USS Indianapolis - Guide 191
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- USS Indianapolis, a Portland class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, is today's subject.
Read more about the Indianapolis here:
www.amazon.co.uk/Indianapolis-Lynn-Vincent-ebook/dp/B074ZQSQQJ
www.amazon.co.uk/U-S-Cruisers-Illustrated-Design-History/dp/0870217186
www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Depths-Unforgettable-Survival-Indianapolis/dp/076421764X
www.amazon.co.uk/Harms-Way-Doug-Stanton/dp/0553813609
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Next on the list:
-Atago/Takao
-Midway class
-Graf Zeppelin
-Bathurst class
-RHS Queen Olga
-HMS Belfast
-HMS Caroline
-Aurora
-Imperator Nikolai I
-USS Helena
-USS Tennesse
-HMNZS New Zealand
-HMS Queen Mary
-USS Marblehead
-New York class
-L-20e
-Abdiel class
-Panserskib (Armoured ship) Rolf Krake
-HMS Victoria
-HMS Charybdis
-Eidsvold class
-IJN “Special” DD's
-SMS Emden
-Ships of Battle of Campeche
-USS England (DE-635)
-Tashkent
-1934A Class
-HMS Plym (K271)
-Siegfried class
Pinned post for Q&A :)
What ship had the most sails? What ship had the most square footage of sail? I separated the question for a bonus if it was two different ships.
I really enjoy your work, but its hard to understand the movements of the battles. Would you consider possibly some animation in the future? Thanks :)
I was watching the World of Warships live stream you were on and you mentioned backwards flying ALbacores please expand?
Which ships rivalries storeis do you like the most?
Such as USS Enterprise and the Shoukaku class and HMS Victorius and Tirpitz.
Why was Indianapolis repainted with a huge black belt covering half of her freeboard instead of sticking with some dazzle camouflage?
A PBY pilot named Robert Marks landed his plane against orders on the open sea to help rescue survivors. He and his crew pulled 56 survivors in a plane built for a crew of 5 or 6 and left as many supplies as he could for the others. Definitely agree with Drach, this particular ship, it’s crew, and its story deserves its own Wednesday special!
Here, here.. A Wednesday Rum-Ration special for the Indy and her gallant crew please and thank you..
@@ditzydoo4378 With plenty of rum (etc) to toast and pray for the victims of this terrible and completely unnecessary tradgedy.
@@johnbuchman4854 agreed.
That is ABSOLUTELY unbelievable! I've been in a PBY before and I can't fathom that many (injured no less!) people on board, much less taking off in open ocean with the extra weight. Once more reason I'm absolutely in love with the Cats, and to this day they don't get the recognition they deserve!
@@EstorilEm hmmm lets see now.. a PBY5A (more than likely the model used) has an Empty weight: 20,910 lb (9,485 kg)
Max safe takeoff weight: 35,420 lb (16,066 kg) This means the aircraft has 14,510 pounds allotted before reaching maximum safe take-off weight.
So If half that is in remaining fuel you'd still have 7,255 available lift potential.
So if the crew dumps all on board stores to include all gear and weapons and their mounts and ammunition we'll say you'd gain minimally an additional 2000 pounds or so of available cargo lifting capacity, for a total of 9,255 pounds available give, or take a few biscuits.
The average weight of the WWII era soldier/sailor/airman we'll was about we'll say 165 pounds. So 56 people x 165 equals 9240 pounds, that's dang close.
Rest in Peace, Captain McVay III. You didn't deserve all the hell you went through
It says a lot that the Captian of the Sub that sank him came to his defence and his two direct superors objected to the trail and yet the US Navy still set him up.
@@joshthomas-moore2656 at least he got exonerated, clearing his name
@@Big_E_Soul_Fragment Sadly not soon enough.
@@Big_E_Soul_Fragment not before he committed suicide after enduring years of harassment at the hands of the survivors of those who had died.
@@joshthomas-moore2656 when things like this happen, somebody has to take the blame...but its NEVER the guys with the stars on their shoulders that caused the mess in the first place.
Quint’s monologue in jaws about the Indianapolis was one of the most legendary performances in cinema
Written by John Milius who also wrote the "Make my day" line of Harry Callahan.
@ Are you paralized? Look it up.
"Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into her side, Chief. We was comin’ back from the island of Tinian to Leyte. We’d just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes.
Didn’t see the first shark for about a half-hour. Tiger. 13-footer. You know how you know that in the water, Chief? You can tell by lookin’ from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn’t know, was that our bomb mission was so secret, no distress signal had been sent. They didn’t even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin’ by, so we formed ourselves into tight groups. It was sorta like you see in the calendars, you know the infantry squares in the old calendars like the Battle of Waterloo and the idea was the shark come to the nearest man, that man he starts poundin’ and hollerin’ and sometimes that shark he go away… but sometimes he wouldn’t go away.
Sometimes that shark looks right at ya. Right into your eyes. And the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, he doesn’t even seem to be livin’… ’til he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all your poundin’ and your hollerin’ those sharks come in and… they rip you to pieces.
You know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I don’t know how many sharks there were, maybe a thousand. I do know how many men, they averaged six an hour. Thursday mornin’, Chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player. Boson’s mate. I thought he was asleep. I reached over to wake him up. He bobbed up, down in the water, he was like a kinda top. Upended. Well, he’d been bitten in half below the waist.
At noon on the fifth day, a Lockheed Ventura swung in low and he spotted us, a young pilot, lot younger than Mr. Hooper here, anyway he spotted us and a few hours later a big ol’ fat PBY come down and started to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened. Waitin’ for my turn. I’ll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went into the water. 316 men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945.
Anyway, we delivered the bomb."
ua-cam.com/video/xO60RohuARY/v-deo.html
Ser Garlan Tyrell Yeah, that one
@@thomasmusso1147
Yes I am a paraplegic, what has that got to do with anything :(
It's a special kind of messed up when the skipper of the vessel that sunk yours is _testifying in your own defense during court-martial._
When he brought as a witness by the prosecution
Too many important people's sons went down with the ship.....McVey had to pay...politics ruin everything.
@@larryfisher7056 too many eyes on the story
Some additional stuff on the sinking and the court-martial :
The commander of I-58, Lt.-Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto, mistakenly identified the USS Indianapolis as the New Mexico-class battleship USS Idaho.
McVay was charged and convicted with "failing to zigzag" and also charged with "failing to order ‘abandon ship’ in a timely manner".
