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

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Over 800 sailors were stranded on the open sea, facing devastating conditions and hungry sharks. Only 316 sailors were rescued. The final resting place of the ship was a mystery - until 70 years later, in this episode of History’s Greatest Mysteries: Solved, a new History digital original series. #HistorysGreatestMysteriesSolved
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CREDITS
Host
Laurence Fishburne
Executive Producers
Sarah Walker
Brian Huffman
Producer
John Schlirf
Writer
John Schlirf
Editor
John Schlirf
Manager, Rights & Clearances
Chris Kim
Agency: Zealot
Zealot Producer
Rich Melé
Zealot Associate Producer
Carlie Lindower
Editor
Troy Rinkenberger
Assistant Editor
Clarissa Marquez
Finishing
Michael Green
Mixer
Brett Graves
Music Supervisor
Natalie Wali
Graphics
Forrest Mulcahy
Sophie Galowitz
Executive Creative Director, A+E Networks
Tim Nolan
VP, Marketing Production, A+E Networks
Kate Leonard
VP, Brand Creative, History
Matt Neary
Music Courtesy of:
Extreme Production Music
Audio Network Limited
Footage and Photos Courtesy of:
Getty
Pond5
National Archives
A+E Networks Archives
©2021 A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS, LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[@stephanievieu3873]

I know a navy man who survived this wreck. He just passed away in 2018 or 19. His name was Al Pawlek. I didn't know this until I lost touch with him. I wish I had known, so I could retell his story. He was an amazing man, husband, Father and friend ❤

[@SIXPACFISH]

I doubt he would have said a word about it. My uncle was shot in the leg at the Kasserine Pass and never said a single word about the battle in over 50 years.

[@larryhigginson3549]

I'm in my early 70's. I became close with during ww2

[@larryhigginson3549]

I became close with my 95 year old neighbor. He told me his first posting was in Berlin. He was a pilot of one of the aircraft. They took thousands of pounds of candy and make sure all the kids had pieces of candy. These guys are part of the angels that took good care of children who really needed it. It's never mentioned the guys also took large loads of blankets, personal hygiene products and thousands of pairs of pants and jackets as well as child sizes, thousands of shirts,socks , hats and very important hats In my mind all nurses are gods sent by God himself to look over his children. My dad would have been 100 this this year. He served on pt boats. He was in the same group of that was run over by a much larger boats ships. He actually knew who Kennedy . run over their their. Good God I miss him

[@johnnydeville5701]

He was denied an escort, and then court marshalled when it was torpedoed! Absolutely disgusting! People in Naval courts failed terrible. So sad he was already dead by the time he was exonerated.

[@marcustalley7987]

If you research it more you'll see it was a malicious prosecution.

[@bigduckus2611]

Not the only time the navy messed up in ww2. US torpedos had some issues detonating on target the sub crews complained but testing the torpedos to see what was run with it was “tOo eXpeNsiVE”.

[@marcustalley7987]

@@bigduckus2611 Read "Thunder Below".

[@johnsepulveda443]

Not only was he denied an escort thought ultra they knew there was a submarine in that area too they ignored the sos she sent out and did everything on their power to scrapgoat the captain to protect the admirals that let this happen

[@igordzuro4353]

Was never expecting Morpheus to introduce me into a ship sinking tragedy. It is the satisfaction I didn't know I needed.

[@therandomchannel3719]

lol

[@dynastywarriorlord07]

You mean Bowery King from John Wick

[@rafaelcmvasquez]

To the crew and families of the USS Indianapolis gone but never forgotten 💐🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💐

[@marcuswhite3628]

Never said what happened to the 2 officers that didn’t report the Indianapolis being late. The fact that the CO asked for an escort & was denied should have exonerated him. Sad he committed suicide...

[@christhompson3750]

The Navy has never admitted any responsibility for this. And they never will.

[@jefrey5578]

How could a human not commit suicide after losing so many men?

[@christhompson3750]

@@jefrey5578 They destroyed not only his career but his reputation. He was nothing more than a scapegoat for the Navy to sacrifice so their misdeeds could stay hidden.

[@jefrey5578]

@@christhompson3750 I get that but any officer or enlisted for that matter in charge of men, and having those men die on his watch puts a heavy burden on a man whatever branch he served in. Get me?

[@falcon3268]

@@jefrey5578 It seemed to get worse over the years as he continued to be harassed by relatives of the deceased family members. Phone calls and letters just continued to pour in endlessly.

