page_title: USS Indianapolis (CA-35)
section_title: Discovery of the wreck
hierarchical_section_title: USS Indianapolis (CA-35) / Discovery of the wreck
caption_attribution_description: English: The firing detail aboard the guided-missile submarine USS Ohio (SSGN 726) fires three volleys as part of a burial-at-sea for World War II Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Eugene Stanley Morgan, one of the 316 survivors of the sinking of the World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA 35) in the Philippine Sea July 30, 1945. Morgan died June 18, 2008.
context_page_description: USS Indianapolis was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931, the vessel served as the flagship for the commander of Scouting Force 1 for eight years, then as flagship for Admiral Raymond Spruance in 1943 and 1944 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 parts of Little Boy, the first nuclear weapon ever used in combat, to the United States Army Air Force Base on the island of Tinian, 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. 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. Only 316 survived.
context_section_description: The wreck of Indianapolis is in the Philippine Sea. In July–August 2001, an expedition sought to find the wreckage through the use of side-scan sonar and underwater cameras mounted on a remotely operated vehicle. Four Indianapolis survivors accompanied the expedition, which was not successful. In June 2005, a second expedition was mounted to find the wreck. National Geographic covered the story and released it in July. Submersibles were launched to find any sign of wreckage, although they only located pieces of metal that were not proven conclusively to be from the ship.
  In July 2016, new information came out regarding the possible location of Indianapolis when naval records were discovered indicating that the Tank Landing Ship LST-779 recorded passing by Indianapolis 11 hours before the torpedoes struck. This information allowed researchers to determine that Indianapolis had been moving faster and was therefore further west than previously assumed, as well as slightly off the route taken. Using this information, National Geographic planned to mount an expedition to search for the wreck in the summer of 2017. Reports estimated that Indianapolis was actually 25 miles (40 km) west of the reported sinking position, in water over three miles (4,800 m) deep, and likely on the side of an underwater mountain.
  A year after the discovery of the records, the wreck was located by Paul Allen’s "USS Indianapolis Project" aboard Research Vessel Petrel  on 19 August 2017, at a depth of 18,044 ft (3.417 mi; 5.500 km). The wreck was revealed to the public on 13 September, 2017, in a live TV show on PBS titled "USS Indianapolis, Live from the Deep", starring Miles O'Brien and also including now-retired Captain William Toti. The wreck is well-preserved due to the great depth at which Indianapolis rests, among the rocky mountain ranges of the North Philippine Sea.
  In September 2017, a map detailing the wreckage was released. The main part of the wreck lies in an enormous impact crater; her bow, which broke off before the ship sank, lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east. The two forward 8-inch guns, which also broke off on the surface and mark the ship's last position on the surface, lie 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of the main wreck. The bridge, which broke off the ship due to the torpedoes, lies in a debris field near the forward guns. The single 8-inch gun turret on the stern remains in place, though the stern's roof collapsed over itself. Airplane wreckage from the ship lies about 0.6 miles (0.97 km) north of the main part of the wreck. The full exposition of the method by which the wreck was located and documented was released in another PBS documentary on 8 January 2019 titled "USS Indianapolis: The Final Chapter."
caption: Navy firing detail as part of a burial-at-sea in 2008, for one of the 316 survivors of Indianapolis sinking on 30 July 1945
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