There was evidence that the admirals in the USN were primarily responsible for putting Indianapolis in harm's way. For example, McVay requested a destroyer-escort for the ship, but this was denied on the grounds that the priority for destroyers currently was escorting transports to Okinawa and picking up downed pilots in B-29 raids on Japan. Furthermore, naval command assumed McVay's route would be safe at that point in the war. Many ships, including most destroyers, were equipped with submarine detection equipment, but McVay's ship not equipped with such, which casts the decision to deny his request for an escort as military incompetence.
Many of the survivors said McVay wasn't to blame for the sinking, the families of some of the men who died thought otherwise: "Merry Christmas! Our family's holiday would be a lot merrier if you hadn't killed my son", read one letter. The guilt that was placed on his shoulders persisted until he committed suicide at the age of 70 in 1968, using his Navy-issued revolver, being discovered on his front lawn by his gardener with a toy sailor in one hand, revolver in the other.
What I find exceedingly admirable if the commander of I-58, Mochitsura Hashimoto:
“On 5 September 1945, he was promoted to Commander and was given command of the Kagerō-class destroyer Yukikaze, to be assigned repatriation duties, returning Japanese troops home from overseas/ But before he could begin his new duties, he was summoned by the United States military to be a witness for the prosecution in the court-martial against McVay. He was transported on 9 December 1945 from Tokyo to Oakland, California aboard an aircraft of the Naval Air Transport Service. He was assured he would be treated as a naval officer instead of a war-criminal, but he remained under guard during his time in the US and was not allowed to leave his hotel, as his appearance had been front-page news that day in various newspapers. The next day he arrived in Washington, D.C., where hearings were taking place. For the duration of his time in the United States, he spoke through translator Francis Earl Eastlake from the Office of Naval Intelligence.
He first spoke with judge Cpt Thomas J. Ryan for 4 hours on 11 December, speaking the next day with McVay's chief defense counsel Cpt. John P. Cady, due to both men wanted to determine his credibility and competence to take the stand. He He told them the visibility was good on the night of the attack and he had been able to easily spot the Indianapolis. Hashimoto testified in the court on 13 December in a crowded courtroom. It was the first time that an officer of a nation at war with the United States had testified against an officer of the U.S. Navy in a court martial. At the behest of Cady, Hashimoto took both a Japanese civil oath and a U.S. Navy oath and so he could be charged for perjury in both nations if he lied. Hashimoto's 50 minutes of testimony focused on whether or not Indianapolis was "zigzagging" and he noted the ship did not deviate from its course. However, he also noted that its position made such evasive maneuvers incapable of diminishing his ability to attack the ship. Still, his testimony is considered integral in McVay's eventual conviction that he had been negligent. Charles Butler McVay III was exonerated in 2001. Following his appearance at the trial, Hashimoto remained in U.S. custody under guard until early 1946, when he was returned to Japan aboard Haskell-class attack transport USS Effingham.
With the Nuremberg Trials underway and Japanese war crimes during the war coming to light, the announcement of Hashimoto's appearance in testimony against an American officer caused considerable controversy in the American news media. Though Hashimoto was himself known to be innocent of any war crimes and was generally treated well by his guards, he spoke little English and was subject to derision in the press. Among the public responses, socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean sent an angry telegram to Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal to complain, and U.S. Representative Robert L. Doughton publicly stated, "It is the most contemptible thing I ever heard of to summon a Jap officer to testify against one of our own officers. I made my living practicing law before Navy courts and boards for 25 years, and this reaches an all-time low in courts, board or congressional investigation." Columnist Robert Ruark accused the Navy of using Hashimoto to "hype up" the court martial. Even after his departure his testimony remained controversial, and the Chicago Sun criticized his trip, which it estimated to have cost $1,820 (equivalent to $25,800 in 2019).”
And that's not the most interesting part either:
“After the war, he eventually became a Shinto priest at a shrine in Kyoto. He was later interviewed by author Dan Kurzman for his 1990 book Fatal Voyage, in which Kurzman stated, "Commander Hashimoto was amazed by the Americans. While penned up in his dormitory during the trial, he was treated more like an honored guest than an enemy officer who had caused the deaths of so many American boys." Hashimoto later authored a book Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet, 1941-1945 in which he detailed Japanese submarine operations in the war, including an account of the sinking of Indianapolis.
In December 1990, Hashimoto met with some of the survivors of the Indianapolis at Pearl Harbor, where he stated through a translator: "I came here to pray with you for your shipmates whose deaths I caused," to which survivor Giles McCoy simply responded: "I forgive you.”
In 1999, he assisted the surviving crew of the Indianapolis in attempting to exonerate McVay of blame for the ship's sinking, writing a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee in which he stated, just as he had more than five decades earlier, that even if the Indianapolis had been zigzagging, there would have been no difference: "I would have been able to launch a successful torpedo attack against his ship whether it had been zigzagging or not." Regarding McVay's conviction, Hashimoto wrote:
“Our peoples have forgiven each other for that terrible war and its consequences. Perhaps it is time your peoples forgave Captain McVay for the humiliation of his unjust conviction.”
Hashimoto died at the age of 91 on 25 October 2000, five days before a resolution to posthumously exonerate Captain McVay was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton.”
The newest book "Indianapolis" by Lynn Vincent & Sara Vladic goes into great detail about this incident.
According to some sources, the commander of I-58, Mochitsura Hashimoto, lost family members in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Not sure if this is true.
Wicked post, thanks
Just to note, while he died before the exoneration, Hashimoto's family (iirc his daughter and grandkids) were invited and attended the presentation of the exoneration to the crew and their families and were invited to stand with the crew and families when the photo with the exoneration was taken. He and his family were now one of them with his long stand with the crew to get McVay's name cleared
This was a fantastic comment. Thank you so much for making it. I learned a lot.
It's often said by Boomers that they refuse to buy a Toyota "because of Pearl." I respond by saying the people making and selling Toyotas today had no part in WW2, and many American soldiers forgave their Japanese enemies for what they had both done to each other. If they can forgive each other then I, born 3 generations later, can also forgive them. As you told us here, a survivor of a terribly traumatizing sinking and survival experience forgave the man who ordered loose the torpedos that sent the ship to the bottom. 🤷🏻♂️ It is always met with further angry illogical ranting from the Boomers when I finish making those points, but it's worth it to speak the words to them anyway so they know we younger generations have moved on. I'll likely have trouble forgiving ex-terrorists who helped put 9/11 into play, and it'll be my test to forgive them before I die too.
Captain McVay would be haunted by this for the rest of his life
The most haunting thing to me is that the family members of the lost crew members sent him notes like “merry christmas, it’d be a lot merrier if you hadnt killed our son”
But the most saddening thing to me was that when Mcvay commited suicide he is reported to have his service pistol in one hand and a toy sailor in the other.
