Team Locates Sub That Sank the U.S.S. Indianapolis

Texas A&M ^ | 6/8/2004 | William Bryant

[Southack]

June 8, 2004 - In what has been called the "worst disaster in U.S. naval history," the U.S.S. Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945, sinking in 12 minutes, and of the 1,196 men on board, only 316 survived. Two Texas A&M University researchers have located the sub that sank it.

William Bryant, professor of oceanography, and Brett Phaneuf, a graduate student in oceanography, located the sub about three weeks ago in waters about 60 miles off the coast of Nagasaki. Their efforts to locate the sub, named the I-58, have been funded by the Discovery Channel, which will air a special on the project next fall.

The I-58 was intentionally scuttled by U.S. military forces following World War II, Phaneuf says, for fear that Russia might acquire it and other Japanese subs for the advanced technological equipment they contained. In all, 24 Japanese subs were intentionally sunk.

"The area surveyed contained the remains of 24 submarines, the largest collection of sunken submarines in the world," says Bryant, professor of oceanography and leader of the mission.

"In addition, this area contains one of the largest submarines ever built, the SenToku I-402, which means 'special submarine.' "

"We had the location of where these subs might be, but it's rare when you find sunken ships exactly where they are supposed to be," Phaneuf explains. "We were lucky to find one, and it happened to be the I-58."

The Texas A&M researchers sent a robotic vehicle to the I-58, which is located 675 feet down, too far for human divers. Photographs and video taken by the robotic vehicle confirmed that it was indeed the I-58, which fired torpedoes that sank the Indianapolis.

The story of the U.S.S. Indianapolis is often called the worst naval disaster ever and one of the darkest chapters in U.S. military history.

The ship was on a top-secret mission to carry the materials for the first atomic bomb to the island of Tinian, from where the bomb would be fully assembled for its drop over Hiroshima. After delivering its cargo, the ship was on its return voyage when it was sunk by the I-58.

Most of the crew was cast adrift in the ocean following the attack with no lifeboats or food, and many of them died from shark attack or exposure. The remaining 316 men of the 1,196-member crew were not picked up until four days later.

The ship's captain, Charles Butler McVay, survived and was later court-martialed for failing to zigzag, a maneuver to avoid enemy attack. In a highly unusual move, the Navy flew in the Japanese captain of the I-58 to testify against McVay in the court martial proceedings.

The crew of the Indianapolis unanimously supported McVay, saying he was an excellent captain and that the Navy used him only as a scapegoat, pointing out that 350 ships were lost in World War II and McVay was the only captain to be court-martialed. For McVay, their efforts were wasted - after years of guilt, inner torment and failure to clear his name, he committed suicide in 1968. In July of 2001, the Navy officially exonerated McVay of wrongdoing.

The sinking of the Indianapolis has been the subject of numerous books and articles, and was immortalized in the movie Jaws in which the grizzled shark hunter Quint recalls fighting off the sharks that killed most of his fellow Indianapolis crewmembers.

"The I-58 is one of the most famous Japanese ships simply because it's the one that sank the Indianapolis," Phaneuf says.

"But we're trying to find some of the other 23 other subs near the same location."

One the team hopes to locate is the I-402 (unlike American and British ships, the Japanese did not name ships after people or places but assigned them numbers). The I-402, Phaneuf says, is one of the largest subs ever built - so large that it was capable of transporting aircraft inside its huge hulls.

"We'll go back and see if we can locate it," he says. "The Japanese government has been very cooperative in all of this. They have helped us whenever possible. There is a lot of history in these sunken ships, and we'd like to learn more about them."

[Southack]

Secret Japanese submarine technology found, but not yet made public.

[Southack]

[thoughtomator]

Roosevelt LIED!!!!

(sorry couldn't resist)

[martin_fierro]

Still one heck of a memorable movie scene.

[somemoreequalthanothers]

I saw the story of the men of the Indianapolis years ago. I wish they would stuff a grenade in that jap sub and set it off, just for old times sake.

