Wreckage of U.S.S. Indianapolis, Lost for 72 Years, Is Found in the Pacific

joseephuss

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/world/asia/uss-indianapolis-paul-allen.html

Wreckage of U.S.S. Indianapolis, Lost for 72 Years, Is Found in the Pacific

In the 72 years since the Indianapolis, a United States Navy cruiser, sank about 12 minutes after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, the disaster has inspired controversy, dozens of books, a play and a famous scene in “Jaws.”

But the resting place of the Indianapolis had remained a mystery.

That was until Saturday, when a team led by Paul G. Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, announced that it had found unmistakable wreckage of the Indianapolis 18,000 feet deep in the Philippine Sea, rekindling memories of the Navy’s worst disaster at sea.

“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,” Mr. Allen said in a statement on his website.
 

diefree666

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Whoever ordered the Indianapolis to set sail without any escort should have been not only court martialed but executed along with anyone that agreed with him. A lone ship is incredibly vulnerable during war. Even a destroyer or anti submarine ship when alone was in danger; and that had been shown numerous times during the war.
 
Melonfeud

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Well, it's well over 3 miles down,,, may She and her unfortunate crew not be forgotten and let them rest in peace!

There's been reports of a couple of WWII British warships and a dutch one also of 'disappearing' from their resting sites,,, due to pirate Salvage operations,,, apparently non irradiated steel has certain uses and these were made and sunk before nuclear testing/use,,, which I've been led to believe all steel manufactured since carries trace amounts of radioactivity
 
joseephuss

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This article from a few years back was a good piece about the Indianapolis:

http://www.realcleardefense.com/art...agic_fate_of_the_uss_indianapolis_108313.html



In other words, when the Japanese submarine came across the unescorted Indianapolis, the ship’s fate was essentially sealed. McVay was convicted on the zigzagging count anyway. The court sentenced him to a reduction in rank, essentially ending his Navy career.

The following year, after becoming chief of naval operations, Adm. Nimitz countermanded this result by setting aside the sentence and promoting McVay to rear admiral upon his retirement.

But why was his career ruined at all? One explanation is that the officers who engineered the court-martial -- some of whom testified at the trial -- were covering up their own mistakes. McVay had asked for, and been denied, a destroyer escort. He had also been told by other officers that there was a low probability of running into a Japanese submarine. Actually, the Navy knew an enemy sub was lurking in the area because the Americans had broken the Japanese code. But this was a closely held secret. Too closely, for the good of the Indianapolis and its crew.

Moreover, the Indy’s entire mission had been so top secret that normal protocols do not seem to have been followed. There were breakdowns after she was torpedoed, too. The Indy had managed to send out one distress signal before it sank, but this SOS had been inexplicably ignored by three other U.S. vessels. In other words, there was plenty of basis for pointing fingers of blame, just not at Capt. McVay.

A common suspicion among the ship’s survivors is that their skipper’s court-martial was an exercise in public relations-type damage control. For one thing, the Navy didn’t even announce the sinking of the ship for two weeks, and did so the day Japan surrendered.
Click to expand...
 
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Longboysfan

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joseephuss said:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/world/asia/uss-indianapolis-paul-allen.html

Wreckage of U.S.S. Indianapolis, Lost for 72 Years, Is Found in the Pacific

In the 72 years since the Indianapolis, a United States Navy cruiser, sank about 12 minutes after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, the disaster has inspired controversy, dozens of books, a play and a famous scene in “Jaws.”

But the resting place of the Indianapolis had remained a mystery.

That was until Saturday, when a team led by Paul G. Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, announced that it had found unmistakable wreckage of the Indianapolis 18,000 feet deep in the Philippine Sea, rekindling memories of the Navy’s worst disaster at sea.

“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,” Mr. Allen said in a statement on his website.
Click to expand...


Not the worst.

They doing research on the Juneau.

Even bigger cover up by the Navy.
 
Melonfeud

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hipfake08 said:
Not the worst.

They doing research on the Juneau.

Even bigger cover up by the Navy.
Click to expand...
hipfake08 said:
Not the worst.

They doing research on the Juneau.

Even bigger cover up by the Navy.
Click to expand...
:huh: I've got "light cruiser commissioned early 1946 saw combat Korea ,,, sold off as scrap in 1962" ,,, what's up with your angle hippie fake 8?o_O
 
Longboysfan

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No - Ran out of Brooklyn Navy yard - Sent right into south pacific.
Sunk off Guadalcanal.

My uncle went down with the ship.
12 survived.

180 or so plus left on rafts after the sinking.
Navy never went back for them even though they knew they were there.
 

diefree666

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Melonfeud said:
:huh: I've got "light cruiser commissioned early 1946 saw combat Korea ,,, sold off as scrap in 1962" ,,, what's up with your angle hippie fake 8?o_O
Click to expand...

the original Juneau was built pre war; anti aircraft light cruiser armed with nothing but 5" 38's instead of 6 inchers. Very small ship for a cruiser in the US Navy. She was a little top heavy and the later ships had the two side turrets removed. That class was also the only cruisers the US had that were equipped with both torpedo tubes and depth charges. In a lot of ways they were overgrown destroyers.
Crew of 672 though that might not be the total that was on her at the time of her sinking.

Right after the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal Nov 13 (called Black Friday ever since in the US Navy) it was hit by one long lance and maybe two and simply disintegrated. With so many badly damaged ships the senior captain (both admirals had been killed in the battle) had all he could do to not only take care of his ship but get the others out of there before Japanese aircraft could come after them.

Basically the Juneau was kind of forgotten since it got hit outside of the battle area and was not searched for as well.

And to be blunt everyone that saw it go up figured there were no survivors anyway. Like the Hood going up and only having 3.

However there were at least 100 but in the end only 2 were recovered. 8 days after the sinking. The Captain of the Helena was relieved because of this which was BS but someone had to be the scapegoat. I personally think it was just the fact that at that time things were so confused and so tense in that area that nothing would surprise me. And while Halsey was very aggressive and did a good job there his staff was frankly not very good and his COS was a true headcase. HE was the one that pushed for the Captain of the Helena to be relieved.
 
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