Goddamit this is sad
A toy sailor given to him by his father, no less
What happened to him and the way he was treated and had is reputation smeared by the Navy is a shame. Not to make light of what happened to him or his crew though. But I think the story of McVay during, and after the Indianapolis's sinking, up until his death would make a great movie. A sad one, but since his story isn't to widely know it would be good to see a high production effort to show what the Navy did to this man, and bring light to a relatively forgotten, and tragic part of history.
Sexual Tyrannosaurus There is the hollywoodish movie “Indianapolis” with Nicolas Cage; but I recommend the nonfiction novel “In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors” by DOUG STANTON
@@TEHSTONEDPUMPKIN there is a TV movie made of the Indianapolis called Mission of the Shark with Stacey Keach portraying CAPT McVay. The tribunal was included.
It gets worse apparently the toy salior was a gift from his father
My grandfather was a Boatswain mate who wore an Asbestos sleeve to wipe the bore of her forward center turret. He told stories of leaving pearl the night before the bombing. Everyone including himself getting sick while in the bearing. Earning his shellback, and emerald shellback, and bombardment of many islands. He claimed they could fire a salvo and get out on deck to watch the first rounds hit the beach. He spoke only twice about her kamikaze attack and really only said he lost a lot of friends on that boat. He got off in San Fran before the trip to deliver the “device”. Threw everything including awards and medals in the dumpster save for his paperwork showing work qualifications and shell back card. Carried that in his wallet until he died and when asked about it would claim, “I went through hell to get that card. I’ll never do that again.”
He was the hardest man I knew. Taught me a lot about life, death and all that should be appreciated in between.
Rest in piece grandpa.
What the Navy did to Captain McVay was a shame! Putting an innocent man though hell to cover there own incompetence, and negligence. His story is truly tear jerking, stranded at sea for 4 days, being betrayed by his own, losing his wife, and receiving letters from people blaming him for Indy's loss until he committed suicide, while holding a toy sailor.
The U.S. Navy has a mean streak. When the turret of the *USS Iowa* blew up in 1989 the US Navy manufactured a story that a homosexual sailor blew up the turret. A sailor who was accused of being the other sailor's love interest sued the US Navy for libel and won an award of $250,000, not a small sum in 1989. Later testing in a US Navy lab showed that defective gun powder from the 1944 production batches could ignite from the friction of mere over compression when being mechanically rammed into the gun breech. One HUGE reason all the US battleships were mothballed in the early 1990s was it was discovered all the propellant was defective.
@@Easy-Eight I remember hearing about that.
@chris younts In addition to the reactivation costs those ships are/were expensive to operate for what they offered as an offensive asset.
Easy Eight - the current custodians of the Iowa keep the bunk lights on to honor the memories of the sailors the Navy tried to railroad to cover their open incompetence and dereliction of duty. I commend them for this and hope to thank them in person some day soon.
@chris younts You're pushing into the ranting zone. And the Iowa reactivation was a good move strategically and economically.
My father was on the USS Bassett, which happened upon some of the survivors floating in the sea. He spoke of how after days floating in the water and oil the skin on their arms would just peel off as you grabbed them to help them onto the climbing nets. A few had to be beaten unconscious due to their crazed condition before they could be pulled aboard. He spoke about it ONCE.
I've known a number of vets and the one thing they all have in common is they have no desire to talk about it. There is a youtube video with Paul McCartney and the always affable polite Sir George Martin. In the video they are looking at the plane Martin flew in the Battle of Britain. Paul asks Martin to tell us war stories and Martin uncharacteristically yell's at him-- "NO WE WON'T" I have never seen or heard of the man, being anything but diplomatic in his long storied 50 year career. RIP Sir George, defending Britain was an even greater feat than producing the Beatles.
@@keithmoriyama5421 That is old school, hold it in and let it eat you for the rest of your life! We now know its best to talk about your war experiences and the pain they cause us.
Spc-Lee A Benson 11B U.S. Army (RM)
I believe that there only 10 Indy survivors left now.
So many people trying to cover up their own responsibility in mistakes made in security and communication follow up.
Commander Hishimoto tried for years to get McVay's record cleared, and passed away just 5 days before it was. In 1995 a then 12 year old Hunter Scott took up the cause. He was able to finish the work so many had done to clear McVay.
Scott went on to join the Navy and had served as a flight deck officer on the USS BonHomme Richard LHD-6.
On another note about the atom bomb, I just watched a video from Mark Felton about the British having trained a unit of the Avro Lancaster bombers that could be refuel in the air by a tanker.
They were tasked with delivery of the atom bombs if the development of the B-29 hadn't gone as well. The B-29 had many problems including its bomb bay was to small to carry the atomuc weapons.
Thanks again Drach for another great video.
I believe 4 or so of the survivors were at the commissioning of the USS Indianapolis LCS-17 last fall.
My grandfather was one of the co-pilots in Lieutenant Marks' PBY that helped with the initial rescue of the survivors. I would greatly appreciate a full-length video on the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the subsequent rescue
Salute to the heros!
The US Navy has a strange history of looking for a scapegoat to blame, rather than disciplining or punishing the actual person/people at fault. My guess is because _generally_ the fault lies at admiralty level.
The USN has a problem with a culture of blame. I would check out Jingles video on the Indianapolis
@@seanmac1793 Remember the story the USN tried to peddle about the turret explosion on USS Iowa. That was an absolute character assassination on someone no longer around to defend himself.
See Easy Eight's reply to Sexual Tyrannosaurus' comment for the actual lie the brass tried to pawn off.
same thing happened with the Pearl Harbor attack. They scapegoated the the Navy and Army Commanders instead of the officer who didn't pass the news of a submarine being spotted to his chain of command.
Not just the US Navy. How about the US Army? They tried to pin all the responsibility of the Abu Ghraib scandal onto a handful of soldiers.
If they were the sole ones responsible, that says a lot about overall command and control within the US Army.
The commanding officer was demoted to the rank of Colonel but never served any time.
Outrageous that he was subjected to a trial considering some of the outright yellow backs and incompetents that never reached a court room
Excellent and informative as always sir.
A relatively minor foot note, the Indianapolis was apparently a favorite of Admiral Raymond Spruance who would more than once hoist his Flag as Commander Fifth Fleet in her. Perhaps she made him nostalgic for his days as a cruiser skipper and as commander of Enterprise's cruiser screen prior to him being appointed to command Task Force 16 (Enterprise and Hornet) at Midway.
Like most of the other US 'Treaty Cruisers' she was originally equipped with 2 side by side midships aircraft hangers and a pair of catapults (gunpowder fired) along with a large Boat and Aircraft crane to handle up to 4 floatplanes. The starboard side catapult was removed during one of the mid-war refits to save topside weight for more anti-air weapons and topside electronics (radar, electronic warfare and communications.)
