Built as a cruiser under yard No 399 by the New York Shipbuilding, Camden, New Jersey for the USA Navy.
31 March 1930 keel laid down.
07 November 1931 launched as the USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-35) one of the Portland class.
Displacement 9,950 tons standard, 12,700 tons full load., dim. 185.9 x 20.1 x 5.28m. (draught).
Powered by four geared Parsons steam turbines, 107,000 shp, four shafts, speed 32.7 knots.
Armament 9 – 8 inch, 8 – 5 inch AA, 8 – 0.50 inch M.G.
Caried four floatplanes.
Crew in peace 629, during war 1,269.
15 November 1932 commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard under command Capt. John M. Smeallie.
Following shakedown in the Atlantic and Guantanamo Bay until 23 February 1932, INDIANAPOLIS trained in the Canal Zone and in Pacific off the Chilean coast. After overhaul at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the heavy cruisersailed to Maine to embark President Roosevelt at Campobello Island 1 July 1933. Getting underway the same day, INDIANAPOLIS arrived Annapolis 2 days later where she entertained six members of the cabinet. After disembarking the President, she departed Annapolis 4 July, and returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
On 6 September, Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson broke his flag
in INDIANAPOLIS for an inspection tour of the Pacific, visiting the
Canal Zone, Hawaii, and the fleet in the San Pedro-San Diego area. He
debarked at San Diego 27 October, and INDIANAPOLIS became flagship of
the Scouting Force 1 November 1933. Following maneuvers off the West
Coast, she departed Long Beach, Calif., 9 April 1934 and arrived New
York City 29 May. There she again embarked the President and his party
for a review of the Fleet. She arrived Long Beach 9 November 1934 for
tactical war problem with the Scouting Fleet.
INDIANAPOLIS acted as flagship for the remainder of her peacetime
career, and again welcomed President Roosevelt at Charleston, S.C., 18
November 1936 for a "Good-Neighbor" cruise to South America. After
carrying President Roosevelt to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and
Montevideo for state visits, she returned to Charleston 15 December
where the presidential party left the ship.
As international tension built up during ensuing years and the United
States girded to meet aggression, the heavy cruiser's intensified
training program fused ship and crew into a fighting machine of high
efficiency ready to defend the Nation from any enemy who might attack.
When Japanese bombs struck Pearl Harbor, INDIANAPOLIS, then making a
simulated bombardment of Johnston Island, immediately joined Task Force
12 and searched for Japanese carriers reportedly still in the vicinity.
She arrived Pearl Harbor 13 December and entered Task Force 11 for
operations against the enemy.
Her first action came in the South Pacific deep in enemy-dominated
waters about 350 miles south of Rabaul, New Britain. Late in the
afternoon of 20 February 1942, the American ships were attacked by 18
twin-engined bombers, flying in 2 waves. In the battle that followed, 16 of the planes were shot down by accurate antiaircraft fire of the ships and fighter planes from LEXINGTON. All ships escaped damage and they splashed two trailing Japanese seaplanes.
On 10 March the Task Force, reinforced by carrier YORKTOWN, attacked
enemy ports at Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea, where the enemy was
marshalling amphibious forces. Carrier-based planes achieved complete
surprise by flying in from the south, crossing the high Owen Stanley
mountain range, and swooping in to strike Japanese harbor shipping. As
they inflicted heavy damage on Japanese warships and transports, the
American flyers knocked down many of the enemy planes which rose to
protect the ports. American losses were exceptionally light.
INDIANAPOLIS then returned to the United States for overhaul and
alterations in the Mare Island Navy Yard. Reinvigorated, INDIANAPOLIS
escorted a convoy to Australia, then headed for the North Pacific where
Japanese landings in the Aleutians had created a precarious situation.
The weather along this barren chain of islands is noted for continuous
coldness; persistent and unpredictable fogs; constant rain, snow, and
sleet; and sudden storms with violent winds and heavy seas.
