Researchers discover WWII- era USS Indianapolis wreckage. WASHINGTON — Civilian researchers say they have located the wreck of the USS Indianapolis, the World War II heavy cruiser that played a critical role in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima before being struck by Japanese torpedoes. The sinking of the Indianapolis remains the Navy’s single worst loss at sea. The fate of its crew — nearly 9. Pacific war’s more horrible and fascinating tales. The expedition crew of Research Vessel Petrel, which is owned by Microsoft co- founder Paul Allen, says it located the wreckage of the Indianapolis on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean, more than 1. U. S. Navy said in a news release Saturday.“To be able to honour the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling,” Allen said in the news release.

The story of the USS Indianapolis is one of the most harrowing in United States history. The Navy ship, a heavy cruiser, was tasked with a top-secret mission in the. USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage movie reviews & Metacritic score: The harrowing true story of the crew of the USS Indianapolis, who were stranded in the Phi. · The USS Indianapolis, at Pearl Harbor in 1937, won 10 battle stars during World War II and delivered components of the atomic bomb that was dropped on. "We've located the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis in Philippine Sea at 5500m below the sea.".

Directed by Mario Van Peebles. With Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane, Matt Lanter. During World War II, an American navy ship is sunk by a Japanese submarine.

The Indianapolis, with 1,1. Marines on board, was sailing the Philippine Sea between Guam and Leyte Gulf when two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine struck just after midnight on July 3. It sank in 1. 2 minutes, killing about 3. Survivors were left in the water, most of them with only life jackets. There was no time to send a distress signal, and four days passed before a bomber on routine patrol happened to spot the survivors in the water. By the time rescuers arrived, a combination of exposure, dehydration, drowning and constant shark attacks had left only one- fourth of the ship’s original number alive. Over the years numerous books recounted the ship’s disaster and its role in delivering key components of what would become the atomic bomb “Little Boy” to the island of Tinian, the take- off point for the bomber Enola Gay’s mission to Hiroshima in August 1.

WASHINGTON — Civilian researchers say they have located the wreck of the USS Indianapolis, the World War II heavy cruiser that played a critical role in the atomic. Nicolas Cage stars in this film depicting the true story of the World War II naval disaster that claimed hundreds of lives. Directed by Robert Iscove. With Stacy Keach, Richard Thomas, Steve Landesberg, Don Harvey. True story of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, its crew's struggle. More than a dozen men who survived the worst sea disaster in U.S. naval history - the World War II sinking of the USS Indianapolis - have gathered in the cruiser's.

Documentaries and movies, most recently “USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage” (2. Nicolas Cage, have recounted the crew’s horror- filled days at sea. The Indianapolis sinking also was a plot point in the Steven Spielberg blockbuster “Jaws” (1. Capt. Quint recounting the terror he felt waiting to be rescued. The Navy news release issued Saturday said a key to finding the Indianapolis came in 2.

Richard Hulver, a historian with the Naval History and Heritage Command, determined a new search area. Hulver’s research identified a naval landing craft that had recorded a sighting of the Indianapolis the day before it sank. The research team developed a new search area, although it was still 6. The Navy said the 1. R/V Petrel was surveying the Indianapolis site.

The team’s work has been compliant with U. S. law regarding a sunken warship as a military grave not to be disturbed, according to the Navy. The wrecked ship remains the property of the Navy and its location is both confidential and restricted, it said.

USS Indianapolis: Sharks, secrets and the sinking of the World War II ship. Story highlights. USS Indianapolis went down 7. There's a new clue on shipwreck's general location; Navy consolidates info on website (CNN)When the 1. Jaws" first terrified moviegoers, not all of the fear came from the special effects or haunting soundtrack.

One of the more chilling scenes was fisherman Quint's quiet recounting of bobbing in Pacific waters for days while sharks circled him and his fellow sailors, waiting to see who would be the next victim. Quint described the sharks' black, lifeless eyes, the blood- curdling screams, the ocean turning red. That grim story, painted from the real- life sinking of the USS Indianapolis near the end of World War II, is part of an upcoming Nicolas Cage movie and a Navy Web page produced ahead of Saturday's 7.

The unescorted Indianapolis carried almost 1,2. Tinian Island components of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Its secret mission over, the cruiser departed Guam and steamed for Leyte, an island in the Philippines, for training.

But torpedoes from a Japanese submarine sent the ship, and up to 3. July 3. 0, 1. 94. The frantic crew was unable to get off a successful distress signal. Of an estimated 8. While some Americans are familiar with the demise of the Indianapolis - - the highest loss of Navy personnel at sea - - a recent nugget of information sheds new light on where the ship was attacked. Here are six questions about the USS Indianapolis and lessons learned: What's the new clue on where the ship went down? Richard Hulver, a historian for the Naval History and Heritage Command, knew that an LST - - an acronym for a cargo and troop carrier - - came across the USS Indianapolis 1.