[@TERoss-jk9ny]

What they did to Capt McVay was despicable!

[@DiamondSupplyC0]

He killed 500 people... they starved and were eaten alive by sharks. He didn’t kill himself because he lost his job. It was the guilt... those had to be people he knew.... his friends

[@dkerr4077]

Agreed!

[@mongolordofdarkness]

@@DiamondSupplyC0 He didn't kill anybody. He did everything he was supposed to do. It was retaliation because of his father.

[@vantronix]

@@DiamondSupplyC0 exonerated by the 106th United States Congress and President Bill Clinton on October 30, 2000.

[@DiamondSupplyC0]

@@vantronix he killed himself already so

[@donaldstone540]

Hashimoto was not called in to testify in McVeigh's defense, he was called in to testify for the prosecution. His testimony, however, helped the defense more than the Navy liked.

[@taras3702]

I can only imagine how uncomfortable Hashimoto must have felt testifying in McVay's trial, knowing he had McVay's ship where he wanted it.

[@billcurls8871]

I read the book written by the captain of the sub Indianapolis about 15 years ago. It goes into a lot more details about the whole incident. You would not believe how mad I was by the time I finished the book! This "passing the buck" is still a huge problem in DC and nobody calls them out on it! Congrats Morpheus, you're doing a fine job!

[@willard2729]

American bureaucrats are scum and always have been

[@brendamyerstrachanmyer6817]

I read it too

[@Orpilorp]

My father-in-law and my uncle were both in different ships that were destroyed in WWII, but thankfully they both survived. My uncle never could tell the details of that terrible event. My heart goes out to the families of these brave men.

[@lookingfunny6023]

Mcvay should have been honored but instead the very government he fought for crucified him which caused him to commit suicide.Sad how so many that believed in our country and what the U.S stands for only to find that they sacrificed everything for nothing,or even worse in Mcvay's case

[@matthewmoran5297]

Honestly, I'm glad that Hunter Scott was able to clear McVay's legacy, even if it was too little too late😔

[@Fremen2]

The death of his wife was the last straw that pushed him over the edge. RIP Sir.

[@terminallydrunk1900]

@@Fremen2 that makes more sense

[@karlmiller7500]

Our greasy politicians strike again.

[@juanhinojosa4532]

That was cool. At last they get some kind of closure. I am glad they left where it is. I do t believe in disturbing anyone's grave. A big thanks for their sacrafice.

[@jamesvalenti9288]

I miss when the history channel did full documentaries about things like this. A mini documentary is better than nothing I guess..

[@jarigustafsson7620]

But we got more Storage Wars with fake storages for you to watch.

[@stormcrow70]

I think Lawrence Fishburne is the greatest mystery host since Leonard Nimoy.

[@evelynntune2219]

Agree

[@JoseLCiclista]

You mean Morpheus

[@davy1458]

When Leonard Nemoy is unavailable and Morgan Freeman is too expensive....there is only two choices left....lawernce fishburne or Mike Rowe.

[@htos1av]

...and that was because Rod Serling was just about to go superstar on tv when he suddenly passed away. "Night Gallery" and "In Search Of..." were incredible works.

[@chrismayo4902]

I can Agree with that’ Lawrence Fishburne has that same type of respectability in his voice’ definitely a good choice

[@OGQueenMedusa]

I dated a guy whos dad was one of the surviving men rescued from the waters. He used to tell me stories from that time.

[@johnpiragis5600]

\u\\

[@thenotsurechannel7630]

@Mike Piros ummm... dated "A GUY WHO'S DAD" you idiot! The SON OF A SURVIVOR. Be that as it may the son may be an older man, who knows? Maybe she liked dating older men.

[@justinpennington7682]

I'm sure she's "dated " many many men hahaha

[@OGQueenMedusa]

@@justinpennington7682 Despite my what you may think based on my picture, i am way older and i can pretty much guarantee i am probably old enough to be your mom based on your comment alone. I am older than 45 and have been with my partner for 25 years. I have a genetic disorder called EDS which for a stupid judgemental ignorant person like you means i will probably always look younger than you for the rest of my life. I can guarantee my joints will always last me because there metal. My son calls me the Bionic Woman, but then again you don't seem like your old enough to know who that is. You know, I have coached MMA for many years and taught many people. You seem like the bully trouble maker and smart mouth at the beginning of every season whos gums flap more out of control while other people are learning. You tryin to be the cool kid on the block. So from a wiser older elder my advice to you is: think before you speak or type. To do otherwise makes you look stupid and uneducated.

