It Sank in 12 Minutes
At 00:15 on July 30, 1945, the ship, with a crew of 1,199 men, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the waters of the Pacific. It was struck on the starboard side by two Type 95 torpedoes. The explosions caused massive damage, and within 12 minutes, the ship sunk. It rolled over completely, and after the stern rose into the air, it plunged right down.
Source: abcnews.go.com
300 of the men aboard went down with the ship. With only a few lifeboats and many without life jackets at all, the remainder of the crew was set adrift in the open waters of the Pacific. Thanks to the survivors’ stories, we can take a rare look into one of the worst naval disasters in US military history.