As I recall her engines were not immediately stopped when I-58's torps tore her open, her forward momentum as her men were abandoning spread them out along her course, forming several small groups of survivors rather than one or two large groups. I think she was still moving forward as she rolled and took her final plunge.
She had the title Quarterback of the 5th fleet and yes was Spruance's favorite ship.
“...blew the ship into confetti and bad memories.” Great line
The Indianapolis was a Proud ship. My father, uncle & their best friend served on the ship from '37 - '40. Dad was a signalman. He made the equator crossing twice with FDR. South American Conference. Still have the ship banner with FDR signature on it. I had the Honor of meeting one of the survivors about 1999 at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, CA. Quite a memorable day.
When I first got assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk (CV63) our Master Chief Petty Officer of the Command was a survivor of the Indianapolis. After talking to him about this he recommended a book to me which I did buy and read. This was one of the US Navy’s saddest moments when they crucified the Captain. I always greatly admired this man, a veteran of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam Nam all three. Can you imagine, your first ship gets sunk, you spend days in the ocean but manage to survive and you still spend the next thirty plus years on active duty in the Navy? I was very lucky to serve with this man and spend some time talking to him.
I know this is super old post but what's the name of the book he suggested you read?
I’d love a video of what “saluting guns” are and when and why they were fitted and a history of them.
McVey was cleared because of the efforts of kid who took the Indianapolis' sinking and subsequent events as a project. The kid came to the conclusion that McVey was a scapegoat and enlisted others to take the fight to clear McVey.
Jay Lozier - The kid took up the fight after the Japanese skipper, who spent nearly 40 years trying to clear McVay’s name. Imagine you call in a man to testify for the prosecution, & he ends up testifying for the defense & spending nearly 40 years trying to clear the name of the man whose ship he sunk...
me hee - Of all of the captains who lost ships during WW2, McVay was the only one who was court martialed. It seems the USN was doing some CYA - The Navy had reports of Japanese submarine activity and failed to give that information to McVay or to give the Indianapolis a destroyer escort or to completely refill the Indianapolis’ fuel tanks. The standing orders were to zigzag if the conditions warranted it, but McVay was not ordered to zigzag. His radio operator sent out a distress signal that was received at multiple radio stations, which then did not transmit the information to the appropriate authorities. His ship was recorded as late at its destination, & no search was ever ordered. If not for the aircraft that found the men by accident, they would’ve died within 1-2 days.
And, not only did the prosecution’s star witness, Captain Hashimoto of the I-58, testified for the defense (he said zigzagging wouldn’t have kept him from sinking the Indianapolis), he spent the rest of his life trying to clear Captain McVay.
May they liveth forevermore in peace.
JAWS (1975) revived the fading public memory and cultural recognition of the tragic Sinking of the USS _Indianopolis_ for newer generations. Quint's chilling monologue, becoming an iconic moment in cinematic history. However exaggerated the fatalities specifically to shark attack were for dramatic effect in that film - and however appalling the backlash against sharks hunted for "sport" in the immediate years following were - what is absolutely clear is that a large number of men were lost to shark attack, and that many men who died from exposure in the water over the days, or various other causes, were still visibly being eaten by sharks. It would have been horrific all the same, regardless of the exact number (perhaps impossible to ever know) which were really killed by direct shark attack.
Suffice it to say, that it was too many (of course, _one_ is too many) Although Peter Benchley and Steven Spielberg alike would both come to regret JAWS (both the book, and the film), each in various and differing ways - e.g. with the concerns of shark conservation really changing Benchley's entire outlook on sharks, once he realised what foolishness was happening to them due to the increased public awareness (and misconceptions) of sharks - it is still fair to say that without JAWS (which is still a great film) awareness and appreciation for the events concerning the USS _Indianapolis_ would have been less well-known beyond historians and WWII buffs. While it is a relatively well-known event to this day, we mostly have JAWS to thank for that in the general audience context.
Inaccuracies aside, it was a perfect reminder delivered by a great actor (Robert Shaw) of the tragedy that befell that ship that night. It's quite moving thinking of how many veterans of the incident, reached out after the film's release, after stoically keeping silent about things as war veterans often do (Spielberg induced a similar response from veterans of D-Day, with many praising the authenticity of the daunting events) It's largely accurate anyway. Maybe not quite as many died to shark attack as implied, but if anyone went through that they'd be forgiven for remembering it a little more vividly, to put it mildly. The detail about forming circles and hitting oncoming sharks (but that not always saving them) was entirely accurate as far as I'm aware. Men were brutally eaten alive by the oceanic predators, often weakened by dehydration and sun stroke (and treading water for days for a lot of them, which would obviously be exhausting)
Horrifying way to go. Quint always seemed to me to be a kind of encapsulation of the forgotten and under-appreciated war veteran, who didn't gripe or sink into despair, but carve out a strong, albeit reclusive image in his community. Though he channeled his hate for sharks into a blind vendetta of hunting and killing any random sharks or 'problem' sharks, in a way which would not be seen as acceptable in the 21st century, when Amity needed him, they turned to him - even when they clearly weren't that interested in him beforehand. Quint is a fascinating character. Underneath the gruff exterior was a traumatised and heroic man. I've seen some people call him ''arrogant'' (in context, for pushing the Orca too hard making it's engines burn out) But to me that is a gross misreading of his character. He's way more than just some salty sea dog. He's almost the embodiment, in my opinion at least, of a world that had a lot left to be desired in how it handled veterans care.
That's how I always felt about Quint. He does the whole cantankerous Alpha thing and revels in ''working class hero crap'' (as Dreyfuss's Hooper said in the film), but not out of pettiness. More out of maintaining his dignity and out of a resentment for the likes of people that caused his grief. Beneath the surface level of his character as portrayed by Shaw, although he seems to love making fun of Hooper and displaying his authority on _his_ boat, Quint really cares about the safety of Chief Brodie and Hooper. Just under that exterior of bitterness and irascible, sometimes excessive behaviour, is a genuine concern for their well-being on the boat, switching from jovial and breaking into sea shanties, to becoming _deadly_ serious at the drop of the hat. Doing his duty with a duty of care for those around him.
