Friday, March 9, 2012 Neil and Rob asked for more, so here comes another famous ship, the USS Indianapolis of the US Navy. This is another Matchbox model in 1:700 scale, assembled in 1986. The USS Indianapolis took part in most of the battles in the Pacific theatre, but gained fame by the circumstances around her tragic loss. Model length - 26.5 cm. About the USS Indianapolis – Portland class heavy cruiser Built March 1930 – November 1931 Commissioned – November 1932 Length – 610 feet 3 inches Beam – 66 feet 3 inches Draught – 17 feet 4 inches / 23 feet maximum Weight – 10,000 tons Power – 107,000 horse power Shafts – 4 Range – 13,000 nautical miles @ 15 knots Speed – 32.7 knots Complement – 1,269 officers and crew Armament – Nine 8 inch 55 caliber guns Eight 5 inch 25 caliber anti-aircraft guns Thirty-two 40 mm. Bofors anti-aircraft guns Twentyseven 20 mm. Oerlikon anti-airctaft guns Two OS2U Kingfisher float planes Two catapults Armour - 3.25 to 5 inch main belt 2.5 inch deck over machinery and magazines 1.5 inch in barbettes 1.5 – 2.5 inch in gun turrets Service – 1942 – she fought in the Solomons (Guadalcanal) and New Guinea. Then in the Aleutians. 1943 – continued fighting in the Aleutians. Thereafter fought in the Gilbert Islands, Tarawa and the Marschall Islands, among others. 1944 – fighting for the Kwajalein Atoll, Western Carolines, Marianas, Battle of Saipan, Battle of Tinian, Battle of Peleliu and the Admiralty Islands, among others. 1945 – partook in the fighting for Iwo Jima, Bonin, Okinawa. On March 31, hit by a bomb which passed though her, exploding under the ship. After repairs at Mare Island (near San Francisco), she transported parts and enriched Uranium 235 to Tinian Island for the Little Boy atomic bomb destined for Hiroshima. Sinking and aftermath – The Indianapolis was then sent to Guam, and from there to Leyte, when she was sunk on the way on July 30 by two torpedos from Japanese submarine I-58. She sank in 12 minutes. Some 300 men died in the sinking. Due to a collusion of unfortunate human circumstances, her loss went undetected for 4 days! Of the 880 men who survived the sinking, only 317 ultimately survived! Sadly, captain C. B. McVay was court martialed for the sinking. Admiral Nimitz remitted the court martial and returned McVay to duty. He retired 1949. Hate mail from dead crew member’s next of kin resulted in McVay committing suicide in 1968. In October 2000 Congress passed a resolution stating McVay be “exonerated for the loss of Indianapolis”. His record was cleared of wrongdoing in July 2001 by the Secretary of the Navy. For you who like planes (which I know many do), I received the following link from an acquaintance today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oldonRogTYg Enjoy!