The greatest catastrophe - and the greatest story of courage and survival - in American Naval History. On July 30 , 1945 - a scant two weeks before the official end of World War II - the battle cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine and sank within twelve minutes. An estimated 300 men died then; close to 900 others were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they spent nearly four days and nights struggling to survive, battered by a savage sea and fighting off sharks, thirst, and madness. When help finally arrived - purely by accident - only 317 men were still alive.

In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors