On July 16, 1945, the USS Indianapolis (CA-35), a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, received top-secret orders that would set it on a historic and ultimately tragic mission. Just days after surviving a kamikaze attack that had left the ship in dry dock for repairs, the Indianapolis was chosen for one of the most critical deliveries of World War II: transporting essential components for "Little Boy," the first nuclear weapon to be used in combat, to the U.S. base on Tinian Island in the Pacific. This mission would become one of the final turning points of the war, setting the stage for the bombing of Hiroshima and Japan’s eventual surrender.
The Indianapolis departed from San Francisco on July 16, shrouded in secrecy. Aboard were high-ranking officers, a small detachment of Marines, and a heavily guarded cargo that few truly understood. Among the precious contents were a 15-foot-long uranium core and other key parts required to assemble the world’s first atomic bomb. Even most of the ship’s crew of nearly 1,200 men had no idea what they were transporting—only that it was of utmost importance to the war effort.
Under the command of Captain Charles B. McVay III, the Indianapolis steamed at high speed across the Pacific, making a brief stop at Pearl Harbor before continuing toward Tinian Island. The ship traveled unescorted, a testament to the urgency of the mission and the Navy’s confidence that Japanese naval forces had been largely neutralized by this stage of the war. Nevertheless, dangers still lurked in the waters ahead, including enemy submarines prowling the Philippine Sea.
On July 26, after just ten days, the Indianapolis arrived safely at Tinian and delivered its historic cargo. The components were quickly transferred to the Manhattan Project scientists already stationed on the island, where "Little Boy" would soon be assembled. This atomic bomb would be loaded onto the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that would drop it on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, forever changing the course of warfare and human history.
With its mission completed, the Indianapolis set sail for Guam and then Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. But its success came with a heavy price. On the night of July 30, just days after delivering the atomic bomb parts, the cruiser was struck by two torpedoes fired by the Japanese submarine I-58. The ship sank in only 12 minutes, leaving around 900 sailors stranded in shark-infested waters. Over the next four days, dehydration, exposure, and shark attacks claimed the lives of nearly 600 men, making it one of the worst naval disasters in U.S. history. Only 316 sailors survived to tell the tale.
The USS Indianapolis’s mission to Tinian Island remains a critical moment in World War II history. While its successful delivery of "Little Boy" paved the way for the end of the war, the tragedy that followed stands as a solemn reminder of the immense human cost of conflict, even in the final days of victory.
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