Posted on 07/29/2007 4:56:24 AM PDT by mainepatsfan
May God continue to bless the souls of these brave Americans.
JAWS - U.S.S. Indianapolis Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USnM-ee06pg
Note : The only error Robert Shaw made in this scene was saying the date June 29, 1945. The actual date of the Indianapolis disaster was July 29-30, 1945.
Two good books about the USS Indianapolis...
http://www.ussindianapolisinharmsway.com/home.htm
http://www.submarinebooks.com/AbandonShip.htm
I’ve read them both and they are great reads. I did like Stanton’s book better though...
Displacement hull ships are bow wave limited, the rule of thumb is that maximum speed is 1.34 kt x sqrt(hull length( ft));
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_making_resistance
U-Boots could make about 14 kts on the surface only 3-4 submerged. Until the wide spread introduction of marine radar towards the middle of the war, U-Boot captains generally attacked (even convoys) on the surface because “gun laying” was more accurate. They would only submerge to escape destroyer attacks.
Another interesting sidelight: Truman drafted a letter to Churchill (though Atlee succeeded Churchill by the time of the Hiroshima attack) explaining that the United States had decided to use atomic weapons against Tokyo despite British objections. The Japs, excuse me, Nips, saved themselves a world of hurt by surrendering when they did.
Thank God for Fat Man and Little Boy.
In the end, they probably saved even more Japanese lives than American lives.
I encourage every American man, woman, and child to read Doug Stanton’s In Harm’s Way. It is a riveting account of sacrifice that you will not be able to put down.
God bless those men.
On this day in 1945, Japanese warships sink the American cruiser Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen in the worst loss in the history of the U.S. navy.Navy lost 2,008 on December 7, 1941, but not on just one ship.
Aircraft carriers are probably the fastest surface ships (in our Navy) because of their hull length. When the aircraft carrier is launching/recovering they want as much air over the deck as possible. A friend of mine served on Knox-class frigates as a boiler tech. When they were pulling “lifeguard duty” they would trail behind the aircraft carrier by a mile or 2 to recover any pilots who went into the drink during launch or recovery. My buddy said that his frigate would have to ‘tag-team’ with another frigate because they couldn’t keep station for more than a short period (they had it firewalled). Very rough ride except in the smoothest seas.
Bump.
From: Recollections of the sinking of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) by CAPT Lewis L. Haynes, MC (Medical Corps) (Ret.), the senior medical officer on board the ship.
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq30-5.htm
“There were also mass hallucinations. It was amazing how everyone would see the same thing. One would see something, then someone else would see it. One day everyone got in a long line. I said, “What are you doing?” Someone answered, “Doctor, there’s an island up here just ahead of us. One of us can go ashore at a time and you can get 15 minutes sleep.” They all saw the island. You couldn’t convince them otherwise. Even I fought hallucinations off and on, but something always brought me back.
I saw only one shark. I remember reaching out trying to grab hold of him. I thought maybe it would be food. However, when night came, things would bump against you in the dark or brush against your leg and you would wonder what it was. But honestly, in the entire 110 hours I was in the water I did not see a man attacked by a shark. However, the destroyers that picked up the bodies afterwards found a large number of those bodies.”
Ping. Do you have the link to the Foxhole thread on this? Had lots of good info as I recall.
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis (Jul-1945) - July 30th, 2003
Working out of state on what was supposed to be two weeks and now seven. Grrr. Not FReeping much at all.
Miss you all.
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