Blood In the Water Part One

One of the worst naval disasters in US history was the sinking of the USS Indianapolis on July 30th, 1945. The loss of life was catastrophic—but not from the sinking itself. The story was famously, but incorrectly, told in the movie Jaws by the character Quint who was supposed to be a survivor of the sinking and then went on to hunt sharks.

Of the over 1,100 men on the ship, about 300 went down with the ship. The rest went into the water. Help didn't come for the men floating in the sea. Not for days. The only thing that did was sharks. By the time help came, only 316 men were left alive.

The YouTube channel Wartime Stories has made a fantastic three-part series about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis—the sinking itself, what happened to the men in the water, and the aftermath within the Navy and the US government.

Here is part one of "Blood In the Water."

Video runs 24:25.