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USS\xa0Indianapolis\xa0(CL/CA-35)\xa0was a\xa0Portland-class\xa0heavy cruiser\xa0of the\xa0United States Navy, named for the city of\xa0Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931, the vessel served as the\xa0flagship\xa0for the commander of\xa0Scouting Force 1\xa0for eight years, then as flagship for\xa0Admiral\xa0Raymond Spruance\xa0in 1943 and 1944 while he commanded the\xa0Fifth Fleet\xa0in battles across the\xa0Central Pacific\xa0during\xa0World War II.

In July 1945,\xa0Indianapolis\xa0completed a top-secret high-speed trip to deliver parts of\xa0Little Boy, the first\xa0nuclear weapon\xa0ever used in combat, to the\xa0United States Army Air Force Base\xa0on the island of\xa0Tinian, and subsequently departed for the\xa0Philippines\xa0on training duty. At 0015 on 30 July, the ship was\xa0torpedoed\xa0by the\xa0Imperial Japanese Navy\xa0submarine\xa0I-58, and sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,195 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship.[4]\xa0The remaining 890 faced\xa0exposure,\xa0dehydration,\xa0saltwater poisoning, and\xa0shark attacks\xa0while stranded in the open ocean with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy only learned of the sinking four days later, when survivors were spotted by the crew of a\xa0PV-1 Ventura\xa0on routine patrol. Only 316 survived.[4]\xa0The sinking of\xa0Indianapolis\xa0resulted in the greatest single loss of life at sea, from a single ship, in the history of the US Navy.[a]

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