Brazilian cruiser Bahia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bahia was the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

of a two-vessel class

Bahia class cruiser

The Bahia class was a pair of scout cruisers built for Brazil by Armstrong Whitworth in the United Kingdom, based on a design that borrowed heavily from the British scout cruisers. The class comprised the lead ship , along with her sister ship . Both were named after states of Brazil...

of cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

s (Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

: cruzador) built for Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

by Armstrong Whitworth

Armstrong Whitworth

Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...

in the United Kingdom. Six months after her commissioning

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

(May 1910), crewmen aboard Bahia, , , and mutinied, beginning the (Revolt of the Whip

Revolt of the Whip

The Revolt of the LashOther names for the mutiny include the "Revolt of the Whip" or the "Revolt against the Lash." , was a 1910 naval incident that occurred in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...

). During the four-day rebellion, Brazil's capital city of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

was held hostage by the possibility of a naval bombardment, leading the government to give in to the rebel demands, which included the abolition of flogging

Flagellation

Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...

in the navy. During the First World War, Bahia and her sister ship

Sister ship

A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...

were assigned to the (Naval Division in War Operations), the Brazilian Navy

Brazilian Navy

The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...

's main contribution in that conflict. Based out of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

and Dakar

Dakar

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

, the squadron escorted convoys through an area believed to be heavily patrolled by U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s.

In the mid-1920s, Bahia was extensively modernized. She received three new Brown–Curtis

John Brown & Company

John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...

turbine engines and six new Thornycroft boilers, and, in the process, was converted from coal-burning to oil. The refit resulted in a striking aesthetic change, with the exhaust being trunked into three funnels instead of two. The armament was also modified; three 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in) Madsen guns, a 7 mm (0.275590551181102 in) Hotchkiss

Hotchkiss et Cie

Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie was a French arms and car company established by United States engineer Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, who was born in Watertown, Connecticut. He moved to France and set up a factory, first at Viviez near Rodez in 1867, then at Saint-Denis near...

machine gun, and four 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes were added. In the 1930s, she served with government forces during multiple revolutions.

In the Second World War, Bahia was once again used as a convoy escort, sailing over 100000 nmi (185,200 km; 115,078.2 mi) in the span of about a year. On 4 July 1945 she was acting as a plane guard

Plane guard

A plane guard is a warship or helicopter tasked to recover the aircrew of planes or helicopters which ditch or crash in the water during aircraft carrier flight operations.-Ships:...

for transport aircraft

Military transport aircraft

Military transport aircraft are typically fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft which are used to deliver troops, weapons and other military equipment by a variety of methods to any area of military operations around the surface of the planet, usually outside of the commercial flight routes in...

flying from the Atlantic to Pacific theaters of war. While Bahias gunners were firing at a kite for anti-aircraft practice, one aimed too low and hit depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

s stored near the stern

Stern

The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...

of the ship, resulting in a massive explosion that incapacitated the ship and sank her within minutes. Only a small portion of the crew survived the blast, and even fewer were still living when their rafts were discovered days later.

Construction and commissioning

Bahia was part of a large 1904 naval building program by Brazil. Also planned as part of this were the two dreadnought

Dreadnought

The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...

s, ten s, three submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s and a submarine tender

Submarine tender

A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...

. With a design that borrowed heavily from the British scout cruisers, Bahias keel

Keel

In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...

was laid on 19 August 1907 in Armstrong Whitworth's

Armstrong Whitworth

Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

yard. Construction took about a year and a half, and she was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

on 20 January 1909. The process of fitting out pushed her completion date to 2 March 1910, after which she sailed to Brazil, arriving in Recife

Recife

Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

on 6 May. The new cruiser—the third ship of the Brazilian Navy to honor the state of Bahia

Bahia

Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

—was commissioned

Ship commissioning

into the navy shortly thereafter on 21 May 1910. As a class, Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul were the fastest cruisers in the world when they were commissioned, and the first in the Brazilian Navy to utilize steam turbine

Steam turbine

A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....

s for propulsion.

Mutiny

Brazil's economy was suffering from a severe recession at the same time Bahia was commissioned. This economic hardship, along with the racism prevalent in all branches of the Brazilian armed forces, and the severe discipline enforced on all navy ships, spawned a mutiny known as the (Revolt of the Whip

Revolt of the Whip

The Revolt of the LashOther names for the mutiny include the "Revolt of the Whip" or the "Revolt against the Lash." , was a 1910 naval incident that occurred in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...