[@justinpennington7682]

@@OGQueenMedusa I'm sorry

[@johnclifford1537]

We had a very similar incident here in Australia in 1941 when a disguised German cruiser sank HMAS Sydney off the coast of West Australia in Nov 1941. All 645 hands were lost - not even one survivor. The wreck was not located until 2008.

[@crystalglass7106]

Whenever there is a failure/issue like this and Pearl harbor the top brass always close ranks and put the blame on someone else

[@Dulcimertunes]

Today is no different

[@robertyoung3992]

The only Naval Flag Officer that didn't hang him was Nimitz, he never wanted him tried

[@tonyennis1787]

Pearl Harbor was blamed on the base commander, which was appropriate. The dude was running the base like a resort.

[@donaldstone540]

The Navy has has a long sad history of throwing Sailors under the bus.

[@jaqenhigar183]

Jaws touches on this briefly...

[@Flavaop1169]

Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies...

[@bluehefner888]

This is the ship that the man from jaws is talking about I think? I could be wrong but I’m going off the top of my head

[@ELCADAROSA]

It is indeed. It was that mention in the movie that brought new attention to the incident.

[@htos1av]

Correct!

[@BeazleyStudios]

I miss growing up with these types of documentaries on tv.

[@SadalDay]

How great is fishburne narration?

[@PaPaPOVEY]

Nothing beats Morgan Freeman IMO.

[@princeedmunddukeofedinburg]

@@PaPaPOVEY yeah but what if he dies?

[@kevtkiso9653]

1 1 ere qqq13q1qe13313q1 1@@PaPaPOVEY 1

[@PaPaPOVEY]

@@kevtkiso9653 what...???

[@MarcWeavers]

they should bring charges not just to the real people responsible, but also the people that brought the charges against Capt McVay.

[@ethanguest3438]

they're probably all dead now unfortunately so charges couldn't really be sent.

[@robertyoung3992]

they're all dead

[@morpheus2270]

thats whats up morpheus

[@Dantheman1342]

They really railroaded the Captain. RIP Cpt McVay

[@archiveseeker]

Quint's story was the most chilling!

[@htos1av]

Capt. McVay is a great man from a great generation!

[@Sharkman4569]

“Chief, that’s the USS Indianapolis”

[@chris.asi_romeo]

Love watching documentaries like this.

[@diddlethepoodle4812]

RIP capt. Mcvay. your service was not in vain.

[@PaPaPOVEY]

Rest easy Brave men, an agreed no one should mess around with a boat that has the skeletons or heroes.

[@londyngivens]

317 people survived the USS Indianapolis... what a coincidence

[@tphvictims5101]

The Greatest Naval Disasters might be ALL of the Nuclear vessels rotting with no hope of making them safe.

[@lalaluxxx3]

Wow this was fascinating

[@HISTORY]

Hi! Thanks for watching! Subscribe to never miss a new video!

[@UK-UA22]

A tragic story. I hope they are all at peace in the halls of hero's. Especially the skipper. You did all you could captain 💚🇬🇧

[@flashlejeune7485]

Glad to see Morpheus doing so well

[@isaiahwelch8066]

Most people dont know: The _Indianapolis_ was carrying the parts for the first two atomic bombs. She also was sank by a single IJN submarine, who did not know what ship had been sunk.

[@robertyoung3992]

just Little Boy

[@TheHar543]

I love how they're using videotape of the Titanic and not the actual ship

[@oliverrust8993]

I love his narration

[@everynamewastakenomg]

Can't imagine the horror of being stranded in the ocean after your warship has just been sunk

[@tylerjerabek5204]

Tragic, and awful what they did to the Captain However, 2nd largest naval disaster, behind the Arizona

[@jayw729]

That’s about as long as I wanna hear that guy speak! Thx history!

[@ELCADAROSA]

The book “Indianapolis : The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History ...” by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic is an excellent read to know more about what happened to the ship and crew, and the fifty year fight to exonerate Capt. McVay.

[@jeremybarretta5282]

"I'll never put on a life jacket again"

[@TyroneBurns]

farewell and adieu to you spanish ladies

[@goober208]

They look at you with black eyes.dolls eyes

[@goober208]

buy we delivered THE BOMB !!!

