4 ms·

Wreckage found of USS Indianapolis that was sunk by Japan, killing nearly 900

79 points by mozumder 9y ago

Clubber 9y ago
This is a pretty harrowing story for those that don't know. They were carrying atomic bomb secrets so they couldn't call for help. The crew floated around in water getting eaten by sharks. The old man in Jaws does a good job of telling the story. You should definitely research it if you are interested in that sort of thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indianapolis_(CA-35) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indianapolis_(CA-35) Bataan Death March, Rape of Nanking, most of WWI, all pretty gruesome and what humanity is capable of pretty quickly.
- Sniffnoy 9y ago
  If you read the relevant part of the Wikipedia article, that's not actually true: > In the first official statement, the Navy said that distress calls "were keyed by radio operators and possibly were actually transmitted" but that "no evidence has been developed that any distress message from the ship was received by any ship, aircraft or shore station."[22] Declassified records later showed that three stations received the signals; however, none acted upon the call. One commander was drunk, another had ordered his men not to disturb him and a third thought it was a Japanese trap.[23] It looks like nobody noticing the sinking until a plane saw the survivors floating in the water was not due to any secrecy requirements, but rather due to four people screwing up simultaneously (the fourth being Lieutenant Stuart Gibson, who didn't notify anyone when he noticed the ship was overdue).
  - Spooky23 9y ago
    A big part of the silence is that circumstances of the sinking is that it would challenge the perception of the Navy and military in general. It's an amazing feat that the wartime was able to run as well and successfully as it did. That said, there were plenty of idiots, drunks and dysfunction all over the place.
    - dba7dba 9y ago
      Major Winters of the Band of Brothers fame was originally in the army as an enlisted man. But while in basic training he witnessed an army officer giving a presentation while holding a wrong rifle for an hour. So he realized maybe being an officer would not be so hard after all and applied to be an officer. The rest is history.
- dba7dba 9y ago
  Very very few knew what an atomic bomb was at that time. I'm pretty sure even the captain of the ship didnt know exactly what he was really carrying.
  - rangibaby 9y ago
    Reminds me of where the word "tank" came from.
    - throwaway7645 9y ago
      Had to look at the Wikipedia page under etymology. I got the gist at least. They didn't want to call it a land cruiser or landship due to secrecy, so were trying to bill it as a machine for carrying water. Water Carrier would give their committee the same initials as essentially the British word for toilet, so they changed it to tank supply as in water tank.
jhbadger 9y ago
"If you haven't heard of the Indianapolis, that's the whole point" says the narrator. Like people haven't seen "Jaws" and remember the whole "like doll's eyes" speech from Quint.
rl3 9y ago
An excellent resource on the incident itself and the aftermath: http://www.ussindianapolis.org/ http://www.ussindianapolis.org/ The Indianapolis had delivered its atomic cargo four days prior to its sinking. Presumably there wasn't anything sensitive or environmentally hazardous left on board. Had there been, I suspect the wreck would have been located much sooner.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Unfortunate timing.
- Retric 9y ago
  It takes a lot to do environmental harm when your 3.4 miles under water. Even if the bomb pices where left it would not have been a significant environmental issue.
- imglorp 9y ago
  That delivery mission itself was probably a fascinating story. One can only suppose the captain's orders were to deliver this thing in a box, but avoid it being captured at all costs, including the ship and all hands if necessary.
mchannon 9y ago
Epilogue from the excellent but dated documentary on the site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Scott https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Scott did get the captain exonerated. He is now (or at least recently) a naval aviator. No word of any movie yet.
indescions_2017 9y ago
What a legendary find! And 18,000 feet deep has to be near record. Titanic two miles below to put it in perspective. And what a mission. Highest ultra top secret. With the eventual outcomes of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the unconditional surrender of Japanese forces. U.S. Navy treating it as a "sunken war grave." Echoes of Henry V's St Crispin's Day Speech and it's lines: "From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be rememberèd" And also the inspiration for the best ten pages in screen writing history ;) The Indianapolis Speech By Robert Shaw In Jaws (1975) https://neilchughes.com/2013/03/10/the-indianapolis-speech-by-robert-shaw-in-jaws-1975/ https://neilchughes.com/2013/03/10/the-indianapolis-speech-b...
- quakeguy 9y ago
  Direct link for all you wanting to see that speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9S41Kplsbs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9S41Kplsbs I've seen that movie quite a few times, but this scene always gets me like its the first.
- pouetpouet 9y ago
  I had trouble understanding what's more impressive 18000 feet or 2 miles. 5,4km vs the titanic 3,8km deep
  - petepete 9y ago
    You're not alone. Even here in the UK we measure distances on road signs in miles but I have no idea how many feet, furlongs, yards or shackles are in a mile.
    - jacobush 9y ago
      How many fortnights to the furlong do you get on that thing?

