What US ship was sunk near the end of WW 2 because it was not zig-zaging?

Answer 1

The USS Indianapolis. She was a cruiser, a class of warship larger than a destroyer, but not as large as a battleship. US cruisers were named for cities, and had main battery guns which fired shells of 6 inch (light cruisers) or 8 inch (heavy cruisers) in diameter, and a crew of 800-900 men. The Indianapolis was a fast ship, and fast ships were able to avoid the menace of enemy submarines with frequent changes of course, zig zagging to either side of the base course. Thus, they could sail alone, without escorting subchasing destroyers. The Indianapolis had just delivered the first atomic bomb to Tinian Island, in the Marshall Islands, sailing alone, and was to continue on to the Philippines. She was advised that no enemy submarines were operating along her route, and to save time by eliminating an evasive course, and just sail straight on. It still took very bad luck to put her in a position sailing in front of an enemy sub where she could be hit. Most of her crew survived the sinking, but she was four days overdue before anyone thought to send out search planes to look for her. In the meantime sharks had been attracted to the hundreds of sailors floating helplessly in life vests, and hundreds were eaten by the sharks. The shark hunter character in the movie "Jaws" was supposed to have been one of the survivors who were finally rescued, about one fourth of the men who had initially gone in to the water. The captain of the Indianapolis was the only US ship commander in WWII court martialed for having his ship sunk, because the Navy had to blame the horrific disaster on somebody. A campaign went on for years after the war to clear his name, but he died before it succeeded.