Paul Allen, 63, announced Friday that his research vessel located wreckage from USS Indianapolis
Billionaire tech mogul Paul G. Allen announced Friday that a research vessel belonging to his organization has located wreckage from the USS Indianapolis in the Philippine Sea.
‘To be able to honor the brave men of the USS and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role during World War II is truly humbling,’ Allen said in a statement published to his website.
‘As Americans, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the crew for their courage, persistence and sacrifice in the face of horrendous circumstances.’
‘While our search for the rest of the wreckage will continue, I hope everyone connected to this historic ship will feel some measure of closure at this discovery so long in coming,’ the statement added.
The USS Indianapolis was destroyed by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945
On July 30, 1945, as the second World War was coming to a close, the USS Indianapolis was destroyed by a Japanese submarine, sinking the ship in 12 minutes after it was struck with a tornado.
Of the 1,197 men aboard the Indianapolis, only 317 survived after spending five days adrift in shark-infested waters.
The ship had just completed a secret mission delivering components of two nuclear weapons that would soon be used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
‘Even in the worst defeats and disasters there is valor and sacrifice that deserve to never be forgotten,’ said Sam Cox, Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command.
The USS Indianapolis was a 9,800-ton Portland Class heavy cruiser and earned 10 battle stars during WWII
Of the 1,197 men aboard the Indianapolis, only 317 survived and only 32 are alive to this day
The ship was found using the R/V Petrel, which was able to dive 6,000 meters in the Philippine waters to locate the ship
The vessel was sunk after completing a top secret mission to deliver components of two nuclear weapons which would later be used on Japan
‘They can serve as inspiration to current and future Sailors enduring situations of mortal peril. There are also lessons learned, and in the case of the Indianapolis, lessons re-learned, that need to be preserved and passed on, so the same mistakes can be prevented, and lives saved.’
Capt. William Toti (Ret), spokesperson for the survivors of the USS Indianapolis, said upon learning of the discovery that every soldier, to a man, ‘have longed for the day when their ship would be found, solving their final mystery.’
‘They all know this is now a war memorial, and are grateful for the respect and dignity that Paul Allen and his team have paid to one of the most tangible manifestations of the pain and sacrifice of our World War II veterans.’
The ship was found with the R/V Petrel, which Allen had recently purchased, retrofitting the 250-foot vessel with state-of-the-art technology capable of diving to 6,000 meters.
Researchers with Allen’s organization were able to locate the ship in part because of a naval landing craft that had recorded a sighting of the USS Indianapolis the night that it was torpedoed, using the coordinates to get a location on the ship.
The USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was a 9,800-ton Portland Class heavy cruiser that operated in the Atlantic and Pacific, and earned 10 battle stars during WWII.
The sinking of the USS Indianapolis remains to be the most tragic maritime disasters in US naval history.
An image shot from a remotely operated vehicle shows wreckage which appears to be one of the two anchor windlass mechanisms from the forecastle of the ship
Image shows a spare parts box from USS Indianapolis on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in more than 16,000 feet of water
The sinking USS Indianapolis remains to be the most tragic maritime disasters in US naval history