USS INDIANAPOUS (CA-35)

Pride of the U.S. Navy Final Tragedy of World War II

The National Memorial

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Published By: The USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-3S)

Survivors Memorial Organization, Inc. © 1992 All rights reserved.

USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-35)-Indianapolis was a "treaty cruiser". That is, she was built

in observance of the strictures laid down by the 1929 Wash­ington Conference Treaty following World War 1. Under the Treaty, "heavy" cruisers were limited to ten thousand tons of displacement. The treaty categorized warships by displace­ment and armament. To save displacement weight, India­napolis was designed and built without the usual extra thick, and heavy, armor plating- from the plimsolline down, and covering a good portion of the bottom toward the keel. This armor belt was ordinarily employed almost from stem to stem on capital ships of the line, as protection from mines and torpedoes. While this omission made Indianapolis more vulnerable, she was also capable of great speed.

Indianapolis' keel was laid on 31 March 1930by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., of Camden, New Jersey. She was launched on 7 November 1931 ; sponsored by Miss Lucy Taggart, daughter of Senator Thomas Taggart, a former Mayor of Indianapolis. From her inception, Indianapolis was the pride of the Navy, representing as she did, all the very latest technology of her day. She was 610 feet, 3 inches in length, and 66 feet, 1 inch at the beam (widest point). She drew 17 feet 6 inches of draft. Her design flank speed was 32 knots and horsepower was rated at 107,000 delivered through four screws. Her armament consisted of nine 8-inch guns placed in three turrets, two fore and one aft. Additionally there were four 5-inch guns, twenty-four 40mm intermediate range guns and thirty-two 20mm Oerlikon guns, the latter being installed during several overhauls and refits accom­plished during the war.

Following fmal fitting-out, Indianapolis was accepted by the Navy and Commissioned on 15 November 1932 from the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Her first Captain was John M. Smeallie, USN.

FDR's Ship of State-President Franklin D. Roosevelt chose I ndi anapolis as his

"Ship of State", using her as his personal transport for trans­Atlantic and South American travel. In fact, Roosevelt was the first serving president to journey to South America. He did it aboard Indianapolis. Many of the world's leaders and royalty toured her decks as guests of the United States. Indianapolis became the symbol of a dynamic, young America wherever she went. Prior to the outbreak of World

War Two, she served as Flagship of the Combined Fleet.

WINNER OF TEN BATTLE STARS-During the War in the Pacific, Indianapolis distinguished

herself in many surface engagements and beachhead inva­sions. In March 1942, she supported carrierraids against Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea. In August 1942 following a refit in San Francisco, she bombarded Kiska. In January 1943 she supported the occupation of Amchitka. From November 1943 into February 1944 she participated in the Gilberts-Marshalls campaigns. She supported the invasion of the Marianas. Many famous island names appear on the long list of her war record, among them, Sipan, Iwo-Jima, Okinawa and many more. She was awarded a total of ten Battle Stars- a distinction not given lightly.

HIT BY KAMIKAZE! On the morning of 31 March 1945, while Indianapolis

was participating in the battle for Okinawa, a Japanese Kamikaze plane broke through the early morning clouds, survived a wall of antiaircraft fire , and crashed into the after­deck of the ship, killing 9 men and injuring 26. This tragic event set the stage for Indianapolis' place in history. India­napolis was ordered back to Mare Island, Vallejo, California, for extensive repairs. She limped home under her own power, screened by a convoy of cargo and auxiliary ships.

THE ATOMIC BOMB-While Indianapolis was in Mare Island dry dock, the War

Department chose the ship to transport "The Bomb", even before they were certain it would work. Indianapolis, because of her great speed, her availability, and proximity to Los Alamos, New Mexico- where the Manhattan Project was based- had been tapped for history. The Manhattan Project, America's top secret atom bomb effort, proved a success in the very early hours of 16 July 1945.

In the early morning hours o/that very same day, shrouded in security and secrecy, atom bomb components were loaded aboard Indianapolis. The "heart" of two bombs, uranium-235, sealed in a small lead-lined metal container, was se­cured to cleats which had been welded to the deck in the Admiral's Cabin. The nature of the cargo was kept secret from all aboard, including Indianapolis' Captain Charles McVay. Indianapolis got underway that morning without benefit of the customary "shakedown cruise", undertaken to

fmd and fix problems. Indianapolis sailed into history on that fateful morning.

