of firing both armour-piercing shells and explosives. The tank could touch a speed of 50 km per hour, school officials said.
The Sainik School, established in 1962, will also unveil two surface-to-air missiles gifted by the Navy on Saturday.
“The RZ-13 missiles are fired from ships. These types of missiles were used on Durg class missile boats and Godavari class frigates,” Southern Naval Command spokesperson Commander Roy Francis said.
Major General K S Venugopal, General Officer Commanding (Kerala and Karnataka sub-area), will unveil the war equipment.
Lt-General Y C Tharakan, Director General, 12 LWP, Army HQ, New Delhi, will be the chief guest at the reunion.