While the USS Indianapolis was a fast ship, its inability to evade the Japanese submarine I-58 was due to several factors: it was sailing without destroyer escort, the ocean was dark and visibility poor, and its captain, Charles McVay, had discretion on zigzagging, which was ultimately deemed insufficient against the I-58's well-aimed torpedoes. The Japanese submarine I-58, commanded by Mochitsura Hashimoto, was well-crewed and its commander, Hashimoto, later testified that zigzagging likely wou