By 7 August, the task force to which INDIANAPOLIS was attached finally
found an opening in the thick fog which hid the Japanese stronghold at
Kiska Island, and imperiled ships in the treacherous and partially
uncharted nearby coasts. INDIANAPOLIS' 8-inch guns opened up along with
those of the other ships. Although fog hindered observation, scout
planes flown from the cruisers reported seeing ships sinking in the
harbor and fires burning among shore installations. So complete was the
tactical surprise that it was 15 minutes before shore batteries began to answer; and some of them fired into the air, believing they were being bombed. Most of them were silenced by accurate gunnery from the ships.
Japanese submarines then appeared but were promptly depth-charged by
American destroyers. Japanese seaplanes also made an ineffective bombing attack. The operation was considered a success despite the scanty information on its results. It also demonstrated the necessity of obtaining bases nearer the Japanese-held islands. Consequently, U.S.
forces occupied the island of Adak later in the month, providing a base
suitable for surface craft and planes further along the island chain
from Dutch Harbor.
In January 1943, INDIANAPOLIS supported the U.S. occupation of Amchitka, which gave us another base in the Aleutians.
On the night of 19 February 1943, while INDIANAPOLIS and two destroyers
patrolled southwest of Attu, hoping to intercept enemy ships running
reinforcements and supplies into Kiska and Attu, she contacted a
Japanese cargo ship, AKAGANE MARU. When challenged, the enemy tried to
feign a reply but was shelled by INDIANAPOLIS' 8-inch guns. Since the
AKAGANE MARU exploded with great force and left no survivors, she was presumably laden with ammunition.
Throughout the spring and summer of 1943, INDIANAPOLIS operated in
Aleutian waters escorting American convoys and covering amphibious
assaults. In May the Navy took Attu, the first territory stolen by the
Japanese to be reconquered by the United States. After Attu was
proclaimed secure, the U.S. forces focused their attention on Kiska, the last enemy stronghold in the Aleutians However, the Japanese managed to evacuate their entire garrison under cover of persistent, thick fog before our landings there 15 August.
After refitting at Mare Island, the ship next moved to Hawaii where she
became flagship of Vice Admiral Spruance commanding the 5th Fleet. She
sortied from Pearl Harbor 10 November with the main body of the Southern Attack Force of the Assault Force for Operation "Galvanic," the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. On 19 November 1943, INDIANAPOLIS, in a force of cruisers bombarded Tarawa and next day pounded Makin. The ship then returned to Tarawa and acted as a fire-support ship for the landings.
That day her guns splashed an enemy plane and shelled enemy strong
points as valiant landing parties struggled against fanatical Japanese
defenders in an extremely bloody and costly battle. She continued this
role until the leveled island was declared secure 3 days later.
The conquest of the Marshall Islands followed hard on victory in the
Gilberts. INDIANAPOLIS was again 5th Fleet Flagship. She rendezvoused
with other ships of her task force at Tarawa, and on D-Day minus 1, 31
January 1944, she was a unit of the cruiser group which bombarded the
islands of Kwajalein Atoll. The shelling continued on D-Day with
INDIANAPOLIS silencing two enemy shore batteries. Next day she
obliterated a block-house and other shore installations and supported
advancing troops with a creeping barrage. The ship entered Kwajalein
Lagoon 4 February and remained until all resistance disappeared.
During March and April of 194, INDIANAPOLIS, still flagship of the 5th
Fleet, attacked the Western Carolines Carrier planes struck at the Palau
Islands 30-31 March with shipping as their primary target. They sank 3
destroyers, 17 freighters, 5 oilers and damaged 17 other ships. In
addition, airfields were bombed and surrounding waters mined to
immobilize enemy ships. Yap and Ulithi were struck on the 31st and
Woleai on 1 April. During these 3 days, enemy planes attacked the U.S.
fleet but ere driven off without damaging the American ships.
INDIANAPOLIS shot down her second plane, a torpedo bomber, and the enemy
lost 160 planes in all, including 46 destroyed on the ground. These
attacks successfully prevented enemy forces from the Carolines from
interfering with the U.S. landings on New Guinea.
