USS Indianapolis (CA-35)

History of USS Indianapolis (CA-35)

The USS Indianapolis is the second Portland-class heavy cruiser built to 8 inches, 9,800 tons. The ship was built at the Camden Naval Shipyard in New Jersey and launched on November 7, 1931. By the time she entered service, the design had already been criticized for her weight limit.

There are two main reasons for her rank: 1) the Washington Naval Treaty, signed after World War I, limited the tonnage of ships to 10,000 tons; and 2) the strong political pressure for the postwar drawdown of the U.S. Navy.

The Portland class was the planned four-ship class to bear her name, but was whittled down to just the Portland and Indianapolis at the time of construction. The remaining two ships still on the drawing board were assigned to the last of the New Orleans class, which received more firepower and other improvements.

Postwar political pressure had unintended consequences for the U.S. Navy to focus more on heavy cruisers, which took some time to review construction plans by other navies, and subsequently reflected best construction practices for cruisers built by major powers. The U.S.

Navy's shipbuilding program began in the 1930s, just as another world war loomed in just nine years. By the beginning of World War II, the United States planned to build 18 heavy cruisers, while Japan had completed about 12 of its own and Germany had completed only 2.

Critical Systems

The USS Indianapolis has a surface displacement of 11,574 tons, a speed of approximately 32.7 knots, and a cruising range of 10,000 nautical miles at 15 knots. Her main gun consisted of 9 x 8 in (200 mm) 55 caliber guns mounted on 3 x 3 mounts (three guns in three turrets - "triple mounts"). For anti-air protection, Indianapolis can deploy her 8 x 1 in (130 mm) 25 caliber machine gun in a single seat and an 8 x 1 in (12.7 mm) 0.50 caliber heavy machine gun, which can also be deployed in a single seat.

She arrived with a full displacement of 12,755 tons. In accordance with the Washington Treaty, to save displacement weight, Indianapolis was designed without heavy armor, with protection only on the sides and bottom toward the keel, extending almost the entire length of the ship. This armor protects against mines and torpedoes. However, their armor was only a few inches thick, covering only their vital cabin.

This lack of belt armor and overall armor was also a strategy the Navy developed when sailing was still the primary means of propulsion - cruisers relied on their speed and battleships on their armor for protection. Although more vulnerable, she was still able to escape at a very fast speed.

President Roosevelt found a new love

On January 10, 1933, she left Camden, New Jersey, to embark on her customary "settling" cruise to Cuba. All reported to be going well, and she continued to train her new crew in warm Caribbean waters, mostly around the Channel area and then in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile. In May, she returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for a normal overhaul.

After a fresh coat of paint, she left the shipyard and was escorted to northern Maine to pick up the commander-in-chief, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, before heading to Maryland to board one of his cabinet members. While the current President of the United States flew Air Force One, President Roosevelt liked the USS Indianapolis and chose it as his "national ship" to be his personal maritime transport across the United States. Roosevelt used Indianapolis as a symbol of American military might against world leaders and kings visiting Washington.

In 1934, she took the president and a large group to inspect the Atlantic Fleet on the Hudson River, starting the traditional "Fleet Week." In 1936, she traveled with the president from Charleston, South Carolina, to the Pan American Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

War in Indianapolis is coming

In 1937, Europe was in chaos. The U.S. Navy closely followed Nazi Germany's military operations and began war-related training exercises with the Atlantic and Pacific fleets -- Indianapolis' days as a "ship of the nation" were more or less over. She was assigned to the Pacific Fleet at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California.

Indianapolis and the fleet were training for the war, and tensions between the U.S. and Japan reached a peak in April 1940. Washington moved its fleet from California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to protect U.S. interests in the Pacific. As an island nation, Japan has always lacked natural resourcesespecially oiland sending the U.S. fleet to Hawaii is seen as a threat to their desired Pacific sphere of influence. As a result, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, officially forcing the United States into its path.

However, the USS Indianapolis was not on Pearl Island at the time of the attack, but was conducting exercises off Johnson Island west of Hawaii. Indianapolis was ordered to join Task Force 12, which consisted of the USS Lexington and USS Enterprise, and escort the transport of U.S. Navy fighter jets from Pearl Harbor to Midway, northwest of Hawaii. Indianapolis supported the aircraft carrier, which launched search planes southwest of Oahu to pursue the Japanese fleet and returned to Pearl Harbor on December 13 after failing to locate the enemy. In February 1942, Indianapolis, south of Rabaul, New Britain, supported Task Force Yorktown, which was dispatched to attack Japanese ships near the enemy ports of Lae and Salamowa, New Guinea.

These ports have become major staging areas for the Japanese navy. Air defense support from carrier-based aircraft and surface combatants was used. The USS Indianapolis is thought to have shot down 16 Japanese bombers sent to the attack task force.

Japanese shipping within the port was also hit hard.

Indianapolis then returned to the United States to complete overhaul and refit at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. After the overhaul was completed, the Indianapolis escorted the convoy to Australia. Then, in July 1942, she joined the Aleutian Fleet to protect the North Pacific island chain, and the Japanese landed ground forces off the coast of the Aleutian Islands, which were American territories. The purpose of the invasion itself was to divert the attention of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and force them out of Pearl Harbor's protective perimeter.

