On July 30, 1945, the US cruiser USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine.
The cruiser USS Indianapolis made history with its top-secret mission to deliver parts for the first atomic bomb, called "Little Boy", to the US Air Force base on Tinian Island.
Its sinking became the deadliest single ship loss in US Navy history. The cruiser was the second ship to be named after the city of Indianapolis, Indiana.
It was commissioned on March 31, 1930 by New York Shipbuilding, based in Candem, New Jersey. The cruiser was launched on 7 November 1931 and delivered to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 15 November 1932.
On 26 July 1945, the cruiser delivered essential parts for the first combat-ready atomic bomb (Little Boy) to the US Air Force base at Tinian.
On 30 July 1945, at 14 minutes after midnight, while the cruiser was in the Philippine Sea, it was attacked by the Japanese submarine I-58. The ship sank in 12 minutes. Of the 1,196-man crew, approximately 300 went down with Indianapolis, the remaining 900 were exposed to dehydration and constant shark attacks while waiting to be rescued. The survivors drifted on the surface without lifeboats or food.
The survivors were spotted by chance four days later, by which time only 316 people remained. “Indianapolis” was one of the last U.S. Navy ships sunk in World War II.
In August 1945, the atomic bomb carrying “Indianapolis” completely destroyed two Japanese cities.