{"id":785,"date":"2025-06-14T08:46:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T08:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=785"},"modified":"2025-06-14T08:46:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T08:46:08","slug":"inside-the-sinking-of-the-uss-indianapolis-that-ended-in-a-feeding-frenzy-for-sharks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=785","title":{"rendered":"Inside The Sinking Of The USS Indianapolis That Ended In A Feeding Frenzy For Sharks"},"content":{"rendered":"

After delivering the components of the Hiroshima bomb in 1945, the USS\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, leaving nearly 1,000 men adrift in the middle of the Philippine Sea.<\/h2>\n

When the USS\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0sank on July 30, 1945, it had just covertly delivered parts of the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima. Indeed, the Navy cruiser had a prolific career in the Pacific theater of World War II \u2014 until Japanese torpedoes relegated it to the bottom of the ocean in 12 minutes flat.<\/p>\n

Due to a slew of miscommunication errors, the USS\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0was left in a harrowing lurch when tragedy struck its starboard side that July night.<\/p>\n

What followed instead was the worst wreck in U.S. Naval history, as nearly 1,000 sailors with little hope for rescue were killed in the attack or left adrift for three and a half days under an oppressive sun, floating above hordes of circling sharks.<\/p>\n

At 610 feet and three inches long, displacing a whopping 9,950 tons of water when placed into the harbor, the USS\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0was launched in 1931 and commissioned by the Navy the following year.<\/p>\n

The ship had been constructed in Camden, New Jersey by the U.S. Navy and even though she was originally classified as a light cruiser due to her thin armor, she was reclassified as a heavy cruiser because she was fitted with a collection of eight-inch, 203-millimeter guns.<\/p>\n

In addition to a main battery of nine eight-inch guns, the cruiser had eight five-inch anti-aircraft firearms. This massive cruiser required substantial power to run, which included eight boilers and four steam turbines. Her top speed exceeded 32 knots, or about 37 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

\"USS<\/p>\n

Wikimedia Commons<\/span>The heavy cruiser underway in 1939.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0spent her first few years in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. She took President Franklin D. Roosevelt on three separate cruises, one of which was his \u201cGood Neighbor\u201d trip to South America in 1936.<\/p>\n

With the onset of\u00a0World War II<\/a>, however, the\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0set course for the Pacific theater where she saw major action \u2014 and one of the most harrowing maritime disasters of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Entering The Pacific Theater<\/h2>\n
\"Attack<\/p>\n

Wikimedia Commons<\/span>The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Japanese pilots\u00a0bombed<\/a>\u00a0Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. officially entered World War II.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0first saw battle in February 1942 about 350 miles south of Rabaul, New Britain, where she and other American ships downed 16 of 18 twin-engined Japanese bombers. Throughout most of 1943, the vessel largely escorted American convoys and defended them against amphibious assaults. Her sprawling involvement in the war saw her in New Guinea, Saipan, in the 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea, and even attacks on Tokyo the following year.<\/p>\n

She was also paramount in securing the landings on Iwo Jima and bombarding Okinawa, which was the last island the Allies had to take before reaching mainland Japan. The USS\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0was damaged while in Okinawa and sent back to Hawaii for repairs. Her crew thought their stint in the war at this point was over, but they were called away on one last mission: to\u00a0deliver<\/a>\u00a0components of and nuclear material for the atomic bomb called \u201cLittle Boy<\/a>\u201d that would be dropped on Hiroshima.<\/p>\n

The mission was kept top-secret and the crew largely did not know what it was that they were transporting.<\/p>\n

\"Crew<\/p>\n

United States Navy<\/span>A Marine Guard aboard the deck of the USS\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRumors started flying all over the place. Wagers were being made and everybody was betting on what that crate contained. They were wagering it was anything from a new type of airplane engine to scented toilet paper for General MacArthur. Needless to say, nobody ever collected a nickel on that bet.\u201d \u2014 Clarence Hershberger, Seaman First Class<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The vessel raced 5,000 miles from San Francisco to the island of Tinian in 10 days from July 16, 1945, to July 26. It was only three days later that she was blown to bits en route to the Filipino island of Leyte \u2014 and 1,195 men were thrown into shark-infested waters.<\/p>\n

By this point in the war, the Japanese were strained and American forces at sea felt they were close to victory. \u201cThings are very quiet,\u201d one commodore wrote of the Pacific. \u201cThe Japanese are on their last legs, and there\u2019s nothing to worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, at five minutes after midnight on July 30, 1945, the Japanese submarine I-58 shot six torpedoes at the unsuspecting vessel. Two hit.<\/p>\n

\"Aiding<\/p>\n

United States Navy<\/span>USS\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0survivors aboard the USS\u00a0Bassett<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI was thrown from my emergency cabin bunk on the bridge by a very violent explosion followed shortly thereafter by another explosion\u2026 I was sucked off into the water by what I believe was a wave caused by the bow going down rather rapidly\u2026 Within a few seconds, I felt hot oil and water brush over the back of my neck and looked around and heard a swish and the ship was gone\u2026 We could still see nothing. It was still dark and I could hear people yelling for help.\u201d \u2014 Charles B. McVay III<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first torpedo hit the\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0on her back righthand side. The second hit the middle, igniting the fuel tank. Immediately, 300 sailors became trapped in the destroyed ship. Others managed to snag but a few rafts before jumping overboard, while the rest were held afloat by life jackets.<\/p>\n

Nine hundred men who survived the initial attack were now left to await rescue in the middle of the Philippine Sea. However, the ship\u2019s three distress signals had been ignored by three separate Naval commanders because one believed it was a trap set by the Japanese, a second had asked not to be bothered, and a third was drunk.<\/p>\n

Further, because of communication errors that the Navy later blamed on the secrecy of the mission, the ship was not reported missing when it failed to arrive in Leyte as scheduled the following day.<\/p>\n

As a result, it would take close to four days on the open sea for survivors to be sighted by pilots on a routine patrol flight.<\/p>\n

The Worst Shark Attack In Human History<\/h2>\n
\"Survivors<\/p>\n

Wikimedia Commons<\/span>USS\u00a0Indianapolis<\/em>\u00a0survivors are tended to in Guam.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Paul McGinnis, Signalman Third Class, remembered how oppressive the sun beat down on him while he lay adrift in the ocean awaiting rescue. He said it was like \u201chaving your head in a hole in the middle of a mirror.\u201d Desperate, the sailors began to drink salt water. They prayed for nighttime \u2014 only for the lack of sun to leave them all near freezing.<\/p>\n

All the while, sharks circled the floating men and picked off helpless sailors at random. Granville Crane, Machinist\u2019s Mate Second Class, recalled how he had no choice but to \u201csee the sharks eating your comrade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the time, the sharks never let up. We had a cargo net that had Styrofoam things attached to keep it afloat. There were about 15 sailors on this, and suddenly, 10 sharks hit it and there was nothing left. This went on and on and on.\u201d<\/p>\n