Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (The Pacific War Trilogy Book 3)

by Ian W. Toll

Immediately upon completion of the TRINITY test, the major components of the two bombs were transported to Tinian. Crates containing the “gun-type” trigger for Little Boy, and half of the bomb’s uranium U-235 core, were flown to San Francisco and loaded onto the cruiser Indianapolis. The ship made an uneventful passage to a pier in Tinian, arriving on July 26. The crates were transferred to an assembly building at the 509th compound, staffed by a specialized team of Manhattan Project scientists and technicians. The remaining portion of the uranium, packed in two crates, was flown across the Pacific in a C-54. By August 1, all of the bomb components were on Tinian and ready for assembly. Having discharged her mysterious cargo, the Indianapolis sailed for Leyte Gulf. Her passage was cut short on July 30, when the ship was struck by two torpedoes fired by Japanese submarine I-58. She sank in twelve minutes. Her distress messages were not received, and her absence was not noted until three days later. A fourth day passed before rescue vessels arrived on the scene. About 900 of her crew of 1,200 had abandoned ship as she went down, but few lifeboats had been launched, so the men were left treading water or clinging to debris. During their four-day ordeal, adrift in the open sea, about six hundred perished as a result of exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, drowning, or shark attacks. Only 317 of the crew survived. The Indianapolis, Admiral Raymond Spruance’s former Fifth...