Ships · United States · 1932-1945
USS Indianapolis (CA-35)
heavy cruiser
Indianapolis delivered components of the Little Boy atomic bomb to Tinian in July 1945 on a top-secret unescorted run, then was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine days later while returning to the Philippines. Roughly 300 men went down with the ship; the nearly 900 who got clear spent four days and five nights in shark-infested open water, and only 316 were still alive when rescue reached them, the worst loss of life at sea from a single ship in US Navy history.
| crew | ~1,200 |
|---|---|
| displacement | 9,950 tons (standard) |
| armament | 9x 8in guns |
| fate | sunk by I-58, 30 July 1945 |
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