Wanting to know more about the location of the encounter, Hulver did a Google search on "USS Indianapolis" and "LST."In May 2. U. S. sailor who was on the LST wrote a blog post on the website of a fudge shop his family operates in Mackinaw City, Michigan. While the post did not give the number of the LST, Hulver found through records that Seaman 1st Class Francis G. Murdick was catching a ride on LST- 7. Hulver perused Murdick's personnel records and the LST's deck logs, gleaning new information that shows the Indianapolis was likely farther west than the Navy had thought to be at the time of the attack. This brings us closer to discovering the final resting place of the ship and many of her crew," Hulver said in a Navy statement about the discovery.

There have been attempts over the years to find the Indianapolis, and another reportedly is planned for 2. Navy officials said there are no current plans for the military to launch a new one. The vessel is believed to be in water more than 3 miles deep and possibly on a side of a steep undersea mountain range, providing a small target for sonar. What do survivors remember about the horror? Vic Buckett recalled seeing the Indianapolis "standing straight up" before it slipped below the waves during the first hour of July 3. He was among former Indianapolis crew members who spoke with National Geographic in 2. Many of those who spilled into the water were injured from the torpedo explosions.

Survivors thought surely help must be on the way. Compounding the disaster was the fact that port officials at Leyte were not required to report the arrival - - and ostensibly nonarrival - - of a ship. The Navy did not know of the sinking for a few days, when an anti- sub patrol airplane spotted an oil spill and survivors bobbing in the water. Edgar Harrell recalled the desperate scene to National Geographic."At any given time you could look out and see big fins swimming around and around around. All of a sudden you heard a blood- curdling scream and you look and you see the shark had taken him under. Day after day went by.

Skin began rotting, and Dick Thelen recalled seeing "a lot of guys just crack, or drink the water, or give up, or swim off to an imaginary island."Hulver said most of the crew were able to get life jackets, but many of the vests became waterlogged or would tend to slide down the body, increasing fatigue. Some sailors grabbed on to floating nets, or the extremely fortunate got into a life raft."It was survival mode. Pulling away from the group almost meant certain death. Those who pulled away were picked off by the sharks, or drank saltwater and they floated off."What's the connection to 'Jaws'? Robert Shaw, portraying Quint in "Jaws," gave a chilling monologue when Richard Dreyfuss' Hooper asked him about the Indianapolis. Watch Spooks: The Greater Good Online Full Movie. Quint said he and the other men who survived the sinking bunched up in the water to ward off marauding sharks."And the idea was, the shark goes to the nearest man and then he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away," Quint said.

Sometimes he wouldn't go away." Hulver said Quint's story is largely accurate but may exaggerate the number of those killed by sharks. No one knows for sure. In some instances, the predators targeted the bodies of those who had died from the elements. There certainly are sharks," the historian said.

You read more of dehydration, overexposure and the mental collapse. That is the tough part of the story to read.""Jaws" isn't the only film to cover the story of the USS Indianapolis. There's been talk of a Robert Downey Jr. And "USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage" is scheduled to reach the big screen this fall.

Nicolas Cage will portray Capt. Charles Mc. Vay III. The production company touts its treatment as "the remarkable true story of survival. Filled with tense action and brave heroes, it is the ultimate untold story of WWII."How were the sailors rescued? For days, it seemed as if almost everything worked against the sailors and Marines as they bobbed over a 2. Pacific. Survivors fired what emergency flares they had.

The flares did not have parachutes, and they did not stay in the air long enough for planes to see them," Hulver said. The survivors were not spotted until August 2, 1. By then, only a few hundred were still alive. A Navy plane on anti- submarine patrol spotted an oil slick and people in the water. A PBY Catalina amphibious plane circled the scene."He made the call he needed to land in the water. He was taxiing around and picking up survivors," Hulver said. Lt. Adrian Marks, who piloted the Catalina, spoke to a reunion group 3.

I decided that the men in groups stood the best chance of survival,'' Marks said, according to a New York Times 1. They could look after one another, could splash and scare away the sharks and could lend one another moral support and encouragement.'' They concentrated on individuals. Somehow, the plane hauled 5. Ships were rushed to the scene to save the remaining sailors and Marines. Capt. Edward Parke, commander of a Marine detachment on board, gave up his life vest on numerous occasions to others and worked to keep his men together and focused on surviving.

He died on the second day in the water of exhaustion. A medical officer constantly reminded others not to drink saltwater. There is no coming back, they would die in a few hours," Hulver said. What happened to the ship's commander? Mc. Vay was rescued about noon August 3, 1. Indianapolis sank.

A court- martial effectively ended his distinguished career. Mc. Vay was acquitted of one charge but was found guilty of endangering the crew by failing to have the Indianapolis zigzag. The Japanese sub commander testified such a defensive maneuver would not have saved the ship.)Hulver said he was impressed with Mc. Vay's leadership and the fact he did not try to shift blame.

He thought possibly he should have gone down with his ship."Taking responsibility is a key component of Navy leadership, said Paul Taylor, a spokesman for the Naval History and Heritage Command. It sometimes can be unforgiving and Capt. Mc. Vay knew that."Many survivors believed the skipper had been made a scapegoat.