History

The first USS Indianapolis was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.  Attached to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Indianapolis traveled to Europe and back carrying cargo. Indianapolis decommissioned on 9 July 1919. She was returned to the United States Shipping Board at Norfolk, Virginia the same day, once again becoming USS Indianapolis. 
 
USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was commissioned on November 15, 1932. In her first few years, she was the flag ship for important people like President Roosevelt and the Secretary of the Navy. During the time of the war, she earned 10 battle stars through the Aleutians, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, Saipan, the battle of the Philippine Sea, Tinian, Guam, the Carolines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. On July 30, 1945, The USS Indianapolis went on a top-secret mission to deliver an atomic bomb towards Japan. On their way back from delivering the bomb, in the Philippine Sea, the imperial Japanese submarine I-58, torpedoed the ship twice and sank the ship within 12 minutes. Out of 1195 sailors on board, about 900 sailors survived the sinking, dealing face exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, shark attacks and little to no food. After five days, the survivors were rescued from the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on a routine patrol.  After the five days however, only 316 sailors remained. Today the bombing of USS Indianapolis as a turning point in Naval history being on the of greatest loss of life at sea from a single ship.  On 19 August 2017, a search team financed by Paul Allen located the wreckage of the sunken cruiser in the Philippine Sea lying at a depth of approximately 18,000 ft (5,500 m). On December 20, 2018, the crew of the Indianapolis was collectively awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.
 
The USS Indianapolis (SSN-697), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Indianapolis, Indiana. When Indianapolis was commissioned, many survivors of the cruiser Indianapolis were present for the official ceremony. The submarine's home port was shifted to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1981, operating out of Pearl Harbor for the remainder of her active service. After the boat's final deployment from April to October 1997, she was awarded the Battle Efficiency E and a Navy Unit Commendation. Both were the first time the submarine had received such awards in her 18-year history.