[Piedmont Rebel]

Truman was president.

That description in Jaws is still horrifying. I can't even imagine what those men went through.

[blam]

Sad story.

[blam]

What was the advanced technology?

[ClearCase_guy]

Quint: Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, chief. It was comin' back, from the island of Tinian Delady, just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen footer. You know, you know that when you're in the water, chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. Well, we didn't know. `Cause our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Huh huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, chief. The sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it's... kinda like `ol squares in battle like a, you see on a calendar, like the battle of Waterloo. And the idea was, the shark would go for nearest man and then he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces.

Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men! I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand! I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin' chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player, bosom's mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. Well... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He'd a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start 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 in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks ttook the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

[lizma]

like a doll's eye.

They always creeped me out. But I think it's becuz I watched too many Night Galleries and Twilight Zones as a kid.

Since than I really don't like doll's eyes and clown pictures. But still what I fear worse is the demorats. I thank Reagan for that. That's a good fear.

[Southack]

Hull metalurgy or shape, I'd guess...it'd have to be something that we couldn't take with us without sailing the subs back ourselves, so we scuttled 'em.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I read a book years ago about the Indianapolis story. It had photos of the ships, sub, commanders and one of the scuttling of the sub.
I have never forgotten it!

[longfellow]

there was a great show on the discovery channel that proved the sharks were bull sharks. real interesting and terrifying. they talked with survivors, God bless them all. They were in every humans worst nightmare.

[COEXERJ145]

[Vision]

You know, I'm watching Jaws on Bravo right now...

[Vision]

Why exactly did Quint not want to put a life jacket on again? I never understood that.

[New Perspective]

That book was fantastic. My dad lent it to me, I returned it 2 days later. He asked why I didn't read it, I replied "I did".

I have spent some time on Guam, Saipan, and Tinain. fantastic places. I feel like I went back in time. Everyone should see these memorials. It lends itself to real perspective.

[Critter]

Because he didn't want to live long enough to have to worry about being eaten by a shark.

[Southack]

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- JAPANESE NAVY SHIPS --

I-58 (Submarine, 1944-1946).

I-58, a 2140-ton "B(3) Type" submarine, was built at Yokosuka, Japan. Completed in September 1944, she was modified in 1945 to carry the "Kaiten" manned torpedo. On 30 July 1945, while operating between the Marianas and the Philippines, she encountered the U.S. heavy cruiser Indianapolis and sank her with conventional torpedoes. I-58 was surrendered at the end of World War II, and was scuttled off Goto, Japan, on 1 April 1946.

This page features views relating to I-58.

If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: 80-G-351895 I-58 (Japanese Submarine, 1944-1946), outboard of I-53 (Japanese Submarine, 1943-1946) At Kure, Japan, 16 October 1945. I-58 sank USS Indianapolis (CA-35) on 30 July 1945. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 102KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.
Photo #: USMC 139990 I-58 (Japanese Submarine, 1944-1946) At Sasebo, Japan, 28 January 1946. This submarine torpedoed and sank USS Indianapolis (CA-35) on 30 July 1945. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph. Online Image: 92KB; 740 x 580 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo Number 127-G-139990.
Photo #: 80-G-260244 I-58 (Japanese Submarine, 1944-1946) Is prepared for scuttling, off Sasebo, Japan, during Operation "Road's End", 1 April 1946. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 60KB; 740 x 590 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.
Photo #: USMC 139986 I-58 (Japanese Submarine, 1944-1946) View in the forward torpedo room, showing 21-inch torpedo tubes and three crew members. Taken at Sasebo, Japan, 28 January 1946. This submarine torpedoed and sank USS Indianapolis (CA-35) on 30 July 1945. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph. Online Image: 99KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo Number 127-G-139986.

[Vision]

Wow, powerful statement

That scene will be on in about 15 minutes on Bravo.