Wreckage of U.S.S. Indianapolis Found

The ship was sunk upon its return trip from Tinian by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945.  Because of its secret mission, there was no immediate notice of its sinking and the survivors were left in sharp infested waters where sharks feasted on the floating sailors. It was a tragedy captured famously in the movie “Jaws.”

 

The tragedy continued as Navy brass tried to pin the disaster on the captain with a court martial.  Charles B. McVay III was the first captain in history to be subject to a court martial for losing a ship sunk by an act of war.  He was accused of failing to zig zag even thought he Japanese commander who sank his ship said that such a tactic would not have changed the outcome.  He was convicted but the sentence was overturned by Secretary James Forrestal and he was promoted to rear admiral when he retired from the navy in 1949. However, he was plagued by letters and attacks from the families of the deceased crew.  On November 6, 1968, he committed suicide with his service revolver in the front yard of his home  in LitchfieldConnecticut. 

Here is the evidence posted by Allen:

 

 

 

12 thoughts on “Wreckage of U.S.S. Indianapolis Found”

  1. AND Forestal also killed himself ….but by jumping out a high story window. Probably once he learned he had been just a pawn who unwittingly betrayed his nation.

  2. The said thing about this tragedy is that the biggest share of the SNAFU rested with the Navy itself, but the Navy pinned it all on the captain.

  3. I really am not sure how I feel about finding the Indianapolis. I hope they leave it as a graveyard and don’t try to raise it. The sinking and what happened to the sailors has always haunted me.

    1. It’s deep enough that, for the foreseeable future, it will probably be left alone.

      1. Jay S – well, Ballard hauled up large sections of the Titanic for his displays across the country.

  4. There is a movie directly based on the sinking and the aftermath. Late night TV stuff.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks
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