) among sailors on the most powerful ships.

Unhappy with the violent treatment they were receiving, black sailors on the dreadnought battleship began planning an uprising early in 1910, choosing João Cândido Felisberto

João Cândido Felisberto

João Cândido Felisberto was a Brazilian sailor, best known as the leader of the "Revolt of the Whip." In the 1930s, he became an integralist.-Early life:...

— an experienced sailor later known as the "Black Admiral" — as their leader. In mid-November, a sailor was sentenced to be flogged in front of his fellow sailors, even though the practice had been banned by law. The punishment was administered and continued even after the sailor fainted, infuriating the nascent mutineers. Although they were not ready and could not revolt immediately, they quickened their preparations and rebelled on 21 November, earlier than originally planned. They killed several officers and the captain of Minas Geraes, while other officers were forced off the ship. The revolt quickly expanded to the battleship , the elderly coastal defense ship , and Bahia. While joining the revolt, the crew of the scout cruiser murdered one of their officers. During this time, discipline on the rebelling ships was not relaxed; daily drills were conducted and Felisberto ordered all liquor to be thrown overboard.

The crews of the torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

s remained loyal to the government, and army troops moved to the presidential palace

Catete Palace

The Catete Palace is an urban mansion in Rio de Janeiro's Flamengo neighborhood. The property stretches from Rua do Catete to Praia do Flamengo. From 1894 to 1960, it was Brazil's presidential palace and the site of Getulio Vargas' suicide. It now houses the Museu da República and a theatre...

and the coastline, but neither group could stop the mutineers. The fact that many who manned Rio de Janeiro's harbor defenses were sympathetic to the mutineers' cause, coupled with chance that the capital might be bombarded by the mutinous ships, forced the National Congress of Brazil

National Congress of Brazil

The National Congress of Brazil is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government.Unlike regional legislative bodies – Legislative Assemblies and City Councils -, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies .The Senate represents the 26 states and...

to give in to the rebels' demands. These included the abolition of flogging, improved living conditions, and the granting of amnesty to all mutineers. The government also issued official pardons and a statement of regret; its submission resulted in the rebellion's end on 26 November, when control of the four ships was handed back to the navy.

First World War

In the opening years of the First World War, the Brazilian Navy was sent out to patrol the South Atlantic with French, British and American naval units, although its ships were not supposed to engage any threat outside territorial waters as Brazil was not at war with the Central Powers

Central Powers

The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...

. The country also tried to ensure that it remained totally neutral; Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul were sent to Santos in August 1914 to enforce neutrality laws when it was reported that the German raider was lying in wait off that port for British and American merchant ships. Brazil joined the Entente

Allies of World War I

The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

and declared war on the Central Powers on 26 October 1917.

On 21 December 1917, the Brazilian Navy—at the behest of the British—formed a small naval force with the intent of sending it to the other side of the Atlantic. On 30 January 1918, Bahia was made the flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

of the newly organized (Naval Division in War Operations, abbreviated as DNOG), under the command of Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

Pedro Max Fernando Frontin

Pedro Max Fernando Frontin was an Admiral from the Brazilian Navy. He fought alongside the Triple Entente during World War I....

. The other ships assigned to the squadron were Bahias sister Rio Grande do Sul, Pará-class

Pará class destroyer (1908)

The Pará class destroyers were a class of 10 destroyers built for the Brazilian Navy between 1908 and 1910 by Yarrow in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow, Scotland. All named after states of Brazil, the class closely resembled the River class destroyers...

destroyers , , and , tender

Ship's tender

A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...

, and tugboat Laurindo Pita.

The DNOG sailed for the British colony of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

on 31 July. Since other allied countries helped with logistics, little was provided by Brazil aside from the ships themselves and the men crewing them. Despite the threat of a U-boat

U-boat

attack, they were forced to stop several times so Belmonte could transfer necessities such as coal and water to the other ships. They reached Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...

safely on 9 August and remained in the port until 23 August when they departed for Dakar

Dakar

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

. While on this section of the voyage, Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Norte, Belmonte and Laurindo Pita spotted an apparent torpedo heading for Belmonte, but it missed. Rio Grande do Norte then fired several shots and depth-charged what the force believed to be a U-boat. While the official Brazilian history of the ship definitively claims to have sunk a submarine, author Robert Scheina notes that this action was never confirmed, and works published about U-boat losses in the war do not agree.

