The Imperial Japanese Navy enthusiasts

at around 11:08 P.M. (i dont know the time zone but the USS Indianapolis was on its way from guam to the Philippines) after Captain Mochitsura Hashimoto's lookouts on his Subamrine I-58 spotted a black shape on the horizon, Captain Hashimoto now had the black shape in sight and was readying his weapons as the shape continued on a course it was bringing it stright towards I-58, Captain Hashimoto began to think that it was a destroyer that was coming for a depth-charge attack. Even so it would be hard to fire and get a torpedo hit if it came over the top of I-58. at around 11:09 P.M. Captain Hashimoto decited that six torpedoes would be fired, but he also orderd Kaitain 6 and Kaitain 5 to embark and stand by. Later on Captain Hashimoto then though it to be an Idaho-Class battleship. Finally Captain Hashimoto fired his spread of six torpedo's at around 00:14 on July 30th two torpedos (possibly 3 accounts do change from saying two torpedos to 3, Hashimoto said that 3 had hit) struck home on the Starboard side of the USS Indianapolis by the number one and number two turret's from Hashimoto account he heard several large explosions then the actual hits three more followed then six more, witch panicked the crew of I-58 beleving the it was a destroyer depth-charging them but Hashimoto calmed thier panic, Hashimoto was going to fire another salvo and the Kaiten pilots requested to be fired but Hashimoto dove the ship to try to get into a better position, when they surfaced they found the USS Indianapolis to be gone they presumed it to be sunk. some 300 of the 1,196 crew of the ship went down with her. other where sent adrift since there was few lifeboats and many without life jackets of the 880 that survived the sinking only 321 men came out of the water when rescue came a few days later only 317 ultimately survived many of those who died in the water had died from Shark attacks. Captain of the USS Indianapolis Captain Charles B. McVay III was later court martialed for failure to zig-zag, But even Captain Mochitsura Hashimoto who attented the court martial had testified that "zigzagging would have made no difference" and that he was in the best position for a torpedo attack in 1949 McVay retired as a rear admiral. Many of the sailor's of the USS Indianapolis did not blame McVay for the sinking but the families of some men who died did blame him. The guilt that was placed on his shoulders mounted till he committed suicide in 1968 using his Navy issued revolver he was found on his front lawn with a toy sailor on his hand. He was 70 years old. In 2000 his record was cleared of all wrong doings. Mochitsura Hashimoto lived on and became a Shinto prest at a shrine in Kyoto in December 1990 at pearl harbor he stated through a translater to survivor's of the Indianapolis that "I came here to pray with you for your shipmates whose deaths I caused" which survivor Giles McCoy responded "I forgive you" in 1999 he ssisted the surviving crew of the Indianapolis in trying to clear McVay's record he wrote a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee in which he stated "Our peoples have forgiven each other for that terrible war and its consequences. Perhaps it is time your peoples forgave Captain McVay for the humiliation of his unjust conviction". Mochitsura Hashimoto died at age 91 on October 25th 2000 Just 5 days later was when Captain McVay's reputation was restored.