[@falcon3268]

You know what was interesting about the Indianapolis and the I-58 is...both of them were at Iwo Jima. I-58 was in a position to strike the American fleet when they were recalled, the higher ups for the Japanese Command were surprised and shocked that I-58 had been able to get into position to even try for a shot at sinking a ship.

[@johncemtaylor6384]

This thing was a historical, famous mystery, and literally right when the found it my 8th grade class had to pick something to do a project. So two friends and I just spent a decent portion of 8th grade making a clearly student made documentary on this ship just thinking it was cool our state had a well known ship in WW2. We had no idea the magnitude of it. Thanks to the project though, I am now decently well versed on this infamous ship/topic

[@FortunateJuice]

...like a doll's eyes...

[@royfr8136]

'There is nothign to worry about' - History's famous last words throughout time.

[@jeremybennett3909]

Cool

[@captainAlex258]

laurence: greatest mysteries me: take it away morpheus

[@setburhed4987]

R.I.P

[@deanjones3168]

Nicolas cage is in a great movie about this....very good👍👍👍

[@jojodelima1953]

Tragic, Captain ended up with all the fault, higher command is part of getting where that ship was, even if it had carried top secret cargo

[@dr.rockzo]

Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side it was comin' back from the island of Tinian, just delivered the bomb. 1100 men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger, 13 footer. You know how you know that when you're in the water? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know...was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light the sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups and the idea was, the shark comes to the nearest man and that man, he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces. Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men! I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand! I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin' I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland, baseball player. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. He'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day a Lockheed Ventura saw us and come in low and 3 hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, 1100 men went in the water, 316 men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. Anyway....we delivered the bomb.

[@rorymunroe3771]

l wish we could find the HMCS MARGAREE october 22 1940 lost in collision on escort to Halifax Captain Roy and 142 other men lost still serving....deep in the North Atlantic....merry christmas uncle Freddy and crew l'est we forget

[@kennethprice5628]

Ty for that...Navy Veteran

[@mikeg0802]

The US Navy has a long and storied history…..of scapegoating individuals for its failures 😢

[@thenotsurechannel7630]

The jackasses responsible for denying a Destroyer Escort are to blame for every single one of the deaths from that ship. They should have been the ones court-martialed. But, those people are either already dead or already have one foot in the grave, and when they meet their maker, they'll have to answer to him!

[@SS-Tommy]

Lawrence is awesome. I thought the point was that he actually narrates everything.

[@scottorton482]

Due entirely to the Indianapolis carrying the atomic cores for the atom bombs, secrecy was the order of the day, there was no way they could break communications blackout. In addition even when Indianapolis failed to meet her schedule the Navy didn't send any help due to the communications blackout.

[@calebleger456]

I immediately new it was USS Indianapolis when i saw the turrets

[@randymcturnan2520]

The Navy has no problem looking for a scapegoat when the screwup was actually higher up the food chain. Fortunately Nimitz knew what was going on and did not allow the court martial to stand, but it did ruin Mc Vay's career.

[@cfapps7865]

Quint..

[@robertbowen6610]

The person that thought he should be court martialed should have faced trial for murder

[@ryanhampson673]

My grandfather was assigned to the Indy…He caught pneumonia and had to be hospitalized just before she left on that mission.

[@Dulcimertunes]

McVay was punished for not going down with the ship. Plain and simple

[@robertyoung3992]

no he was punished for failure to zig zag

[@bruceghent8776]

Despicable treatment of Commander McVay.

[@darrad2072]

Unfortunately, Capt McVay was wrongfully blamed for losing the Indianapolis, but in the end, it was found because of him

[@siddhartha4953]

Morpheus new work in History Channel? 😎

[@KevinNguyen-zn4vv]

There's always a scapegoat.

[@spookerredmenace3950]

Cowboy Curtis has done well for him self!

[@Jopsyduck]

Did anybody else notice the "Dogfights" clip at 0:11. I believe it's from the episode titled "The Death of the Japanese Navy".

[@MidnightMoon2267]

There was a clip from Dogfights on the USS Liffey DD-459.

[@markbowles2382]

Fishbiern gives weight to anything he touches... its nice to see an actor not afraid these days to speak up for heroes of the militaries...if it were'nt for the movie "jaws" few people would know about the Indianappolis tradgedy... can you imagine the untold sacrifices and stories that are NOT known in such conflicts...rip to all.

