Research team discovers wreckage of sunken World War II cruiser of ‘Jaws’ fame
COURTESY NAVIGEAT LTD. R/V PETREL
A spare parts locker from the Indianapolis lies at the bottom of the Pacific.
COURTESY NAVIGEAT LTD. R/V PETREL
The anchor of the USS Indianapolis.
COURTESY NAVIGEAT LTD. R/V PETREL
Debris litters the wreck of the World War II cruiser.
U.S. NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND
The USS Indianapolis is seen at Pearl Harbor in 1937.
A team of civilian researchers has discovered the wreckage from the USS Indianapolis, which was sunk by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine near the end of World War II.
The ship, skippered by Honolulu native Capt. Charles B. McVay III, had just delivered the first atomic bomb to Tinian in the Northern Marianas. Of the 800 survivors who went into the water, only 316 survived the grueling conditions for about five days that included shark attacks, dehydration, and exposure.
The event was recounted famously in the movie, “Jaws.”
The search team was lead by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen.
The Indianapolis was found 5,500 meters below the surface on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean.
Before the attack, the Indianapolis had delivered parts of the atomic bomb that was used in Hiroshima.
“To be able to honor the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling,” Allen said in a statement. “As Americans, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the crew for their courage, persistence and sacrifice in the face of horrendous circumstances. 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.”
