IN HARM'S WAY In Harm's Way the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the extraordinary story of its survivors .....................................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......(from book's flap by Fridamod)