INDIANAPOLIS found
On July 30, 1945, the Portland-class heavy cruiser USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-35) was returning from delivering parts for the “Little Boy” atomic bomb when it was struck by two torpedoes fired by the Japanese submarine I-58. The ship sank in about 12 minutes with about 300 crew members aboard. About 900 would survive the initial sinking, but by the time they were rescued, five days later, only 317 of the 1,119 total crew were recovered. The story of their survival was featured in the movie “Jaws”.
According to MSN, entrepreneur and billionaire Paul Allen claims to have found the wreckage of the INDIANAPOLIS 18,000 feet below the ocean’s surface.
“To be able to honor the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling,” Allen said in a statement. “As Americans, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the crew for their courage, persistence and sacrifice in the face of horrendous circumstances. While our search for the rest of the wreckage will continue, I hope everyone connected to this historic ship will feel some measure of closure at this discovery so long in coming.”
Allen’s team is still surveying the site of the wreckage and plans to conduct a live tour of the wreckage in the next few weeks. The crew is working with the Navy and plans to honor the remaining 22 USS Indianapolis crew members and families of crew members.
From Stars & Stripes;
While others have searched for Indianapolis in the past, the Navy release said Allen used a 250-foot R/V Petrel with state-of-the-art subsea equipment capable of diving to more than 19,600 feet.
The Navy said the exact location of the ship will remain confidential and restricted.
Category: Historical
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/uss-indianapolis-wreckage-found/
But…they delivered the Bomb.
The Navy said the exact location of the ship will remain confidential and restricted.
As it should be. Rest in peace.
at 18K there’s not much chance anyone is going to really do anything, even if the coordinates were released. Unless it sunk with an enormously valuable cargo it wouldn’t be practical to do anything with it.
Online ship tracking of the Petrel shows “out of range” in the middle of the south Pacific.
As much as the Titanic wreck has been picked over, that’s for the best. Let any official expeditions have Navy navigators aboard and escorts to keep the buzzards at bay.
Hopefully, this will bring some closure to the families that lost loved ones and those survivors that are still with us.
About a year ago there were reports of US Japanese,Dutch British and AustraliAn WwII wrecks (war graves) being illegally salvaged, and essentially disappearing. Has anyone heard of any progress in these investigations?
Looks like the locals have been scavenging the wrecks – some don’t even exist because of the scavenging.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/british-second-world-war-ships-illegal-scavenging-java-sea
HMAS Perth has been gutted by illegal salvage. She sank in water shallow enough that she was a hazard to navigation for deep-drafted ships. USS Houston, a couple miles away, is reportedly a little bit deeper, and apparently hasn’t been quite as ravaged as a result. Fucking buzzards.
Did some googling on WWII shipwreck illegal salvage. Some claim that it is a Chinese operation using a huge claw. The point of the salvage is to get pre atomic age steel for use in certain instruments or something. One salvage occurred near an Indonesian navy base and they should know. Probably bought off. If the host country cannot protect our navy should regularly patrol.
Rest in Peace, Sailors.
From looking at the pictures, it still looks to be in incredible shape.
What a beautiful ship.
Rest in Peace Sailors.
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
Godspeed, Indy.
The Captain’s son Kimo McVay,a Hawaii entertainment promoter and represenative, fought for years to have his fathers name cleared. A Courts Matrial had convicted him of the ships loss. He was finally exconerated just a few years ago, after the sons death. RIP to all of the Indy’sfamily.
Rest In Peace INDY and your BRAVE CREW. Any salvage from her wreck is, and should be deemed, “Desecration of a Grave”.
rip everyone! where is your fact checker? went down with 300 aboard 900 survive and so on. not a very good job with this story!
She delivered the bomb, not just parts.
That statement from the billionaire is probably the least sincere piece of garbage I’ve ever heard. He doesn’t give half a shit about the crew or the families. He’s in this for the fame.
And the idea of doing a “live tour of the wreckage” strikes me the same way a live tour of the wreckage off the Twin Towers would have in the days following 9/11.
I’m not all that thrilled that the USS Indianapolis has been found. She’s a tomb. A cemetery for a group of men who gave their lives for a mission they didn’t know was going to end the war, and bring so many more home alive.
Just like the Arizona….LEAVE HER BE!