SS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931, the vessel served as the flagship for the commander of Scouting Force 1 for eight years, then as flagship for Admiral Raymond Spruance in 1943 and 1944 while he commanded the Fifth Fleet in battles across the Central Pacific during World War II. USS Indianapolis (CA-35), 27 September 1939 History United States Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey Cost: $10,903,200 (contract price) Laid down: 31 March 1930 Launched: 7 November 1931 Sponsored by: Lucy M. Taggart Commissioned: 15 November 1932 Identification: Hull symbol: CL-35 Hull symbol: CA-35 Code letters: NABD ICS November.svgICS Alpha.svgICS Bravo.svgICS Delta.svg Nickname(s): "Indy"[1] Honors and awards: Bronze-service-star-3d.png Silver-service-star-3d.png 10 × battle stars Fate: Torpedoed and sunk, 30 July 1945, by Japanese submarine I-58. USS Indianapolis, a 9,800-ton Portland class heavy cruiser, was built at Camden, New Jersey. Commissioned in November 1932, she operated in the Atlantic and Pacific during the peacetime years. During the 1930s, she hosted President Franklin D. Roosevelt on several occasions, among them a voyage to South America in November and December 1936. Following the U.S. entry into World War II, Indianapolis operated with carrier task forces in the southwestern Pacific until Spring 1942, when she took up station in the Alaska area. She served there for over a year, sinking a Japanese transport in February 1943. Later in 1943, Indianapolis became Fifth Fleet flagship. In that role, into mid-1944, she took part in operations to capture the Gilberts, Marshalls and Marianas, plus strikes on Japanese positions elsewhere in the central Pacific. She also participated in the Peleliu invasion in September 1944. In February and March 1945, Indianapolis, again flagship of the Fifth Fleet, joined in attacks on Iwo Jima, the Japanese home islands and the Ryukyus. During the latter operation, on 31 March 1945, she was damaged by a Kamikaze plane. In late July, following repairs, Indianapolis made a high speed transit from California to Tinian to deliver atomic bomb components. She then sailed for the Philippines. Shortly after midnight on 30 July 1945 she was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-58 and sank quickly. Due to communications and other errors, her loss went unnoticed until survivors were seen from a passing aircraft on 2 August. Rescue efforts over several days saved only about a quarter of her nearly 1200-man crew.