USS Indianapolis (CA-35)
USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931, it was the flagship for the commander of Scouting Force 1 for eight years, then flagship for Admiral Raymond Spruance from 1943 to 1945 while he commanded the Fifth Fleet in battles across the Central Pacific during World War II.
For other ships with the same name, see USS Indianapolis.
In July 1945, Indianapolis completed a top-secret high-speed trip to deliver uranium and other components for "Little Boy", the first nuclear weapon ever used in combat, to the Tinian Naval Base, and subsequently departed for the Philippines on training duty. At 0015 on 30 July, the ship was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58, and sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,195 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship.[4] The remaining 890 faced exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks while stranded in the open ocean with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy only learned of the sinking four days later, when survivors were spotted by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol. A U.S. Navy PBY flying boat crew landed to save those in the water. Only 316 survived.[4]
The sinking of Indianapolis was the greatest loss of life from a single ship lost at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy.[a] On 19 August 2017, a search team financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen located the wreckage in the Philippine Sea lying at a depth of approximately 18,000 ft (5,500 m).[5] On 20 December 2018, the crew of Indianapolis was collectively awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.[6]
Reunions[edit]
Since 1960, surviving crew members have been meeting for reunions in Indianapolis. Fourteen of the thirty-two remaining survivors attended the 70th reunion, held 23–26 July 2015. The reunions are open to anyone interested, and have more attendees each year, even as death leaves fewer survivors. Held only sporadically at first, then biannually, the reunions were later held annually. Every year, the survivors, by 2015 most of them in their nineties, vote whether to continue.[56][57][58] Seven out of twenty remaining survivors attended the 2017 reunion.[59] With the death of Cleatus Lebow on 29 September 2022,[60] there is only one crew member still alive, Harold Bray.[61]
In popular culture[edit]
In a scene in the 1975 movie Jaws, one of the main characters, Quint, who is a survivor of the Indianapolis, recounts the sinking and shark attacks. This scene brought Indianapolis, and its sinking, into a much wider public spotlight 30 years after the original events occurred.[69][70] The 2019 play The Shark Is Broken, which opened on Broadway in 2023, both explores Robert Shaw (Quint's actor) rewriting the dialogue to the scene, as well as doing a full rendition of the famous scene at the end.[71]
The 1991 made-for-TV film Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis stars Stacy Keach as Captain McVay.
The 2016 film USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, directed by Mario Van Peebles and starring Nicolas Cage, is based on the sinking of Indianapolis.
This article incorporates text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
