Historical person
Mochitsura Hashimoto
1909–2000
Mochitsura Hashimoto was an officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy and commander of submarine I-58 during the final months of the Pacific War. On 30 July 1945 his submarine torpedoed USS Indianapolis , sinking the cruiser shortly after it had completed its mission carrying components connected with the atomic bomb.
After the war Hashimoto was brought to the United States to testify at the court-martial of Indianapolis captain Charles B. McVay III. He stated that his attack would probably have succeeded whether or not the cruiser had been zigzagging, evidence later cited by those seeking McVay’s exoneration.
In David Boyle’s Lost at Sea, in July 1945 the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis completed a secret mission delivering components connected with the atomic bomb to Tinian. On its subsequent voyage the ship was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-58, commanded by Mochitsura Hashimoto, and sank within minutes. Hundreds of survivors entered the sea without enough boats, food or water and remained there for days before they were accidentally discovered.
Non Fiction
Non Fiction featuring Mochitsura Hashimoto (1 book)
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