The more I think about how Robert Shaw portrayed Quint the more it amazes and moves me. He got it so, so right. Sure, he can be seen as a caricature of old hands at sea, or veterans of a life on the ocean wave; but for the purposes of the first ever true Summer blockbuster, we can forgive it for that (he is meant to be amusing as well as likeable, after all) But the way Shaw pulls this off more than achieves that whilst also breaking our hearts. He's one of the best acted characters ever in film in my opinion. Shaw is telling the audience so much with every little expression, pause and change of tone in his voice. Once you realise what Quint represents, it's really moving (especially considering his fate) On a penny, he'll turn from merry and mocking of Hooper, to being fatherly and teacherly to both the inexperienced at sea Brodie, while also being the other side of the coin to the _scientific_ maritime experience of Hooper - and even though seeming to hate the guy (and the actors did in real life for a while), he actively respects his knowledge on the quiet; showing that Quint isn't irrational or blind to the qualities of Hooper. Teasing and mockery aside, he respects his selflessness and bravery too (for going in the shark cage)
Quint is the embodiment of experience and dutifulness; Hooper is the scientist with a greater understanding of marine life in his own way. Both have their merits, and the way they clash and contrast, but work together, with Brodie as the everyman to witness and participate in the events as the allegorical audience insert, is so perfectly done. Lightning in a bottle. Quint's monologue about the USS _Indianopolis_ gave more depth to JAWS, and that as well as the rest of the film, for better or worse (generally better, in the long run) shone a light on shark attacks. Although sharks would suffer embarrassing reprisal killings immediately after the film (just as Stingrays were slaughtered in the wake of Steve Irwin's death, for example, by insanely overzealous fishermen and sports fishermen, which was rightly condemned as it's the last thing in the world Irwin himself would have wanted; he knew the risks and would not seek revenge on wild animals), and Spielberg and Benchley poured a lot of money into supporting conservation charities (Benchley even went so far as saying he wished he never wrote JAWS, and regretted it immensely, spending the rest of his life fighting for the conservation of marine environments, particularly the move to protect shark species) as a result.
At the very least, it triggered a meaningful public dialogue (particularly in the West) about how science understood sharks. At the start of the 20th century, people didn't even believe sharks were capable of biting through human limbs and erroneous publications before and during the 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks (which partly inspired JAWS itself), from the American Natural History Museum, had to be completely revised. Better knowledge still came with inevitable misconceptions in the _opposite_ direction. Whereas folk had been too complacent and ignorant about sharks before, now by the time of JAWS, and immediately after it for a mercifully short time, the public understanding of sharks was too paranoid. It's just human nature at play. Quint is a complex character - almost like a time capsule, as the rest of the film is - of the crossroads in time, that the 1970's in so many ways were. Ironically, JAWS did more to protect sharks, in the long run, than almost anything else. An entire generation of new Marine Biologists were in great part, inspired by it, whether they liked it or not. Shaw's interpretation of Quint was perfect. It will simply never be bettered.
@chris younts yes true
An excellent essay- I have read about the Indianapolis as well as the Juneau where there were only 7 survivors. In both cases and likely more, sailors floating in the water would start to hallucinate and say that "Hey the ship is just down there- I have a case of oranges in my locker, I'm gonna go get them" and dive down and be gone.
@@lawrencelewis8105 Thank you, appreciated. Yes, heard of that too. Also heard some men in such terrible circumstances drank seawater then just swam out from the groups of survivors alone, never to be seen again. Obviously not in their right minds. Sure I also heard a similar account of a survivor of the Sinking of HMS _Royal Oak_ in Scapa Flow, witnessing a man just swim off dazed and never be seen again.
Remembering this from a documentary so maybe this is inaccurate or mistaken as I try to recall it, yet I do think it was along those lines. If I remember rightly he was so disorientated he just swam off casually into the freezing waters at night. Again, sorry if I am not remembering it rightly. Will have to find the documentary again to check what I think I mean. Grim though what tricks such disasters would surely play on the minds. Humanity wasn't evolved to comprehend such horrors.
The WW2 Heavy Cruiser USS Indianapolis CA 35 set a speed record from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor in 74 1/2 hours at an ave. speed of
29 knots which still stands to this day.
When I first saw JAWS and listened to Quint tell his story of the Indy, it was the catalyst that ignited my interest in naval history. I look forward to a more in depth video on the Indy!
The sinking and subsequently botched rescue effort, combined with the mendacious and scurrilous effort to save the navy brass on the back of a single captain, was one of the most shameful incidents to have taken place in any modern navy. This was the final incident in the long and rotten career of Admiral Earnest J King, a person who deserves his special place in Hell. There were also many stories of heroism in the rescue, from the PBY pilot alighting on the sea after seeing men in the water being attacked by sharks, machine gunning every shark the crew could see, and then strapping men on the wing to prevent more attacks. The pilot's frantic radio calls bought the USS _Cecil J Doyle_ and her captain, W Graham 'Claytor (later famous as an American railroader) at top speed to the scene, all without orders. The _Doyle_ was a _John C Butler_ class DE, theoretically capable of a top speed of 24 knots. According the the engineering officer, the ship averaged between 28 and 29 knots during the high speed run, surely a record for the class. She was able to save 93 survivors and recover 21 of the dead, all the while towing the PBY and her survivors until the men could be transferred and the PBY was cut lose and sunk by gunfire. In the worst stories of incompetence, stupidity, and lying, a few men shine thorough that uphold the finest traditions of naval service.
"Oh, we let a ship sink without acknowledgment and left the crew to die. I know! Let's court martial the captain and say it's all his fault!"
Yep. That's definite politician level behavior.
As in Norfolk Southern Claytor? Wow!
@@sooline3854 Yep, that was him.
Admiral Kimmel might disagree. And Halsey should have face a court, but got a 5th star instead.
@@WALTERBROADDUS Nothing of which has anything to do with King's role in the _Indianapolis_ debacle.
Thanks Drach! I just worked a 12 hour night shift now I can unwind to one of your videos before sleeping the day away. Tragic what happened to these men, it is good to remember them.
I recall reading that the captain of the I-58 even testified in McVay's defense, saying that zig-zagging the ship would have made no difference.
I always suspected the court martial was to hide the fact that the SOS went unanswered.
Along with the fact they sent a ship with low fuel, and no sub detection equipment, into an area they knew that a Japanese sub was operating in, having refused the captain's request for extra fuel and a destroyer escort.
Had the pleasure of meeting two Indy survivors and my moms first husband was a marine on the USS Portland, and was at the Japanese surrender or Truk Lagoon.
My great uncle Clifford Kreis was a powderman on this ship. About 35 years ago he told me his story at my youngest aunt’s wedding. He was a bit gassed. Uncle Cliff was a powderman on one of the 8” guns. I don’t remember which turret. I do recall him saying that once the shell was rammed in the only way to get it out was to fire it out. He said that they got hit by a kamikazi but he was in the turret at the time. Another interesting thing, he was sleeping on deck when the torpedoes hit it was too hot in his berthing compartment. He said unless they were at battle stations they only wore their underwear. Said he got a chuckle out if the war movies where everyone was in full uniform. He didn’t say directly but I think one of the fish hit close to his compartment, a lot of guys were sleeping topside but I don’t think many guys who were sleeping below got out. Clifford was in a raft group but he spoke of the sharks and I think he left a lot out for a 10 year old but I could show you within about 12’ of where I heard the story in the church school cafeteria/ social hall. When I was very young that was where they held the mass. I have relayed his story to all of my children but I think that it has only sunk in with one or two of the four.
