keavdog
I know next to zero about naval vessels. Did heavy cruisers carry aircraft? I know the terrible story of the Indianappolis.
Yes, etirely typical to carry aircraft.
In the WWI & post war era, they were meant to be used to "spot" gunfire, which reached over the horizon even with 8" rifles. They were also used to scout ahead of the ship, as cruisers, in that era, were expected to be able to operate entirely on their own, with no other support ships.
The style for hangars changed through the eras. The Northhampton class was pretty obvious with their hangas, as they were on the 100 (main) deck, and the catapaults were up at the 0300 level.
Later classes opted for a more flush appearance, which helped keep the center of gravit low and the metacenter high (good things for ship stability). So, catapaults moved to the stern, and the hangars submerged to the 200 (or a platform deck) below the stern. The sizes are deceptive, as the wings were often removed to hangar the a/c.
Same ship? Recently read on this forum that ship names are recycled.
Yes, there have been several USS Indianapolis. This can be a thorny issue for ships lost in action, particularly in dramatic ways. SSN-697 was/is USS Indianapolis. There is to be LCS-17, a Freedom class "littoral" ship, if the LCS ships are all built to contract. The latter will be the next surface ship to bear the name.
Before CA-35, there had been a cargo ship that had been taken into USN service for WWI bearing the USS Indianapolis name.