The Ship the World Forgot: The USS Indianapolis Story

On July 30, 1945, just days after delivering parts of the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima, the USS Indianapolis was struck by two Japanese torpedoes. She sank in 12 minutes. Nearly 900 men made it into the water. With almost no lifeboats, no fresh water and sharks circling, they waited for rescue. But no one knew they were missing. Four days later, when a patrol plane spotted them by pure accident, only 316 were still alive. This is the story of the greatest single loss of life at sea in U.S. Navy history, the secret mission behind it, the rescue that came by chance, and the captain who was blamed for it all. 0:00 Just after midnight 0:49 The USS Indianapolis 2:35 The secret cargo 3:56 Sailing alone 4:58 The torpedoes 6:19 The first night 7:31 Days in the water 8:19 Why no one came 8:55 The rescue 10:42 The survivors 11:16 The court-martial 12:20 Justice for Captain McVay 13:27 The wreck is found Subscribe to Archive Room for more forgotten stories from history. Image credits: Photos courtesy of the U.S. Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command and the U.S. National Archives (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons. Oceanic whitetip shark photo by Polygonia c-album, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Survivors photo courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. #ussindianapolis #ww2 #history #documentary #navy