During June, the 5th Fleet was busy with the Marianas assault, raids on
Saipan which began with carrier-based planes on the 11th followed by
surface bombardment, in which INDIANAPOLIS had a major role, from 13
June. On D-Day 15 June. Admiral Spruance received reports that a large fleet of battleships, carriers, cruisers, and destroyers was
headed south to relieve their threatened garrisons in the Marianas.
Since amphibious operations at Saipan had to be protected at all costs,
Admiral Spruance could not draw his powerful surface units too far from
the scene. Consequently, a fast carrier force was sent to meet this
threat while another force attacked Japanese air bases on Iwo Jima and
Chichi Jima in the Bonin and Volcano Islands-bases for dangerous
potential enemy air attacks.
A combined fleet met the enemy on 19 June in the Battle of the
Philippine Sea. Enemy carrier planes, which hoped to use the airfields
of Guam and Tinian to refuel and rearm and attack our off-shore
shipping, were met by carrier planes and the guns of the escorting
ships. That day the Navy destroyed 402 enemy planes while losing only 17 of her own. INDIANAPOLIS, which had operated with the force which struck Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima, shot down one torpedo plane This famous day's work became known throughout the fleet as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot."
With enemy air opposition wiped out, the U.S. carrier planes pursued and sank two enemy carriers, two destroyers, and one tanker and inflicted severe damage on other ships. INDIANAPOLIS returned to Saipan on 23 June to resume fire support there and 6 days later moved to Tinian to smash shore installations. Meanwhile, Guam had been taken, and INDIANAPOLIS was the first ship to enter Apra Harbor since that American base had fallen early in the war. The ship operated in the Marianas area for the net few weeks, then moved to the Western Carolines where further landings were planned. From 12 to 29 September she bombarded the Island of Peleliu in the Palau Group, both before and after the landings. She then sailed to Manus in the Admiralty Islands where she operated for 10 days before returning to the Mare Island Navy Yard.
Overhauled, INDIANAPOLIS joined Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitscher's fast
carrier task force on 14 February 1945 2 days before it made the first
attack on Tokyo since General Doolittle's famous raid in April 1942. The operation covered American landings on Iwo Jima, scheduled for 19
February 1945 by destroying Japanese air facilities and other
installations in the "Home Islands". Complete tactical surprise was
achieved by approaching the Japanese coast under cover of bad weather,
and attacks were pressed home for 2 days. On 16 and 17 February, the
American Navy lost 49 carrier planes while shooting down or destroying
on the ground 499 enemy planes. Besides this 10-to-1 edge in aircraft
victories, Mitscher's Force sank a carrier, 9 coastal ships, a destroyer, 2 destroyer escorts, and a cargo ship. Moreover, they wrecked hangers, shops, aircraft installations, factories, and other industrial targets. Throughout the action, INDIANAPOLIS played her vital role of support ship.
Immediately after the strikes, the Task Force raced to the Bonins to
support the landings on Iwo Jima. The ship remained there until 1 March, aiding in the bloody struggle for that little island by protecting the invasion ships and training her guns on any targets spotted on the beach. The ship returned to Admiral Mitscher's Task Force in time to strike Tokyo again on 25 February and Hachijo off the Honshu the following day. Although weather was extremely bad, the
Americans destroyed 158 planes and sank 5 small ships while pounding
ground installations and demolishing trains.
A large base close to the home islands was needed to press the attack,
and Okinawa in the Ryukyus seemed ideal for the part. To capture it with minimum losses, airfields in southern Japan had to be pounded were incapable of launching effective airborne opposition to the impending invasion.
INDIANAPOLIS, with the fast carrier force, departed Ulithi 14 March
1945, and proceeded toward the Japanese coast. On 18 March, from a
position 100 miles southeast of Kyushu, the flat-tops launched strikes
against airfields on the island, ships of the Japanese fleet in the
harbors of Kobe and Kure on southern Honshu. After locating the American Task Force 21 March. Japan sent 48 planes to attack the ships, but 24 planes from the carriers intercepted the enemy aircraft some 60 miles away. At the end of the battle, every one of the enemy planes was in the sea.
