Station HYPO

By: Capt. William J. Toti, USN (Retired)

The following is a 1999 article from Proceedings, originally titled: The Sinking of the Indy & Responsibility of Command.

The July 30, 1945 sinking of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35) by the Imperial Japanese submarine 1-58 has been called the last, great naval tragedy of World War II. It is the stuff of legend: after delivering the atomic bombs to Tinian, the Indy was torpedoed, sinking in 12 minutes. At least 800 crew members survived the sinking and went into the water. On their rescue after five days, only 320 still were alive. Their stories have inspired three books, a movie, and perhaps yet another feature film. 

On November 16, 1963, just six days before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy stood aboard the USS Observation Island (EAG‑154) and witnessed a defining moment in the Cold War-era evolution of American sea power. Off the coast of Florida, he observed the successful launch of an unarmed Polaris A-2 missile from the LAFAYETTE-class submarine USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN‑619)—a vivid demonstration of the Navy’s burgeoning capability in sea-based strategic deterrence.

Today, the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group officially changed its name to the Navy Cryptologic Warfare Development Group (NCWDG), marking the latest evolution in the organization’s storied history of supporting Naval Information Warfare.

During World War II, Fort Hunt was the location of a top-secret military intelligence installation (P.O. Box 1142), where high value German captives were interrogated, and means were developed for the escape of captured U.S. servicemen. After the War, some German scientists who chose to come to the U.S. rather than go to the Soviet Union were debriefed at Fort Hunt. Thereafter, almost all the buildings were leveled and the servicemen who worked there sworn to secrecy. As a result, no one knew the importance of what had occurred there until the 1990s, when the information was declassified. Even now, information is only slowly coming to light.

OTD: the first use of transatlantic telegraphic cable generated an upsurge in commercial cryptography. Initially messages on the 1858 cable were sent by an operator in Morse code. However, the 1866 cable could transmit at eight words a minute–80 times faster than the 1858 cable.