1945 : USS Indianapolis bombed
On this day in 1945, the USS Indianapolis is torpedoed by a Japanese
submarine and sinks within minutes in shark-infested waters. Only 317
of the 1,196 men on board survived. However, the Indianapolis had
already completed its major mission: the delivery of key components of
the atomic bomb that would be dropped a week later at Hiroshima to
Tinian Island in the South Pacific.
The Indianapolis made its delivery to Tinian Island on July 26, 1945.
The mission was top secret and the ship's crew was unaware of its
cargo. After leaving Tinian, the Indianapolis sailed to the U.S.
military's Pacific headquarters at Guam and was given orders to meet
the battleship USS Idaho at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines to prepare
for the invasion of Japan.
Shortly after midnight on July 30, halfway between Guam and Leyte
Gulf, a Japanese sub blasted the Indianapolis, sparking an explosion
that split the ship and caused it to sink in approximately 12 minutes,
with about 300 men trapped inside. Another 900 went into the water,
where many died from drowning, shark attacks, dehydration or injuries
from the explosion. Help did not arrive until four days later, on
August 2, when an anti-submarine plane on routine patrol happened upon
the men and radioed for assistance.
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan, inflicting nearly 130,000 casualties and destroying
more than 60 percent of the city. On August 9, a second atomic bomb
was dropped on Nagasaki, where casualties were estimated at over
66,000. Meanwhile, the U.S. government kept quiet about the
Indianapolis tragedy until August 15 in order to guarantee that the
news would be overshadowed by President Harry Truman's announcement
that Japan had surrendered.
In the aftermath of the events involving the Indianapolis, the ship's
commander, Captain Charles McVay, was court-martialed in November 1945
for failing to sail a zigzag course that would have helped the ship to
evade enemy submarines in the area. McVay, the only Navy captain
court-martialed for losing a ship during the war, committed suicide in
1968. Many of his surviving crewmen believed the military had made him
a scapegoat. In 2000, 55 years after the Indianapolis went down,
Congress cleared McVay's name.
history.com/tdih.do
1619 : First legislative assembly in America
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5219
1898 : Henry Moore born
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6974
1966 : England wins World Cup
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5220
1974 : Watergate affair approaches climax
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5221
##########################################
On this day in 1945, the USS Indianapolis is torpedoed by a Japanese
submarine and sinks within minutes in shark-infested waters. Only 317
of the 1,196 men on board survived. However, the Indianapolis had
already completed its major mission: the delivery of key components of
the atomic bomb that would be dropped a week later at Hiroshima to
Tinian Island in the South Pacific.
The Indianapolis made its delivery to Tinian Island on July 26, 1945.
The mission was top secret and the ship's crew was unaware of its
cargo. After leaving Tinian, the Indianapolis sailed to the U.S.
military's Pacific headquarters at Guam and was given orders to meet
the battleship USS Idaho at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines to prepare
for the invasion of Japan.
Shortly after midnight on July 30, halfway between Guam and Leyte
Gulf, a Japanese sub blasted the Indianapolis, sparking an explosion
that split the ship and caused it to sink in approximately 12 minutes,
with about 300 men trapped inside. Another 900 went into the water,
where many died from drowning, shark attacks, dehydration or injuries
from the explosion. Help did not arrive until four days later, on
August 2, when an anti-submarine plane on routine patrol happened upon
the men and radioed for assistance.
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan, inflicting nearly 130,000 casualties and destroying
more than 60 percent of the city. On August 9, a second atomic bomb
was dropped on Nagasaki, where casualties were estimated at over
66,000. Meanwhile, the U.S. government kept quiet about the
Indianapolis tragedy until August 15 in order to guarantee that the
news would be overshadowed by President Harry Truman's announcement
that Japan had surrendered.
In the aftermath of the events involving the Indianapolis, the ship's
commander, Captain Charles McVay, was court-martialed in November 1945
for failing to sail a zigzag course that would have helped the ship to
evade enemy submarines in the area. McVay, the only Navy captain
court-martialed for losing a ship during the war, committed suicide in
1968. Many of his surviving crewmen believed the military had made him
a scapegoat. In 2000, 55 years after the Indianapolis went down,
Congress cleared McVay's name.
history.com/tdih.do
1619 : First legislative assembly in America
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5219
1898 : Henry Moore born
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6974
1966 : England wins World Cup
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5220
1974 : Watergate affair approaches climax
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5221
##########################################
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