That same morning, one of the newest, largest, and most technologically advanced attack submarines of the Japanese Imperial Navy, The I-58, commanded by Mochitasura Hash­imoto, got underway. His orders were to patrol the waters East of the Philippines, to find and sink enemy shipping.

26JULY 1945- INDIANAPOLIS ARRIVES ATTINIAN-Following a record-setting run- average speed 26.2 knots­

from Hunters Point, California, stopping off at Pearl Harbor for 6 hours to refuel and replenish, Indianapolis anchored off the island ofTinian in the Western Pacific and off-loaded its secret cargo. Tinian was one of several American held islands from which B-29 bombing raids were then being conducted. Tinian Island is along the Mariana Trench, and about 100 nautical miles North of Guam Island, nearly 5,300 nautical miles from California.

INDIANAPOLIS ORDERED TO LEYTE GULF-Indianapolis then sailed South, made a brief stop at

Guam, Headquarters for the Pacific Fleet, under the com­mand of the Commander In Chief of the Pacific Fleet, Chester A. Nimitz, to replenish and receive new orders.

The orders were to sail to Leyte Gulf on the East Coast of the Philippines, some 1,500 nautical miles West of Guam, and there to join with the battleship USS Idaho for several days of gunnery practice, a single coded message was sent from Guam to Idaho advising her of Indianapolis' orders. The radio message was" garbled" at the receiving end. Idaho didn't ask for a repeat of the message. They didn't know the Indianapolis was on her way. Shortly before midnight, local time in the western Pacific, and approximately half way between the Philippines and Guam, the Imperial Japanese Submarine, I-58, sweeping the surface with her long range periscope and listening with passive sonar, picked-up on Indianapolis, then backlit by the rising moon. "We waited until it got close enough to see what it was. When we saw what a big ship it was, I aimed my torpedoes and fired ... " Wrote Captain Hashimoto in his log.

MIDNIGHT, JULY 29-30,1945 It was just a few minutes after midnight when the first

torpedo struck- blowing away Indianapolis' bow. The next hit seconds later, striking Indianapolis on the starboard side,

near a powder magazine and one of her fuel oil bunkers. Her forward speed through the water, estimated at about 16 to 18 knots, continued- shipping thousands of tons of sea water through collapsing forward bulkheads. Sea water surged in through the gaping hole in her side. She began to go down by the bow and then to list to her starboard (right) side. The torpedo hit near midships, knocked out all electric power and therefore any chance to get off an S.O.S. Officers began ordering all hands to abandon ship. By the hundreds they jumped into the ink -black, midnight sea. Within about twelve minutes, according to the survivors, Indianapolis rolled completely over to starboard and went rapidly down, bow first.

Of the 1197 officers and men aboard, survivors estimate about 880 men, many badly burned and wounded, made it alive into the sea in the early rninutes of 30 July 1945.

Luck- Fate, whatever you want to call it- played such an important role in the events surrounding Indianapolis. Time of day now played a key role in allowing so many men to get clear of the mortally wounded ship. The torpedo attack had taken place within minutes of a watch change- about half the ship's company was taking up watch duties, and the other half was still awake preparing for their off duty hours. 880 men were now scattered over thousands of yards of open sea. They had no water- no food. Many had kapok life jackets­many did not. Life rafts were few. Fuel oil coated the sea and the men, making many vomit. When the sun rose on that first day, there was reason for optirnism- they were due to join up with Idaho the next day for gunnery practice- surely they'd be missed and search missions would be mounted. For the next five days it would be the quintessential struggle of man against nature.

Shark attacks began on Monday. One-by-one they began to pick-off the men on the outer perimeter of the clustered groups. Agonizing screams filled the air- day and night. Blood mixed with the fuel oil. The survivors say the sharks were there by the hundreds- always swimming just below their dangling feet. It was a terror filled ordeal- never knowing if you'd be the next victim. By the third day, lack of water and food, combined with the unending terror began to take its toll on the men. Many began to hallucinate. Some went slowly mad. A few began to fight among themselves. Hope faded By Wednesday evening, survivors estimate

only 400 or so were still alive. The dead littered the surface of the sea.