After arriving in Dakar on 26 August, the DNOG was tasked with patrolling a triangle with corners at Dakar, Cape Verde

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

and Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

; the Allies believed that this area was rife with U-boats waiting for convoys to pass through. As such, the Brazilian unit's mission was to patrol for mines

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

laid by German minelaying submarines and to make sure that convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

s passing through would be safe. Complications arose when both Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul had problems with their condenser

Condenser (heat transfer)

In systems involving heat transfer, a condenser is a device or unit used to condense a substance from its gaseous to its liquid state, typically by cooling it. In so doing, the latent heat is given up by the substance, and will transfer to the condenser coolant...

s, a matter which was made much worse by the hot, tropical climate in which the ships were serving.

In early September, the squadron was struck by the Spanish flu pandemic. The contagion began aboard Bahia, spread to the other ships of the squadron and remained present for seven weeks. At one point, 95% of some of the ships' crews were infected; 103 died overseas, and 250 died in Brazil after returning there. On 3 November, Bahia, three of the four destroyers, and the tugboat were sent to Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean Sea. They arrived on 9 or 10 November, escorted by the American destroyer , but the fighting ceased on the 11th when the Armistice with Germany was signed. Sometime in early 1919, Bahia, accompanied by four destroyers, voyaged to Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

, England; they then traveled across the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

to Cherbourg, arriving there on 15 February. The commander of the squadron, Admiral Pedro Max Fernando Frontin

Pedro Max Fernando Frontin

Pedro Max Fernando Frontin was an Admiral from the Brazilian Navy. He fought alongside the Triple Entente during World War I....

, met with the Maritime Prefect prior to the commencement of "social events"; these lasted until 23 February, when the ships moved to Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

and Frontin journeyed overland to Paris. The DNOG was dissolved on 25 August 1919.

Modernization and inter-war years

In 1925–26, Bahia underwent significant modernization. The original five turbines were replaced by three Brown–Curtis

John Brown & Company

turbines, while the original ten boilers were replaced by six Thornycroft oil-burning boilers, which necessitated the addition of a third funnel. The former coal bunkers, along with some of the space freed up by the decrease in boilers, were converted to hold 588120 litres (155,364.9 US gal) of oil. These modifications resulted in Bahias top speed increasing to 28 knots (54.9 km/h). All of the boats on board were replaced, and three 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in) Madsen guns, a 7 mm (0.275590551181102 in) Hotchkiss

Hotchkiss et Cie

machine gun, and four 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes were added to give the ship a defense against aircraft and more power against surface ships, respectively. Still, in 1930 The New York Times labeled Bahia and the other warships in Brazil's navy as "obsolete" and noted that nearly all were "older than the ages considered effective by powers signatory to the Washington

Washington Naval Treaty

The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...

and London Naval Treaties

London Naval Treaty

The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...

."

On 28 June 1926, the Ludington Daily News reported that Bahia would pay a visit to Philadelphia, accepting an invitation from the United States government to participate in the sesquicentennial celebrations

Sesquicentennial Exposition

The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition-History:The honor of hosting...

. In mid-1930, Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul—under the command of Heráclito Belford Gomes—escorted Brazil's President-elect Júlio Prestes

Júlio Prestes

Júlio Prestes de Albuquerque was a Brazilian politician. Governor of São Paulo state in 1926, he was elected president of Brazil on March 1, 1930, but never took office because the government was overthrown in the Revolution of 1930 that brought Getulio Vargas to power, three weeks before Prestes'...

to the United States. Traveling on board the Brazilian-Lloyd ocean liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

, Prestes was returning American then-President-elect Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

's visit to Brazil in December 1928. The cruisers and met the three ships about 100 miles (160.9 km) off of Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook is a barrier spit along the Atlantic coast of New JerseySandy Hook may also refer to:-Places:United States* Sandy Hook , a village in the town of Newtown, Connecticut* Sandy Hook, Kentucky, a city in Elliott County...

and honored Prestes with a 21-gun salute

21-gun salute

Gun salutes are the firing of cannons or firearms as a military or naval honor.The custom stems from naval tradition, where a warship would fire its cannons harmlessly out to sea, until all ammunition was spent, to show that it was disarmed, signifying the lack of hostile intent...