79 points by mozumder 9y ago

This is a pretty harrowing story for those that don't know. They were carrying atomic bomb secrets so they couldn't call for help. The crew floated around in water getting eaten by sharks. The old man in Jaws does a good job of telling the story. You should definitely research it if you are interested in that sort of thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indianapolis_(CA-35) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indianapolis_(CA-35) Bataan Death March, Rape of Nanking, most of WWI, all pretty gruesome and what humanity is capable of pretty quickly.

Sniffnoy 9y ago
If you read the relevant part of the Wikipedia article, that's not actually true: > In the first official statement, the Navy said that distress calls "were keyed by radio operators and possibly were actually transmitted" but that "no evidence has been developed that any distress message from the ship was received by any ship, aircraft or shore station."[22] Declassified records later showed that three stations received the signals; however, none acted upon the call. One commander was drunk, another had ordered his men not to disturb him and a third thought it was a Japanese trap.[23] It looks like nobody noticing the sinking until a plane saw the survivors floating in the water was not due to any secrecy requirements, but rather due to four people screwing up simultaneously (the fourth being Lieutenant Stuart Gibson, who didn't notify anyone when he noticed the ship was overdue).
- Spooky23 9y ago
  A big part of the silence is that circumstances of the sinking is that it would challenge the perception of the Navy and military in general. It's an amazing feat that the wartime was able to run as well and successfully as it did. That said, there were plenty of idiots, drunks and dysfunction all over the place.
  - dba7dba 9y ago
    Major Winters of the Band of Brothers fame was originally in the army as an enlisted man. But while in basic training he witnessed an army officer giving a presentation while holding a wrong rifle for an hour. So he realized maybe being an officer would not be so hard after all and applied to be an officer. The rest is history.
dba7dba 9y ago
Very very few knew what an atomic bomb was at that time. I'm pretty sure even the captain of the ship didnt know exactly what he was really carrying.
- rangibaby 9y ago
  Reminds me of where the word "tank" came from.
  - throwaway7645 9y ago
    Had to look at the Wikipedia page under etymology. I got the gist at least. They didn't want to call it a land cruiser or landship due to secrecy, so were trying to bill it as a machine for carrying water. Water Carrier would give their committee the same initials as essentially the British word for toilet, so they changed it to tank supply as in water tank.

jhbadger 9y ago

"If you haven't heard of the Indianapolis, that's the whole point" says the narrator. Like people haven't seen "Jaws" and remember the whole "like doll's eyes" speech from Quint.

rl3 9y ago

An excellent resource on the incident itself and the aftermath: http://www.ussindianapolis.org/ http://www.ussindianapolis.org/ The Indianapolis had delivered its atomic cargo four days prior to its sinking. Presumably there wasn't anything sensitive or environmentally hazardous left on board. Had there been, I suspect the wreck would have been located much sooner.

jacquesm 9y ago
Unfortunate timing.
Retric 9y ago
It takes a lot to do environmental harm when your 3.4 miles under water. Even if the bomb pices where left it would not have been a significant environmental issue.
imglorp 9y ago
That delivery mission itself was probably a fascinating story. One can only suppose the captain's orders were to deliver this thing in a box, but avoid it being captured at all costs, including the ship and all hands if necessary.

mchannon 9y ago

Epilogue from the excellent but dated documentary on the site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Scott https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Scott did get the captain exonerated. He is now (or at least recently) a naval aviator. No word of any movie yet.

indescions_2017 9y ago

What a legendary find! And 18,000 feet deep has to be near record. Titanic two miles below to put it in perspective. And what a mission. Highest ultra top secret. With the eventual outcomes of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the unconditional surrender of Japanese forces. U.S. Navy treating it as a "sunken war grave." Echoes of Henry V's St Crispin's Day Speech and it's lines: "From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be rememberèd" And also the inspiration for the best ten pages in screen writing history ;) The Indianapolis Speech By Robert Shaw In Jaws (1975) https://neilchughes.com/2013/03/10/the-indianapolis-speech-by-robert-shaw-in-jaws-1975/ https://neilchughes.com/2013/03/10/the-indianapolis-speech-b...

quakeguy 9y ago
Direct link for all you wanting to see that speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9S41Kplsbs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9S41Kplsbs I've seen that movie quite a few times, but this scene always gets me like its the first.
pouetpouet 9y ago
I had trouble understanding what's more impressive 18000 feet or 2 miles. 5,4km vs the titanic 3,8km deep
- petepete 9y ago
  You're not alone. Even here in the UK we measure distances on road signs in miles but I have no idea how many feet, furlongs, yards or shackles are in a mile.
  - jacobush 9y ago
    How many fortnights to the furlong do you get on that thing?