USS Indianapolis (CA-35)

USS Indianapolis (CA-35), 27 September 1939
History
United States
Name	Indianapolis
Namesake	City of Indianapolis, Indiana
Ordered	13 February 1929
Awarded	15 August 1929
Builder	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Cost	$10,903,200 (contract price)
Laid down	31 March 1930
Launched	7 November 1931
Sponsored by	Lucy M. Taggart
Commissioned	15 November 1932
Identification	Hull symbol: CL-35 Hull symbol: CA-35 Code letters: NABD
Nickname(s)	"Indy"[1]
Honors and awards	10 × battle stars
Fate	Hit by two torpedoes and sunk by Japanese submarine I-58, 30 July 1945.
General characteristics (as built)[2]
Class and type	Portland-class cruiser
Displacement	9,950 long tons (10,110 t) (standard)
Length	610 ft 3 in (186.00 m) loa 584 ft (178 m) lwl
Beam	66 ft 1 in (20.14 m)
Draft	17 ft 4 in (5.28 m) (mean) 24 ft (7.3 m) (max)
Installed power	8 × White-Forster boilers 107,000 shp (80,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × Parsons reduction steam turbines 4 × screws
Speed	32.7 kn (60.6 km/h; 37.6 mph)
Range	13,000 nmi (15,000 mi; 24,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement	95 officers 857 enlisted (as designed) 1,269 officers and men (wartime)
Armament	9 × 8-inch (203mm)/55-caliber guns(3x3) 8 × 5-inch (127mm)/25-caliber anti-aircraft guns 2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns
Armor	Belt: 3+1⁄4–5 in (83–127 mm) Deck: 2+1⁄2 in (64 mm) Barbettes: 1+1⁄2 in (38 mm) Turrets: 1+1⁄2–2+1⁄2 in (38–64 mm) Conning tower: 1+1⁄4 in (32 mm)
Aircraft carried	4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities	2 × Amidship catapults
General characteristics (1945)[3]
Armament	9 × 8 in (203 mm)/55 caliber guns (3x3) 8 × 5 in (127 mm)/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns 2 × 3-pounder saluting guns 6 × quad 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 19 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons
Aircraft carried	3 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities	1 × Amidship catapults (starboard catapult removed in 1945)

USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931, it was the flagship for the commander of Scouting Force 1 for eight years, then flagship for Admiral Raymond Spruance from 1943 to 1945 while he commanded the Fifth Fleet in battles across the Central Pacific during World War II.

In July 1945, Indianapolis completed a top-secret high-speed trip to deliver uranium and other components for "Little Boy", the first nuclear weapon ever used in combat, to the Tinian Naval Base, and subsequently departed for the Philippines on training duty. At 0015 on 30 July, the ship was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58, and sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,195 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship.^[4] The remaining 890 faced exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks while stranded in the open ocean with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy only learned of the sinking four days later, when survivors were spotted by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol. A U.S. Navy PBY flying boat crew landed to save those in the water. Only 316 survived.^[4]

The sinking of Indianapolis was the greatest loss of life from a single ship lost at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy.^[a] On 19 August 2017, a search team financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen located the wreckage in the Philippine Sea lying at a depth of approximately 18,000 ft (5,500 m).^[5] On 20 December 2018, the crew of Indianapolis was collectively awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.^[6]

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