. After spending five hours in the Ambrose Channel

Ambrose Channel

Ambrose Channel is the main shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The channel is considered to be part of Lower New York Bay and is located several miles off the coasts of Sandy Hook in New Jersey and Breezy Point, Queens in New York...

due to fog, Prestes traveled on a launch to a pier, during which Bahia rendered one 21-gun salute and Fort Jay

Fort Jay

Fort Jay is a harbor fortification and the name of the former Army post located on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Fort Jay is the oldest defensive structure on the island, built to defend Upper New York Bay, but has served other purposes...

offered two. After arriving ashore, he traveled to City Hall

New York City Hall

New York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. The building is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as...

before speeding down to Washington, D.C. He stayed in the United States for eight days before departing for France on the White Star Line

White Star Line

The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...

's . Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul were berthed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Brooklyn Navy Yard

The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...

for the visit.

During the Brazilian Revolution of 1930

Brazilian Revolution of 1930

The Revolution of 1930 was a movement that overthrew President Washington Luís and installed Getúlio Vargas as Provisional President.-See also:*Revolutions of Brazil*History of Brazil...

, Bahia served with Rio Grande do Sul—until that ship defected—and five or six destroyers off the coast of Santa Catarina

Santa Catarina (state)

Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...

; they were once again commanded by Belford Gomes. Two years later, when the state of São Paulo

São Paulo (state)

São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

rebelled in the Constitutionalist Revolution

Constitutionalist Revolution

The Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 is the name given to the uprising of the population of the Brazilian state of São Paulo against the 1930 coup d'état whereby Getúlio Vargas assumed the nation's Presidency; Vargas was supported by the military and the political elites of Minas Gerais, Rio...

, Bahia—under the command of Frigate Captain

Frigate Captain

Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries.It is, usually, equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander.Countries using this rank include Argentina and Spain , France , Belgium , Italy ,...

Lucas Alexandre Boiteux—and other vessels blockaded the rebel-held port of Santos

Port of Santos

The Port of Santos is located in the city of Santos, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. It possesses a wide variety of cargo handling terminals - solid and liquid bulk, containers and general loads. It is Brazil's leading port in container traffic...

. Bahia was under repair from 1934 into 1935. In November 1935, Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul sailed to Natal

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte

-History:The northeastern tip of South America, Cabo São Roque, to the north of Natal and the closest point to Europe from Latin America, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day...

, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte

Rio Grande do Norte

Rio Grande do Norte is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern region of the country, occupying the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. Because of its geographic position, Rio Grande do Norte has a strategic importance. The capital and largest city is Natal...

, to lend support against another rebellion. As part of their mission, they were ordered to sink the steamship Santos on sight, as several escaping leaders of the revolution were on board.

From 17–22 May 1935, Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul—joined at an unknown point by the Argentine battleships and , the heavy cruiser

Heavy cruiser

The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...

s and , and five destroyers—escorted , with Brazilian President Getúlio Dornelles Vargas embarked, up the (River Plate

Río de la Plata

The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...

) to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, the capital of Argentina. Vargas was returning visits from the presidents of Argentina and Uruguay, Agustín Pedro Justo

Agustín Pedro Justo

General Agustín Pedro Justo Rolón was President of Argentina from February 20, 1932, to February 20, 1938...

and Gabriel Terra

Gabriel Terra

Dr. Gabriel Terra Leivas was the President of Uruguay from 1931 to 1938.- Background :Born in Montevideo to a wealthy family, he graduated from the University of Uruguay in 1895, and subsequently joined the faculty....

. Vargas and Justo planned to be present at the opening session of the Pan-American Commercial Conference on 26 May, and open a Chaco War

Chaco War

The Chaco War was fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region of South America, which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil. It is also referred to as La Guerra de la Sed in literary circles for being fought in the semi-arid Chaco...

peace conference

Peace conference

A peace conference is a diplomatic meeting where representatives of certain states, armies, or other warring parties converge to end hostilities and sign a peace treaty....

, before São Paulo conveyed Vargas to Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

, Uruguay for meetings with Terra.