As bad as the loss of the Indianapolis was I think the loss of the USS Juneau was worst. Only ten of a crew of 900 survived her sinking.
@chris younts True enough! There are many other naval disasters that were worst than the loss of the Indianapolis. That ship gets too much attention. But in no way does this diminish the death and suffering of the survivors of the Indianapolis.
it was only 700
@@robertyoung3992 As bad as the loss of the Indianapolis was I think the loss of the USS Juneau was worst. Only ten of a crew of 700 survived her sinking. Better?
Apparently there is a silver star winner Lt Commander Moore who died rescuing people below deck on the Indianapolis.
I realize this is hair splitting.... but to say an individual "won" a medal like the Silver Star or the Medal of Honor is not the proper terminology to use. It was "awarded" not 'won" It is not like a prize you "win". I hope you can see the difference. I was almost punched out by a vet who was Awarded the Medal of Honor when I asked how he "won" it. Just trying to pay it forward. A lot of them consider it a great insult when somebody refers to them having "won" the medal.
Capt McVay was also the only officer in the navy to ever be Court Marshaled against his commanding officers wishes. Both Nimitz and Halsey came to his defense. As part of his trial (which was after the war had ended) They even brought in the Japanese sub capt that sank the ship. That sub captain, along with several US ones brought in as expert witnesses all stated that the McVay had done everything the navy said to do to avoid subs but that they could still all (and in the case of the Japanese did) sink the ship while it was preforming those maneuvers.
I believe it was Spruance who was his immediate superior at the time but given Bull's attitude if he had the facts then he would have moved mountains to try to protect McVay
@@seanmac1793 which he did. But this was navy politics. They had to have someone to blame for the loss at the end of the war or loose face. Especially because it was their overall failure that cost so many lives. McVay was that guy for them.
@@CaptRye it show just how much the USN has a cultural problem that when you have three of most influential people in the Navy that even then they can't stop the blame being put on someone. God the USN has some cultural issues
Could we also hear about her sister ship USS Portland? Aka "Sweet Pea". Just visited the memorial to her in Portland, Maine.
Apparently quite the incest she is in AL, but pretty tough for a starter ship
Pretty damm tanky after retrofit.
Literally?! Portland was nicked named "Sweet Pea"?
Sweats meanwhile feels a certain tank behind me... “Indy-chan... Kawaii ~º
Thank God that`s Portland on the east coast & not Portland on the left coast...
Anyway Chief, we delivered the bomb.
"I'll never wear a life jacket again..."
The 'Indianapolis speech' (in Jaws) was written by John Milius.
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning." written by John Milius.
"Conan The Barbarian" (1982) written and directed by John Milius.
"The Wind And The Lion" (1975) written and directed by John Milius.
If you are reading these words and you have not yet seen "The Wind And The Lion"....you have not yet lived.
@@Kevin_Kennelly Wind and the Lion is an awesome flick. Love the Marines in it.
@@RCAvhstape I mention this because, over the years, I have found that many people, wargamers and history enthusiasts, who would appreciate the film have not seen it or are not aware of it.
components
Please do a "Full Story" on The Indy. Great episode as always. Thank you.
Fun facts: during the battle not battle for Kiska Island in the Aleutians, the fleet, including Indianapolis fired at several transport ships in Kiska harbor as well as shore batteries. One of the ships was chased onto the rocks has been there ever since. I’ve seen what’s left of her quite a few times as well as all the cratering all over the harbor. If you find a way to make it onto shore of the uninhabited island you can still explore all the guns and aa defenses that were just left in place.
Actually I’d imagine that might be the only Japanese ship from wwii still above water (albeit only partially)
@@wittwer427The Sōya survives to the day. She was an icebreaker as built and served as an auxiliary ammunition supply and survey vessel, participating in a few battles such as Midway. Unlike the other vessels in the IJN which survived, she avoided being scrapped or sunk due to her left over potential for civilian use - she would ferry civilians from the Sakhalin territory to mainland Japan in light of the territory becoming part of the USSR, and in 1950 should would become an Antarctic research vessel.
Today she is moored at the Museum of Maritime science, Tokyo, as a museum ship.
(There’s also the HTMS Maeklong in Thailand, which while not necessarily an IJN ship, she was built in Japan in 1936, making her the closest thing to a surviving IJN destroyer (fuck you Taiwan for scrapping the Yukikaze!!!!!))
USS DW Taylor DD-552 My father-in-law was WT 3rd Class when it hit a mine in the Pacific WW2. He and another seaman were ordered to blow the boiler. But, were ordered back down to stop it. The ship was tolled to a near base. He received a Bronze Star for his action.
I have 1/700 model of this ship. Video is a good source for detailing
Shameful treatment of her captain. I'm thankful Nimitz reversed some of the consequences of that court-martial.
Spruance and Nimitiz didn't want him court martialed period
@@seanmac1793 Nimitz was a former submariner and understood the situation the Indy was in and why McVay wasn't at fault
He was completely exculpated in 2001
My Great Grandfather served on the USS Portland during the battle of Guadalcanal and serving alongside the USS Enterprise and my grandfather was present during her damage and open fire on the USS Akatsuki and damage by destroyer Inzuma or Ikazuchi and was later transferred to a different ship and retired from the Navy in the early 1960s. Sadly he die in 2006. My grandpa told me this story.
My Great Grandfather served on the USS Indianapolis!
“Confetti and bad memories”. Sounds like the week I spent (insert place here)!
The memorial in Indianapolis is very beautiful on the canal. Been to a couple of events and got to meet some survivors.
My grandfather served on this ship after Pearl Harbor (he was on the Nevada there) until the Aleutian islands campaign. Good to learn more about this ship. I met one of my grandfather's friends who survived the sinking, but we talked about everything except that.
Writing from Indianapolis... thank you and hope you can come see the USS Indianapolis memorial some day. You’ll like this city I think. Much appreciated.
My Uncle was a marine and he served on the USS Indianapolis. He was transferred off the ship with early signs of MS just before the ship sailed with the atomic bomb to Tinian.
I've been waiting for this for awhile and happy that it is here. I live near Indy and was lucky to see the new USS Indianapolis LCS-17 last fall as it went through the Great Lakes.
My grandfather was a Marine and worked with ONI during the war, he over saw the loading of the Nuclear materials as well as selecting targets for the bombs...
