SHIPWRECK FOUND: Doomed WW2 Warship 3 MILES UNDERWATER | History's Greatest Mysteries: Solved

a legendary warship lost to the depths  over 800 sailors left drifting on the   open ocean battling dehydration exposure to  the elements and hundreds of hungry sharks   the sinking of the uss indianapolis was one of  the worst disasters in naval history and for over   70 years the final resting place of the sunken  vessel was one of history's greatest mysteries   the uss indianapolis a 10 000  ton war machine flagship of the   fifth fleet and a crucial piece of the  navy's efforts in the pacific theater she's bombarded the japanese  fortifications at tarawa shot down torpedo planes in the philippine sea  and supported the marine landings at iwo jima july 1945 the indy under the command of  captain charles b mcveigh is enroute to   northern mariana islands the ship and its crew  have been conscripted for a top-secret mission   carrying cargo so classified that it's kept under  constant guard their mission is a success the   nd off loads its secret cargo atinian island on  july 26th two days later the ship set sail again   and root for the philippines the nd is ordered to  link up with other naval forces in preparation for   operation downfall the planned invasion of the  japanese home islands if all goes as planned   the war will be over by the winter of 1946 the  indianapolis is a portland-class heavy cruiser   ships of its size are not equipped with sonar  meaning it's unable to detect underwater threats   before embarking from tinian captain  mcvay requests a destroyer escort   a smaller more maneuverable vessel  that can clear a path for the indy   but mcvea is told that this sector of the pacific  is quiet and there's nothing to worry about   his request is denied july 30th just after  midnight the night is black and visibility   is low the indy has no chance of spotting the  threat that's stalking them a thousand yards away   hiding in the inky depths of the pacific is the  i-58 a japanese submarine its skipper mochitsuro   hashimoto is a highly experienced submariner the  i-58 is only his fourth command but he's been   crewing subs since before the war started he's not  going to let such a prized target escape he orders   his crew to fire six type 95s the fastest and most  powerful torpedoes in use by any navy at the time   two massive explosions rocked the indy one amid  ships and the other at the starboard bow in an   instant dozens of american sailors are killed  the ship immediately begins taking on water   and the survivors have no choice but to abandon  ship in less than 15 minutes the uss indianapolis   disappears beneath the waves nearly 300 men go  down with a vessel as the sun rises on the next   day over 800 survivors are adrift on the open  ocean 280 miles from land the men are optimistic   at first but a whole day passes without any  sign of rescue and then another and then another   facing extreme heat during the day and  cold at night sailors begin to succumb to   exposure exhaustion and dehydration some get so  desperate they attempt to drink seawater which   only makes them sicker but any of those  fates are preferable to another threat   sharks hundreds of oceanic whitetips  prey on the defenseless sailors   more attacks means more blood and  more blood means even more sharks after four days of hell a navy plane on a routine  patrol spots an oil slick on the ocean's surface   descending to investigate the pilot is stunned to  see hundreds of sailors drifting amongst the waves   he immediately radios for help over 800 men went  into the water by the time rescue ships arrive   only 317 come out it is the largest loss  of life from a single ship in navy history   it is also the largest shark attack on record  but the entire incident is overshadowed when   just a few days later an atomic bomb detonates  in the skies over hiroshima and three days after   that a second device is detonated over nagasaki  both cities are leveled hundreds of thousands of   japanese civilians are killed the empire of japan  formally surrenders one week later leading to the   cancellation of operation downfall the classified  mission that brought the indianapolis to tinian   island their top secret cargo components used in  little boy the atomic bomb dropped on hiroshima   the crew of the indianapolis helped end the war  but tragically not soon enough to save themselves   the war is over but the survivors of the uss  indianapolis as well as the families of the fallen   want answers why was the india allowed to travel  unescorted how did their failure to arrive in the   philippines go unnoticed subsequent investigations  uncover that intel regarding japanese submarine   activity in the philippine sea was not  properly communicated to the indianapolis crew   worse still two navy officers were made  aware that the indy was missing in action   but failed to investigate the cruiser's absence  or make a formal report to their superiors   as the excitement around the end of the war  subsides the story of the nd sinking makes its   way into the public consciousness outrage ensues  how could the navy lose so many men so close to   the end of the war someone had to shoulder the  blame in november 1945 the indies captain charles   b mcveigh is court-martialed by the u.s navy  machitsura hashimoto the commander of the very sub   that sunk the indianapolis is called in to testify  in mcveigh's defense he states on the record that   in essence nothing mcveigh could have done as  captain would have saved the indie the vessel was   doomed as soon as hashimoto and his crew spotted  it despite hashimoto's and passion defense mcvay   is convicted he is the only captain in the history  of the u.s navy to be court-martialed for losing   his vessel in battle though it is later overturned  the conviction effectively ruins mcveigh's career   he commits suicide in 1968. the circumstances  around the indianapolis is sinking are clear   but the greater mystery remains where exactly is  the final resting place of this infamous vessel   the section of the philippine sea in which the  nd sank is over three and a half miles deep in   the 1940s the deepest in ocean exploration vessel  had ever descended was only three thousand feet   but just two decades later ocean exploration makes  a massive leap forward and downward in the sixties   the bathurst scaf trieste shatters all records  by descending to the bottom of the mariana   trench over 36 000 feet under the ocean's surface  with these technical advances the wreck of the   indianapolis could finally be reached but where to  search all of the indies charts and logs went down   with the ship the radio men had made note of their  precise location while attempting a distress call   but after four days struggling to survive on the  open ocean the exact coordinates were forgotten   the only information left to work with was the  ship's original course not much to go on but   public interest in the indianapolis is reignited  in the late 90s driven in large part by an effort   to clear captain mcvay service record deep sea  expeditions are launched in 2001 and 2005 based   on the indies charted course but neither  are successful without a better idea of the   final location searching for the wreck is like  trying to find a needle in 18 000 feet of hay   finally in 2016 a breakthrough a crucial  piece of evidence had been overlooked by   past investigations an incident report by  captain mcvay mentioned that the indy passed   an unidentified naval landing craft or lst just a  few hours before being torpedoed if this unknown   lst was identified its log books could be used to  chart a new definitive course for the indianapolis   dr richard hulver researcher with the naval  history and heritage command digs into the   naval archives and manages to identify the landing  craft as lst 779 using its precise coordinates and   knowing approximately what time the indianapolis  passed the vessel he is able to map out a new 600   square mile search area for future expeditions  re-energized by dr hulver's discovery a high-tech   expedition led by billionaire philanthropist  paul allen sets out to find the indianapolis   and on august 19 2017 72 years after the indie  sang its wreck is finally spotted on the floor   of the philippine sea more than 18 04 feet below  the ocean surface one of the deepest shipwrecks   to ever be successfully located the wreck of the  indianapolis was designated as a war grave it will   remain where it lies undisturbed as a monument  to the tremendous sacrifice of its crew thanks   to the combined efforts of naval researchers and  deep sea explorers we can finally close the book   on this dark chapter of u.s military history  and on one of history's greatest mysteries you

Channel: HISTORY

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Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, history's greatest mysteries, history full episodes, mystery clips, mysteries, mystery video, history clips, history videos, lawrence fishburne, tomb of the unknown soldier, major discovery, secret revealed, shocking moments, uss indianapolis, shark attack, the history channel, history documentary, documentary, Historys Greatest Mysteries, USS Indianapolis Found, Found After 72 Years, shipwreck discovered

Id: pKAROwhlrMo

Length: 10min 55sec (655 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 20 2020