USS Indianapolis (CA-35)

History

USS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931, she was the flagship of 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.

In July 1945, Indianapolis completed a top-secret high-speed trip to deliver uranium and other components for "Little Boy", the first nuclear weapon 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, about 300 went down with the ship. 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 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. No U.S. warship sunk at sea has lost more sailors.

On 19 August 2017, a search team financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen located the wreckage in the Philippine Sea at a depth of about 18,000 ft (5,500 m). On 20 December 2018, the crew of Indianapolis was collectively awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

Text from Wikipedia: USS Indianapolis (CA-35), CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Wars and campaigns

From Wikidata (CC0).

Key dates

1. 1922
   Indianapolis was the second of two ships in the Portland class, the third class of "treaty cruisers" constructed by the United States Navy following the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, after the two vessels of the Pensacola class, ordered in 1926, and the six of the Northampton class, ordered in 1927.
2. 1932
   Under Captain John M. Smeallie, Indianapolis undertook her shakedown cruise through the Atlantic and into Guantánamo Bay, until 23 February 1932.
3. 1941
   On 7 December 1941, Indianapolis, leading Task Force 3, (Indianapolis and destroyer-minesweepers Dorsey, Elliot, and Lamberton from MineDiv 6, and Southard and Long from MineDiv 5) was conducting a mock bombardment at Johnston Atoll during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
4. 1944
   The cruiser met other ships of her task force at Tarawa, and on D-Day minus 1, 31 January 1944, she was one of the cruisers that bombarded the islands of Kwajalein Atoll.
5. 1945
   In 1945, she received twenty-four 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors guns, arrayed in six quad mounts.
6. 1945
   At 00:15 on 30 July 1945, Indianapolis was struck on her starboard side by two Type 95 torpedoes, one in the bow and one amidships, from the Japanese submarine I-58, captained by Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto, who initially thought he had spotted the New Mexico-class battleship Idaho.
7. 1996
   In 1996, sixth-grade student Hunter Scott began his research on the sinking of Indianapolis for a class history project.
8. 2007
   The USS Indianapolis Museum had its grand opening on 7 July 2007, with its gallery in the Indiana War Memorial Museum at the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza.
9. 2019
   The full exposition of the method by which the wreck was located and documented was released in another PBS documentary on 8 January 2019 titled USS Indianapolis: The Final Chapter.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Records that place someone aboard this ship

A ship history doesn't name everyone who served. These records do:

• Navy muster rolls, 1939–1949 (National Archives guide)
• Deck logs: how to get them (Naval History and Heritage Command)
• Crew lists research guide (NHHC)
• Search the National Archives Catalog for “USS Indianapolis (CA-35)”

More history

• Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS)
• Wikipedia: USS Indianapolis (CA-35)