Who else would like to know more about the reasons for a court martial?
The higher-ups would not take responsibility.
But the only Captain court martialed for losing a ship and war
@@sillypuppy5940 They never do.
@@richardcupp454 primarily because Bode of Chicago shot himself before they could convene a court, the day after the first interview.
@@sillypuppy5940 the British Navy is currently court martialing a *Submarine* captain for his crew not following social distancing
Was she not the flagship of Admiral Spruance for some time and he was devastated by the sinking and losses. She was one of his favourite ships and hosted a disastrous diner party with King and Nimitz in the Marianas landings. Regards
She was also one of a number of US cruisers that served at Roosevelt's discretion as a presidential flagship, including a goodwill visits to South American ports. It's a shame that Indianapolis and her fellow cruisers' service outside of combat is so frequently overlooked.
I've the book that covered Indianapolis' last trip called "In Harms' Way" by Doug Stanton. The sub that sank had, had the chance on the outward leg to Tininan Island to sink her. But on account of the weather condition the Captain decided not to attack. Only to attack her on the return trip to her new appointment instead.......
It's one of the best WW2 books I've read. I always feel very sad for the captain knowing how he was treated by the top brass, because they wanted a scapegoat.
Mom and dad had a good friend that passed before I was born that was a survivor of USS Indianapolis. Wore a small gold cross in one ear, as did many of the survivors apparently.
Visited the memorial this afternoon. God bless our veterans!
God Bless You and Your Crew and RIP, Them and |You, Sweetheart
Yes, please give us more on the Indianapolis, the movie is good to watch as well (though it is, as movies tend to be, highly dramatized)
Definitely need to see a more in-depth video about the Indianapolis! Great work.
Yes please, the fuller story.
Reserved for when Drachs blood pressure levels are particularly low
I actually found a newspaper clipping of McVeigh's exoneration on my copy of At Dawn We Slept. It's now on my corkboard.
This is one of many ships that were screwed over by their own navies.
Going by memory here. A set of World Book Encyclopedia edition for kids with illustrations from the 60s included the story of the Indianapolis' sinking. Don't remember anything about its final mission or the courtmartial but the survival struggle with sharks and without fresh water was indelible in my young mind a decade prior to Jaws the movie.
What a cool cruiser.
3:15 mark, reducing the ship to "Confetti and Bad memories"... >_< You good Sir are the very soul of dry English wit I have come to admire and cherish. ^_^
Finished reading the newest book about this ship/incident, "Indianapolis" by authors Lynn Vincent & Sara Vladic. They go into great detail about the sinking and what the crew experienced. What I find amazing is that the PV-1 Ventura that just happened to be flying above the crew just happened to notice them. Was a defective aerial antenna that a crewman was winching back into the aircraft when he first noticed something in the water. IF not for that crewman working on that defective aerial antenna, the crew of Indianapolis may NEVER have been rescued, or rescued in lesser numbers.
That Japanese transport Indy sunk, Akagane Maru, went down with all 140 or so men aboard as a side note
It didn't so much go down as liberally spread itself across the grid square. Given that she had a cargo hold full of ammunition detonate, its not surprising that the crew perished.
@@DERP_Squad I just was putting it down as a fun fact thingy, and yeah a munitions explosion is usually an assured all hands lost, but there have been cases in the Atlantic when freighters loaded with explosives were hit, blew up, but had two or three survivors in the water. I'll have to find the ship's name again but there was one which had crew sleeping on deck when the torpedo hit, and they were somehow thrown clear of the ship despite it disintegrating basically and lived! Amazing stuff
For those looking for additional content on the sinking of the Indianapolis, there is a 53 minute long Hard Core History: Addendum episode on the topic. Nightmares of Indianapolis.
I visited the memorial in downtown Indianapolis this past summer. Very moving experience. I highly recommend the visit.
I love how similar this class looks to the preceding Northampton class… and I really like the Northamptons.
They were front and center in the game Battlestations Pacific, and which I played heavily when I was younger and it probably contributed to my interest in Naval design and warfare.
Thank you for this presentation which like many I have found very interesting. I look forward to move detailed information about the USS Indianapolis and her crew.
Admiral Spruance picked the Indy for a number of reasons when he was given command of the 5th Fleet in 1943: he had been raised in Indianapolis; the ship had the extra accommodations necessary for his staff; her speed was sufficient to keep up with the fast Fleet carriers; and she wasn’t as valuable an asset as the new heavy cruisers joining the fleet in mid-1943. The last meant that Spruance could take her out of the bombardment line during amphibious assaults to personally observe other landings etc. My father was chief flight officer of Indy’s observation/scout planes from late 1942 until December, 1944 when he was transferred to Pensacola as an instructor. My namesake, Lt. N.P. Hill from Alabama was her chief radio officer. He didn’t survive the sinking. During his time on the Indy my father was shoot down by ground fire at Tarawa and attacked multiple times by Japanese Betty bombers while on scouting patrols but he always insisted that being an instructor at Pensacola was his most dangerous assignment during WW II.
The book is a hell of a read.
I actually managed to meet a Indianapolis survivor last year. There were only like 11 of them left.
YES!!! Been wanting this one for a long time. Thanks Drach.
The US Navy was, as today, very protective of it's reputation for competence, and has always been reluctant to admit failure. They would rather slander a member, such as Captain McVay, or a crewman on the Iowa, then admit to incompetence.
I was to young to realize at the time to ask any questions; I was about 10 or 12 years old, I new a man from my parents church group and found out much latter that he was a Indianapolis Survivor.
This is one of the saddest and most maddening situations of WWII.
Just an interesting little side note for Drach if this ship does get it's own wednesday special a mention of one of the main characters from Jaws was portrayed as a survivor of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and actually did the grim monologue of the sinking completely off script and totally drunk what a legend of an actor :D
Fr. Thomas Conway, Chaplin from Connecticut perished after giving last rites to survivors in the water. He served as a priest in the Buffalo, NY diocese prior to his service. We at the Buffalo Naval Park have a bust in honor of him, and a 45 rpm recording of him speaking to his congregations here in Buffalo. He was finally recognized with the Navy Cross in a ceremony in January of 2021. We honor his sacrifice!
Captain McVay was married to a Honolulu socialite and a son was named Kimo McVay. He was famous as a celebrity promoter here in the 1950s and '60s. He convinced Duke Paoa Kahanamoku to buy a Rolls Royce and strap a surfboard to it. Duke had run a successful gas station here, and could have afforded it. He won his first Olympic medal in 1912, and competed in swimming into the 1930s. He promoted surfing all over the Pacific and was Hawaii's goodwill ambassador until he passed in 1968.