The trap failed and the Japanese fleet was ambushed again. The Indianapolis crew had already gained some cold weather combat experience from their days in the Atlantic during the relentless North Pacific, but the Aleutians were a constant stream of heavy rain and storms, coupled with high winds and surf. USS Indianapolis found an opening in the mist of Kiska Island harbor, opened the gate with her 8-inch guns, and joined the other surface ships of the task force, catching the Japanese defenders off guard. The bottom line is that the sinking enemy ship destroyed the coastal fort.

US forces captured Adak Island that month, providing aircraft with a suitable base from which to attack Dutch Harbor and Unalaska. She remained in Aleutian waters until August 1943 in support of the landings at Attu and Kiska.

However, the Japanese managed to escape under cover of thick fog and darkness, but their presence in the Aleutians ended on August 15, 1943.

Indianapolis returned to Mare Island for much-needed repairs before sailing to Pearl Harbor as the flagship of Vice Admiral Raymond Spruance, Commander of the Fifth Fleet. The fleet invaded the Gilbert Islands on November 19, 1943, with Indianapolis bombing Tarawa to support the invasion and close fire support to the fort against 10,000 deeply buried Japanese defenders.

22,000 U.S. Marines landed, and four out of ten were wounded or killed. During three days of intense fighting, some 3,000 U.S. Marines were killed by the staunch defensive camp. On January 31, 1944, Indianapolis went to the Marshall Islands and bombed Kwajalein.

From March to April, the task force moved into the Carolinas in support of General Douglas MacArthur, and in June bombed Tinian, Saipan, and Guam. A 120mm shell hit Indianapolis but did not detonate, so the damage was minimal. While protecting an aircraft carrier in the naval battle of the Philippine Sea, she fought multiple downed U.S.

Navy pilots and shot down a Japanese bomber herself. By July, missions included bombing the island and covering Army and Navy landings, targeting Tinian on the 24th. In September, in the Admiralty Islands, Indianapolis bombarded Palau and Manus.

USS Indianapolis needed repairs again (this time with her 8-inch guns) and returned to Mare Island, California for repairs.

By January 1945, the CA-35 was ready to take off again, and under Admiral Spruance, she joined her sisters as part of Task Force 58. In February, she arrived to provide fire support for the Iwo Jima landings, using her main guns to get as close as possible to locate Japanese positions. On February 25, she returned to Task Force 58 as a carrier to defend against Japanese airstrikes. In March, it shelled Okinawa for seven days before a ground invasion, shooting down six Japanese aircraft. While Okinawa was still under fire, a Japanese bomb penetrated the port main deck and exploded below, wreaking havoc, killing nine sailors and injuring 26 others.

The ship entered water due to a hull failure, forcing a ship to return to Mare Island in April.

Special cargo

After repairs were completed, Indianapolis was upgraded with a new radar-guided 20mm anti-aircraft gun, mounted as two-seat. While working at the shipyard, the Department of the Navy decided to use the CA-35 on a special mission to deliver top-secret parts to Tinian that turned out to be parts of the US atomic bomb. She traveled to San Francisco to retrieve the ignition system and 132 pounds of uranium-235, which would be stored in the admiral's cabin. Two scientists posing as officers were assigned to observe bomb debris along with a heavy naval guard.

She left San Francisco unaccompanied for Pearl Harbor. She arrived in Hawaii on July 26, heading to Tinian to unload her precious cargo.

No one on board knew what the cargo was, not even Captain Charles Butler McVeigh III, who had been in command of Indianapolis since November 1944. While she wasn't their first captain, he served in the U.S.

Navy for 26 years and accumulated a solid record of Silver Stars, Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts. A third-generation Marine, the son of an admiral, he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1920, seemingly for senior commanders. McVeigh always received excellent performance reports, was often regarded as a very capable officer, and his crew generally respected the programs he led.

The delivery is now complete, and the order for the USS Indianapolis is relatively simple - leave Tinian via Guam for Wright Island and complete 17 days of training. Upon completion, Independence will report to Adm. Oldendorf, commander of Task Force 95. McVeigh was ready to depart, requesting additional supplies, refueling, and escort to Wright as normal.

Escort and route officer Lieutenant Waldron told Captain McVeigh that he would request an escort from the destroyer, but did not know if an escort would be provided. Waldron called Lieutenant General Murray's office, Commander Mariana, and got an answer that an escort wasn't requiredperhaps because he knew better, of course, that McVeigh didn't file a formal complaint. The USS Indianapolis is an outdated capital ship that lacks submarine detection sonar and has limited belt armor due to the aforementioned post-World War I restrictions.

This appears to be the first time in U.S. naval history that a capital ship sailed without an escort. The three-day course is designed as a straight course with a speed of 15.7 knots.

Last trip

Indianapolis arrives in Guam, some retired sailors are replaced by other sailors. On Saturday morning, July 28, 1945, at 9:10 a.m., the USS Indianapolis unberthed for Leyte Island. Shortly after leaving the port, the Port Director's Office sent a standard message to 5th Fleet and Pacific Naval Command CINCPAC stating that USS Indianapolis CA-35 departed Island 2300z on July 27, SOA 15.

Session 7, ETA Leyte 0200z July 31. Knowing that the mysterious cargo had been delivered, the ship was relieved, and everyone knew the war was almost over - Germany had surrendered in May, and the Empire of Japan was a "hanging" fighter.