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Quiz about The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis

The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis Quiz

This is the story of the warship Indianapolis. Hope you enjoy it.

A multiple-choice quiz by beterave. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
beterave

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
322,442

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
576

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 206 (8/10), Thbigbopper (10/10), Johnmcmanners (10/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What type of warship was the Indianapolis? Hint

cruiser

frigate

battleship

destroyer

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Question 2 of 10

2. What mission is the Indianapolis best remembered for? Hint

pinpoint shooting at Tarawa

for setting sailing records

for being Admiral Halsey's flagship

delivering parts for the atomic bomb

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Question 3 of 10

3. How did the Indianapolis sink? Hint

she hit a mine

she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine

she was sank by a suicide kaiten

she was disabled and sank by a kamikaze

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Question 4 of 10

4. Why were the distress signals sent by the Indianapolis not acted upon? Hint

they were never received

the ship sank before a signal could be sent

the Japanese jammed the signal

negligence

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Question 5 of 10

5. When the Indianapolis failed to reach Leyte as scheduled, what did the Navy do? Hint

adjust its timetable for the arrival

immediately sent out search and rescue PBYs

nothing

broke radio silence and sent a message

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Question 6 of 10

6. An unknown number of men died of shark attacks. Which species of shark was most likely responsible for this? Hint

bull shark

blue shark

sand shark

whitetip shark

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Question 7 of 10

7. Besides shark attacks, hypothermia and dehydration were major killers. What was the other major killer? Hint

starvation

delirium

hypernatremia

hopelessness

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Question 8 of 10

8. What became of the skipper of the Indianapolis? Hint

he was court martialed

he was decorated

he did not survive the sinking

nothing happened to him

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Question 9 of 10

9. Who was the 'star witness' against Captain McVay in his court martial? Hint

Captain Hashimoto

Admiral Nimitz

his executive officer

his radio officer

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Question 10 of 10

10. The sinking of the Indianapolis has similiarities to the sinking of another US warship. Which one? Hint

USS Juneau

Uss Houston

USS Atlanta

USS Chicago

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 05 2024 : Guest 206: 8/10
Oct 26 2024 : Thbigbopper: 10/10
Sep 30 2024 : Johnmcmanners: 10/10

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What type of warship was the Indianapolis?

Answer: cruiser

The Indianapolis (CA-35) was a Portland class heavy cruiser.

2. What mission is the Indianapolis best remembered for?

Answer: delivering parts for the atomic bomb

The Indianapolis is best remembered for delivering componets of the atomic bomb to Tinian Island before her sinking.

3. How did the Indianapolis sink?

Answer: she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine

The Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine. Two torpedoes from the I-58 sank her in twelve minutes with a loss of 300 men.

4. Why were the distress signals sent by the Indianapolis not acted upon?

Answer: negligence

Three stations received the distress signal from the Indianapolis before she sank and none acted upon the call or bothered to investigate. This amounts to nothing less than negligence.

5. When the Indianapolis failed to reach Leyte as scheduled, what did the Navy do?

Answer: nothing

When the Indianapolis failed to reach Leyte on 31 July 1945, nothing was done. It was assumed a warship the size of the Indianapolis would reach its destination on time. Someone failed to consider that this was a warzone and that Japan still had submarines.

6. An unknown number of men died of shark attacks. Which species of shark was most likely responsible for this?

Answer: whitetip shark

It is commonly agreed upon that the predator responsible for the loss of life in this incident is the oceanic whitetip shark.

7. Besides shark attacks, hypothermia and dehydration were major killers. What was the other major killer?

Answer: hypernatremia

Hypernatremia is a condition brought on by ingesting salt water. Dehydration more than likely induced the survivors to drink seawater.

8. What became of the skipper of the Indianapolis?

Answer: he was court martialed

Charles McVay, the skipper of the Indianapolis was court martialed. He was the only skipper of a warship to be court martialed for losing his ship by sinking in a war zone during WWII.

9. Who was the 'star witness' against Captain McVay in his court martial?

Answer: Captain Hashimoto

Captain Hashimoto, the skipper of the I-58 was brought in from Japan to testify against Captain McVay. Despite his insistence that zig zagging would have made no difference when his submarine sank the Indianapolis, Captain McVay was convicted anyway.

10. The sinking of the Indianapolis has similiarities to the sinking of another US warship. Which one?

Answer: USS Juneau

The sinking of the Juneau was very similiar to the Indianapolis. Both were criusers, both were sunk by submarines and both had a large number of the crew perish by shark attacks. Both also had the stranded crew exposed to the hazards of the sea by negligence.

Source: Author beterave

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