Follow a scientific detective story detailing the discovery of the USS Indianapolis wreck site three and a half miles below the Philippine Sea. The ship’s sinking in the final days of WWII was the largest loss of life in US Naval history, and the harrowing survival story of 316 sailors drifting in failing life preservers is legendary.
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About the Search
In July 1945, the USS Indianapolis has just delivered “Little Boy” – the atomic bomb destined for Hiroshima – when she is sunk by a Japanese sub. 300 sailors go down with her, and the 900 survivors drift for four and a half days, battling the sun, thirst, sharks, and their own fear. Ultimately, only 316 of them are pulled from the sea alive. The sinking of Indianapolis remains the U.S. Navy’s worst single loss of life at sea.
Indianapolis’ final resting place remains a mystery for more than seven decades, until an expedition launched by philanthropist Paul G. Allen discovers the ship in August 2017, 18,000 feet below the surface of the sea.
Now the definitive story of USS Indianapolis is told as we reconstruct the ship’s heroic legacy, her dramatic final moments, and the discovery of the wreck site. We also tell the story of Captain Charles Butler McVay III – the only captain in U.S. history convicted for losing his ship in wartime. His suicide in 1968 sparks a campaign by his loyal crew to clear his name – a campaign joined by the captain of nuclear submarine, who risks his own career to right the injustice.
About "Live from the Deep"
Hosted by Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist Miles O’Brien, USS Indianapolis Live - From the Deep takes viewers through the wreckage of the Fifth Fleet’s naval flagship, which lies more than three miles below the surface of the Philippine Sea. Lost for more than 72 years, the U.S. Navy cruiser was found and positively identified in August through careful analysis of wreckage and markings by the expedition crew onboard the Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel, owned by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen.
Through a one-hour live exploration, USS Indianapolis Live - From the Deep gave viewers a tour of the wreckage from the World War II vessel that has rested at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean since its sinking in 1945. Produced for PBS by Vulcan Productions, Inc. and Miles O’Brien Productions, LLC, USS Indianapolis Live - From the Deep premiered September 13, 2017.