Excellent video,, as always. Thank you.
Been waiting for this one!
6:45 Survivors were actually first spotted by a PV-1 Ventura.
It's worth mentioning that Indy wasn't meant to be the one carrying the bomb. it was going to be USS Salt Lake City, but she flunked her sea trials and thus it fell to Indianapolis to take the mission. McVay had to scramble to get his crew back and get the ship ready for sea.
Since this ship served as Admiral Spruance's flagship for most of the time he was fleet commander, I think that should have been mentioned.
My dad served on the Indy. Had a personalized license plate that said "INDY"! He was a Machinist Mate First Class. He got off the Indy when she was sent to Mare Island for repairs after the Kamakize hit the stern 8 inch gun turret and killed several of his close friends. His enlistment was up for the Indy at that time and he would have stayed and resigned on, had it not been for that. Told me McVeigh was a good officer, well liked by his men and what they did to him wasn't right. That's why the survivors petitioned the Navy and Congress to pardon him and they were successful.
The Indy was involved in Seven(7) major sea battles. My dad had one(1) silver star (meant 5 battles) and two(2) bronze stars on his service ribbons. All gotten on the INDY. Had a painting of the INDY above fireplace for years and went to many reunions.
A fitting tribute to those who lost their lives especially those succumbed to frequent shark attacks which was the inspiration for one of the characters in the first Jaws movie
Thank you for this interesting bit of history.
The sadest Part is that the Captain of the Indianapolis even asks for Destroyer Escort.
Might have been a good Idea considering that the Destroyer could chase the Submarine away or sink it and could also rescue Survivors.
At McVey's court martial, the prosecution even had the japanese sub commander as a witness, but he comfirmed that no matter what or how McVey operated his ship (zig zaging or not, running full speed or not..etc.) he was gonna sink the ship. He did. McVey was still found guilty. I believe it was such a tragedy because of a bunch of other factors not the least of which is a failure tp report her as missing or late. Not the captain's fault at all.
I thought it was a disgrace that after McVey, casting around for someone else to blame the high command settled on four junior officers who hadn't reported the ships non-arrival...they were, without either trial, or even warning, publicly pilloried, despite the existence of an order to their department explicitly stating that non-arrivals were not to be reported.
The Navy were desperate to avoid having an admiral, or worse, a number of admirals on trial, but some poor bugger had to be blamed...
Anyone who has been in the Military understands how this happens full well.
At the end of the day the military is a Government agency subject to all the careerist bureaucratic mess and its is WAY easier to throw one random person on the fire than actually place the blame on 20 people who were just dodging responsibility. As far as the system is concerned, McVey got what he had coming to him for daring to seek the command of a combat ship...should have been a desk jocky like the rest of the 'respectable gentlemen' officers of the Navy.
@@cogidubnus1953 The USN has a problem with blame and its the kind of culture where a memo can kill your career
@@seanmac1793 As can publicly castigating four relatively junior offices to the media without trial, and in two cases without even having the basic decency to warn them it was coming... So at the end, after Nimitz stepped in and, at the same time as it was announced that McVay was at least partly off the hook, they announced Gillette, Granum, Sancho and Gibson had been disciplined...well at least they warned the first two, but they were a Commodore and a Captain after all...
That same sub captain would later help to exonerate him.
man I have been playing to much AL and I just hear Portland going "indy chan"
I'm surprised there are barely AL comments of "Indy-chan~" here, everyone here is so serious discussing Captain McVay and stuff, even the Exeter/225677 Fragment guy.
"Shut up, Portland."
I almost forget that he made these kinds of videos
The location of the wreck by the RV Petrel has to be one of the greatest oceanography achievements in history because we knew a lot less about where the Indianapolis went down than we did with the Titanic or even the Japanese carriers that were destroyed at Midway
Robert Ballard described finding ships as looking for a needle in a haystack in the dark in a snowstorm with a flashlight and finding the Indianapolis had to be closer to finding a needle in a haystack in the conditions that I mentioned but with a couple of hundred acres of haystacks to look through.
My great uncle was a helmsman on the Indianapolis. Douglas F Degroote was his name. He wrote a book titled Seek and Destroy. Interesting content for sure. According to Unlce Doug, the Indy was hit by a torpedo in the North Pacific before going to CA for refit but the torpedo didn’t go off cuz the water was too cold for the thing to work. The crew heard it hit the hull but leadership on board said they were all nuts. When they put her in dry dock there was a huge torpedo shaped dent in her port side. Never heard that story anywhere else. I will gladly purchase a copy of the book from anyone who has one for obvious reasons
Been waiting for this one for a while now a lil while longer for the whole video
Um... read about the Battle of Attu. My father served there in the 11th USAAF beginning a year after the battle. I have snapshots of smiling Japanese soldiers recovered after their garrison was wiped out.
Yes, the last assault on Kiska was the one I was referring to the Japanese abandoning.
No mention of Admiral Spruance who used it as a flagship for some major operations?
It was actually a remarkable circumstance that the Pilot spotted men in the water at all. If not for making an adjustment to an antenna (I believe) and deciding to take a closer look, each man would have been lost to the Ocean.
First aircraft to find them was a Ventura.
One of the PBY's that tried dropping rafts lost a raft in the drop and the others were to far away for the exhausted men to swim to - so the pilot landed the plane and brought 56 survivors aboard.
The plane could not take off in this condition and had people sitting on the wings but it did get them out of the water and they were able to be aided by the PBY crew until a destroyer came along to pick them up. They couldn't get the PBY back up though so it was destroyed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indianapolis_(CA-35)
Landing and using their float plane as a life raft for survivors or downed air crew was something done on more than one occasion.
.
I always liked the looks of Portland class cruisers, they look mean af
Actually the flying boat was the second plane to arrive. An Avenger torpedo bomber trying out an experimental retailing wire antenna saw the oil slick and lined up to bomb the”assumed” Japanese ship. During the bomb run they saw heads in the water over a multi mile oil slick and reported their observations. Due to the antenna the fragmented report resulted in 1 PBY being sent. It wasn’t until it arrived that the magnitude of the disaster was reported. The first rescue ship arrived that night with the crew still believing the people in the water were Japanese.
Indy-chan KAWAII!
Indy-Chan....Ahhh Ma Chi Nai Ka, Mi Na Sui Te Ke
was looking for this comment, and wasn't dissapointed.
This comment is inevitable. Anyways, *shut up, Portland.*
Wasnt Portland supposed to say that Belfast because reading that from you is really starting to creep me out
@@julieclark1765 Sorry, Portland hacked my account.
A moment for remembering the human tragidity that came to an end 75 years ago this month.
Pretty ship had a no nonsense look about her