[@barrydysert2974]

🙏💜🙏 Thus are Human connections strengthened and restored

[@alexrebmann1253]

A Gerald Ford class carrier should be named after Charles McVay

[@jeffb8685]

Laurence Fishburne is a fantastic actor with a great voice.

[@therandomchannel3719]

This is the matrix reloaded.

[@carligreen1606]

Why didn’t they ask the Japanese what the coordinates were when they attacked the Indianapolis?

[@JohnnyLooseTV]

Lol no kidding. WTH?

[@patrickmccrann991]

Many Japanese records were destroyed prior to the surrender.

[@andrewbanfield1683]

Man I wish I had Morpheus as a high school history teacher

[@ronalddechosa3048]

Lawrence fishburne wt a narrator☁️☁️⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@MikeyDoe]

I bet my hat that the Navy excavated the wreck upon its discovery

[@mayoz99]

when the history channel publishes history

[@RailPreserver2K]

When you realize they show footage of Titanic's wreck instead of the actual worship they're talkin about

[@Itsyaboi75]

Talks about Indianapolis.... Shows Titanic Wreck

[@theklporter6262]

The wreck looks like parts of Titanic

[@moosifer3321]

Didn`t the guy from Jaws (Quint?) allegedly survive this? (only to go down to a rubber robo-shark on the Orca)?

[@racerj2.03]

What about the a hole who denied escort to the Indy? Was he not the most responsible party to this debacle?

[@GoodMorningVietnam98]

Those wreck photos are of the titanic

[@freidafogarty3724]

Now I'll search for Timothy.

[@nathanroberts355]

Hey mister fishburn you could do a naval history one about the battle of midway and battle of coral sea the lost of uss Lexington and uss Saratoga aircraft carriers may 1942 the dates where 4th to 6th of May 1942 to stop Japanese invading Australia and kokoda campaignin papua New guinea 1942 to Oct 1943

[@dmanoli5255]

Didn’t realize I jumped in the matrix. Where that Blue and Red Pill at?

[@jbrobertson6052]

Supposedly that ROV (7:50) that went to the bottom of the Marianas Trench ended up in the scrap yard in Vancouver

[@patrickmccrann991]

Trieste was not an ROV, it was manned by a naval crew. It was not scrapped, but retired.

[@jbrobertson6052]

@@patrickmccrann991 Your right I was wrong in my my use of words and I apologize for calling it an ROV but I am not wrong with it being found in a scrap yard by James Delgado and I believe that it was found in Vancouver BC and I am not 100% sure but I believe that he rescued it but I heard the words from his mouth about finding it. Cheers

[@ronaldhook5394]

Why were they showing videos of the wreck of the titanic instead of the Indianapolis?

[@contorta960]

Let's see Paul Allens expedition...

[@Schoolforthesoul]

Hey it's the Laurence Fishburne!

[@sooyoonmin]

The waters of Philippine seas are truly shark infested.

[@7071t6]

wow all the battleship footage is the Bismarck or tirpitz at the 3:02 mark etc, still the most saddest story's i have herd of lost at sea tragedies and god bless Capital Mcvay and all those who lost their lives those 5 days at sea after she went down? To think he still commanded his men and made sure that they could stay alive as much as his words could say ,plus the dr as well who saved two men by swimming out to them when they were trying to swim away due to suffering hallucinations due to drinking salt water?

[@siddhartha4953]

😭

[@jayjayspoon8824]

Gonna need a bigger boat

[@terryalang7283]

It's always the bloody same. Who refused the Indionaplis's escort that Captain McVeigh requested?? Captain McVeigh was a damned good Captain, but they needed a scapegoat & so the higharkey used him. None of the higher command were held to task, WHY NOT!!!

[@robertyoung3992]

McVay

[@terryalang7283]

@@robertyoung3992 Robert thank you for the correction, I was spelling it the Irish way, but the spelling of surnames change down the years, all depending on who is writing the name. Like hundreds of years ago when illiteracy was quite normal If you joined the army your name may have been spelt differently than your birth register, or on your marriage license or than your religious minister spelt it. My own name has had about 10 derivatives which I found whilst doing my ancestry. But hey I will not make that mistake again, so again thank you Robert

[@coolman1724]

it's a shame that Captain McVay is blamed for the sinking of his vessel even tho he requested support for the destroyer escort that could have saved the vessel was denied.