On This Day In 1945

[PAUL161]

The USS Indianoplis was sunk in the South Pacific by a torpedo. 1196 were lost and only 317 survived. Another rememberance that should never be forgotten!

View attachment 59863

 

[NutmegCT]

Paul - remember what the Indianapolis had carried from the USA to Tinian, just a few days earlier?

PS - I think 300 went down with the ship, and over 1000 survived, but in miserable conditions without food or water. Rescue didn't occur for four days.

Tom M.

 

[PAUL161]

Yes Tom, Pretty sure it was the "Little Boy". She was a fast ship in her day, probably the reason they chose her for the mission I believe. Being only 7 years old at the time, remembering radio broadcasts are nil. News of the war was the only thing played on the radio at the time.

 

[YakkoWarner]

An interesting subnote to this - my father was very much a history buff for US WWII activities having grown up being a bit too young to enlist but witnessing all the home front activity first hand. Even he had not known about the sinking of the Indianapolis for many years until it was briefly mentioned by a character in one of the JAWS movies - at that point he started researching it and dicovered the whole story that apparently is still mostly unknown.

 

[NutmegCT]

The discovery of the USS Indianapolis, 2017.

https://news.usni.org/2017/08/23/na...age-well-preserved-depth-undersea-environment

 

[PAUL161]

I guess the reason she wasn't found for so many years is she lays silently at rest 18,000 feet down. As a tribute to the crew that served on her and died with her, I hope she remains that way, undisturbed.