Preinvasion bombardment of Okinawa began 4 March and for 7 days
INDIANAPOLIS poured 8-inch shells into the beach defenses. Meanwhile,
enemy aircraft repeatedly attacked the ships; and INDIANAPOLIS shot down six planes and assisted in splashing two others. On 31 March, the day before the invasion, the ship's sky lookouts spotted a Japanese single-engined fighter plane as it emerged from the morning twilight and roared at the bridge in a vertical dive. The ship's 20-millimeter fire, but less than 15 seconds after it was potted the plane was over
the ship. Tracer shells crashed into the plane, causing it to swerve;
but the enemy pilot managed to release his bomb from a height of 25 feet and crash his plane on the port side of the after main deck. The plane toppled into the sea, causing little damage; but the bomb plummeted through the deck armor, the crew's mess hall, the berthing compartment below, and the fuel tanks still lower before crashing through the bottom of the ship and exploding in the water under the ship. The concussion blew two gaping holes in the ship bottom and flooded compartments in the area, killing nine crewmen. Although INDIANAPOLIS settled slightly by the stern and listed to port, there was no progressive flooding; and the plucky cruiser steamed to a salvage ship for emergency repairs. Here, inspection revealed that her propeller shafts were damaged, her fuel tanks ruptured, her water-distilling equipment ruined; nevertheless, the battle-proud cruiser made the long trip across the Pacific to the Mare Island Navy Yard under her own power.
After repairs and overhaul, INDIANAPOLIS received orders to proceed at
high speed to Tinian, carrying parts and nuclear material to be used in
the atomic bombs which were soon to be dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Due to the urgency of her mission, INDIANAPOLIS departed San
Francisco on 16 July, foregoing her postrepair shake-down period.
Touching at Pearl Harbor 1 July, she raced on unescorted and arrived
Tinian 26 July, having set a record in covering some 5000 miles from San Francisco in only 10 days.
After delivering her top-secret cargo at Tinian, INDIANAPOLIS was
dispatched to Guam where she disembarked men and reported for onward
routine to Leyte From there she was to report to Vice Adm. Jesse B.
Oldendorf for further duty off Okinawa. Departing Guam 28 July,
INDIANAPOLIS proceeded by a direct route unescorted. Early in the
morning, 12:15 a.m., 30 July i945, 2 heavy explosions occurred against
her starboard side forward, and she capsized and sank in 12 minutes, at
12 degrees 02 minutes N., 134 degrees 48 minutes E. INDIANAPOLIS had
been hit by two torpedoes from Japanese submarine I-58, Commander
Machitsura Hashimoto in command. The seas had been moderate; the
visibility, good, INDIANAPOLIS had been steaming at 17 knots. When the
ship did not reach Leyte on the 31st, as scheduled, no report was made
that she was overdue. This omission was due to a misunderstanding of the Movement Report System. Thus it was not until 1025 on 2 August that the survivors were sighted, mostly held afloat by life jackets, although there were a few rafts which had been cut loose before the ship went down. They were sighted by a plane on routine patrol; the pilot immediately dropped a life raft and a radio transmitter. All air and surface units capable of rescue operations were dispatched to the scene at once, and the surrounding waters were thoroughly searched for
survivors.
Upon completion of rescue operations, 8 August, a radius of 100 miles
had been combed by day and by night, saving 316 of the crew of 1,199
men.
Captain Charles B. McVay, III, UN, commanding officer of INDIANAPOLIS at the time of her sinking, was vindicated from any blame concerned with the loss of his ship. All personnel involved in the failure to report the ship's absence from Leyte were also exonerated after all the evidence had been carefully weighed.
Traditionally the flagship of the powerful 5th Fleet, she had served
with honor from Pearl Harbor through the last campaign of the war and
had gone down in action a scant two weeks before the war's end.
INDIANAPOLIS earned 10 battle stars for World War II service.
On 19 August 2017, a search team financed by Paul Allen located the wreckage of the sunken cruiser in the Philippine Sea lying at a depth of approximately 18,000 ft (5,500 m). On 20 December 2018, the crew of the Indianapolis was collectively awarded a Congressional Gold Medal
Kiribati 1993 23c sg408, scott611c
Source: Taken from Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.