USS INDIANAPOLIS
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour on 7th December, 1941, the heavy cruiser Indianapolis was undergoing training exercises close to Hawaii. Returning immediately to Pearl Harbour, the cruiser joined Task Force 11. In early 1942, Indianapolis sailed with the carrier USS Lexington and conducted raids in the Southwest Pacific against Japanese bases on New Guinea. Ordered to Mare Island, California for an overhaul, the cruiser returned to action on 7th August, 1942 and joined US forces operating in the Aleutians.
Remaining in northern waters, the cruiser sank a Japanese cargo ship on 19th February, 1943. That summer, Indianapolis supported US troops as they recaptured islands in the Aleutians. Following another refit at Mare Island, Indianapolis arrived at Pearl Harbour and was made flagship of Vice Admiral Raymond Spruance's 5th Fleet, providing fire support as US Marines prepared to land on Tarawa.
Following the US advance across the central Pacific, Indianapolis saw further action and supported US air strikes across the western Carolines. In 1944, the 5th Fleet provided support for the invasion of the Marianas and Saipan and bombarded Iwo Jima. Indianapolis then took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, before being sent to aid in the invasion of Peleliu that September.
After a brief refit at Mare Island, the cruiser joined Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher's fast carrier task force on 14th February, 1945. Steaming south, they aided in the landings on Iwo Jima. On 24th March, 1945, Indianapolis took part in the bombardment of Okinawa. A week later, the cruiser was hit by a kamikaze plane while off the island. Hitting Indianapolis' stern, the kamikaze penetrated through the ship's upper deck and exploded. After making temporary repairs, the cruiser limped home to Mare Island and underwent extensive repair to the damage, only emerging from dry dock in July 1945.
The U.S.S. Indianapolis was destined to play a pivotal role in the ending of World War Two. Due to the ship's great speed as well as its proximity to Los Alamos, New Mexico (the location of the Manhattan Project), the Indianapolis was selected for a top-secret mission. She was tasked with transporting from San Francisco to the island of Tinian in the Marianas, a vital, piece of uranium 235, encased in a lead cylinder. The uranium was the catalyst for the reaction of the atomic bomb destined for Hiroshima. Three smaller parts had already been delivered, each on a different aircraft. Any one of the smaller parts would be enough to prime the bomb but the larger piece was essential for effective detonation.
In the very early morning hours of 16th July 1945, shrouded in security and secrecy, but with a huge assembly of Admirals, Generals and many technicians at pier-side looking on, the atom bomb components were loaded aboard Indianapolis. Several large wooden crates were stowed in one of the ship's hangars, and placed under guard. Orders were given that should the ship come under attack and considered endangered, the crates were to be immediately thrown over the side. Even given the strangeness of this particular order, the nature of the cargo itself was kept secret from all aboard including Indianapolis' commander; Captain Charles McVay. Indianapolis sailed into history on that fateful morning.
The heavy cruiser steamed out of San Francisco Bay just after dawn on 16th July, 1945, wrapped in a heavy cloak of secrecy and headed for the Pacific Island of Tinian where American B-29 bombers were based. On board were some of the atomic bomb technicians.
She steamed at high speed, unescorted, to the island, making record time by covering the 5 000 miles in ten days, which included a stop at Pearl Harbour for replenishment. She unloaded her lethal cargo on 26th July. Her mission accomplished, the warship, with one thousand, one hundred and ninety seven men on board, then began a journey into Hell that would end with the worst naval disaster in U.S. history. On that same fateful morning, one of the newest, largest, and most technologically advanced attack submarines of the