15 photos of the USS Indianapolis, whose World War II sinking started the worst shark attack in history by Daniel Brown on Jul 30, 2018, 12:07 PM Advertisement
 The celebrated USS Indianapolis was nearly blown in half by two Japanese torpedoes and sunk on July 30, 1945, a tragedy that also stands as one of World War II's most harrowing survival stories. The Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser and flagship of the 5th Fleet, was hit about 12:15 a.m. between Guam and the Philippines. About 300 of the 1,195 sailors would go down with the heavy cruiser, and approximately 900 survivors would have to wait about four days in the water to get rescued. Subjected to dehydration, heat, delirium from drinking salt water, and shark attacks, only 316 would make it out of the water alive. An estimated few dozen to 150 sailors were killed by sharks, making it the deadliest shark attack in history. Here's the story of the Indianapolis. SEE ALSO: 9 photos of the USS Wolverine, a strange WWII aircraft carrier that was originally a luxury paddlewheel steamer The USS Indianapolis was a Portland-class cruiser that commissioned in 1932. 
About 610 feet long and a beam of about 66 feet, the Indianapolis had a full load displacement of 11,574 tons, and eight White-Forster boilers that brought it to a top speed of about 37 mph.  In fact, the Indianapolis was built with rather thin armor plating. While it saved weight and made the ship fast, it also made the ship vulnerable to torpedoes and mines. Source: globalsecurity.org
The ship was armed with nine eight-inch guns (two of which are seen below in the bow), four five-inch guns, twenty-four 40mm intermediate range guns and thirty-two 20mm guns. 
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