At about 11 am., Thursday morning, 24 year old Lieuten­ant Chuck Gwinn, piloting his Ventura PV -1 bomber based on the island of Palau, about 300 miles South of the location where Indianapolis went down, was on routine antisubma­rine patrol. While trying to repair an antenna problem, his second of the day, he glanced down at the surface of the ocean- and changed the fate of 318 men. Seeing an oil slick, he thought an enemy sub had just submerged. He dropped close to the sea, opened the bomb bay doors preparing to drop depth charges. But there, spread out over the ocean, were hundreds of delirious men frantically waving. Immediately Lt. Gwinn radioed Palau. A Catalina PB-Y flying boat was dispatched. At her controls a 28 year old Navy pilot, from Frankfort, Indiana, named Adrian Marks.

Arriving at the survivors' location, Marks began drop­ping rafts and supplies. While this was taking place, his crew informed him they were seeing men eaten alive by sharks! Abandoning standing orders Marks landed his plane in the open sea and began taking survivors aboard. Some ~ere so weakened by their: ordeal they drowned while attempting to swim to the plane. Marks, frantically, and in plain English, radioed for help. When the plane's fuselage was full, they carried men onto the wings. Marks and his crew fought to get as many men as possible out of the shark infested sea. The wing was soon filled with holes and covered with survivors. Adrian Marks and his flight crew saved 56 men that day. The destroyers, Cecil Doyle (DDE-368), Talbot (DD-390), and Dufilho (DDE-423), converged on the scene. The Auxiliary Ships Ringness (APD-l00) and Bassett (APD-73), came to the rescue of the remaining Indianapolis crew. Of the 880 men who went into the water, only 318 were alive to be rescued. Lieutenant Marks' PB-Y was a floating, hulk. He stripped his plane of instruments, secret gear, and asked the skipper of the Doyle to destroy his plane by gunfIre, lest it fall into enemy hands.

6 AUGUST 1945-A solitary B-29, The Enola Gay, a single bomb in its

bomb-bay, headed for Hiroshima, Japan. History records the flight of The Enola Gay, and the end of conventional war as mankind had understood it. Aboard the Enola Gay was one of the atomic bombs delivered by Indianapolis- destined to

be dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. (Hiroshima is located. on the main Japanese Island, Honshu; about 450 statute mdes Southwest of Tokyo.)'The Enola Gay was named for his mother by its pilot, U.S. Army Air Force Colonel Paul W. Tibbets.

THE MARINES ABOARD INDIANAPOUS: Marine Detachments aboard US Navy capital ships have

been a tradition since the very founding of the US Navy in the war to gain America's freedom from England (1775-1783). There were 39 marines aboard Indianapolis when she went down. Marine Detachments are the spearhead of the Ship's Landing party- The fIrst ashore. The fIrst to fight and die if necessity demands. Marine Detachments are the armed muscle of the ship's Boarding Party, should the opportunity for boarding an enemy vessel present itself. Marines operate the Ship's Brig, and man various of the ship's weapons syst~ms. They work and live side by side with the officers and SaIlors of the Ship's Company. They literally fIght and die together. It was no less true aboard Indianapolis. Only 9 Marines survived the Indianapolis' sinking and the subsequent or­deal.

THE MEMORIAL MONUMENT-Fifty years after Indianapolis was lost, the fervent

desire of the survivors to erect a fitting memorial to their fallen shipmates, their revered captain, and all who lost their lives at sea in World War Two, is at last realized. This National Memorial will be dedicated on 2 August 1995. The public is welcome to attend. All veterans of the war in the Pacific are especially welcome!

To make a tax deductible contribution, or for more information, write or phone: THE USS INDIANAPOLIS MEMORIAL Patrick J. Finneran, Executive Director

1802 West 30th Street Indianapolis, IN 46208 Phone: (317) 924-1484

Toll Free: 1-800-482-5242 Fax: (317) 924-1411

USS INDIANAPOLIS MEMORIAL PLAZA

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