On 2 March 1936, Bahia escorted Veinticinco de Mayo, which had the Argentine Navy Minister Rear Admiral Eleazar Videla embarked, and Almirante Brown in the last part of their journey to Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Second World War

After Brazil's entrance into the Second World War on 21 August 1942, which took effect on 31 August, Bahia was used extensively for escorts and patrols; sources conflict as to the actual number—either 67 and 15 or 62 and 11. In total, she traveled 101971 nmi (188,850.3 km; 117,346.4 mi) in 358 days, and played a role in shepherding over 700 merchant ships, despite being labeled by the United States Naval Institute

United States Naval Institute

The United States Naval Institute , based at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is a private, non-profit, professional military association that seeks to offer independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national defense issues...

's magazine Proceedings

Proceedings (magazine)

Proceedings is a monthly magazine published by the United States Naval Institute since 1874. The 96-page publication features articles about Naval and Military matters written by active and retired military personnel plus renowned authors and scholars of their subject.-External links:* * ** by...

as being an "oversized destroyer" which was "relatively slow".

On 3 June 1943, while Bahia was escorting the convoy BT 12, she located an underwater mine

Naval mine

and destroyed it with one of her 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in) Madsen guns. On 10 July, while at 26°15′S 43°35′W, Bahia received a sonar

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

contact and depth-charged

Depth charge

what the Brazilian Navy's official history of the ship reports might have been the German submarine , which was sunk later that month in the same area (off Rio de Janeiro) by American and Brazilian aircraft. In November 1944, Bahia joined the American light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

and destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

in accompanying the 4th Squadron of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force

Brazilian Expeditionary Force

The Brazilian Expeditionary Force or BEF was a force about 25,700 men and women arranged by the Army and Air Force to fight alongside the Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II...

as they were carried on the troop transport to Italy.

Bahia was modernized again twice during the war, in both 1942 and 1944; these modernizations were not as extensive as those of the 1920s. Two of her 47 mm (1.9 in)

QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss

The QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss was a light 47-mm naval gun introduced in 1886 to defend against new small fast vessels such as torpedo boats, and later submarines...

guns were replaced with 76 mm (3 in) L/23 AA guns, her Madsen guns were replaced with seven Oerlikon 20 mm cannons

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...

in single mounts, and a director

Fire-control system

A fire-control system is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more...

for these guns was installed. Two depth charge tracks were added, improved range-finders were added to the 120 mm (4.7 in) guns, and sonar and radar were fitted, in addition to other minor modifications.Regarding the installation of sonar, it is not clear whether it was fitted for the first time in 1942 (and used in the 10 July depth charging) or whether a more modern sonar replaced an outmoded version in either 1942 or 1944. The Brazilian Navy's official history of the ship reports these modifications, but does not specify which were undertaken in which year.

Loss

At the end of hostilities in the European theater

European Theatre of World War II

The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...

in May 1945 various warships of the Allied nations, including Brazil's, were assigned to patrol in the Atlantic as rescue ships, standing by near routes frequented by military transport aircraft

Military transport aircraft

carrying personnel from Europe to the continuing war in the Pacific

Pacific Theater of Operations

The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...

. Bahia was one such ship; on 4 July 1945, she was stationed northeast of Brazil around 0°N 30°W, near the (Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago). For anti-aircraft target practice, crewmen were firing the ship's 20 mm guns at a kite that was being towed behind the ship. One of them shot it down, but also accidentally hit the depth charge

Depth charge

s on the stern

Stern

—a direct consequence of the lack of guide rails that would normally prohibit the guns from being aimed at the ship. The resulting explosion knocked out all power on the ship and sank her in about three minutes.

The survivors of the blast endured four or five days of no food, high temperatures and full exposure to the sun on their makeshift rafts; some, driven mad by these conditions, simply jumped into the water and were devoured by sharks. From this point on, sources vary greatly. According to an article in Time

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

, Bahias loss was not discovered until 8 July, when 22 survivors were picked up by a freighter, . Naval historian Robert Scheina, however, says that the disaster was revealed when Rio Grande do Sul arrived on station four days after the sinking to take Bahias place and could not find her.

Sources also disagree on the number rescued and final death toll. The official history of the ship gives 36 rescued and 336 dead, and Poder Naval Online gives 36 and 339. Contemporary news articles also published varying numbers; in an article published a day after the accident became known, The Evening Independent stated that the ship carried 383 men, though it did not give any more information. The New York Times gave figures of 28 saved and 347 lost, while the St. Petersburg Times gave 32 and 395. Sources do agree, however, that four American sound technicians were killed.

Rescued crewmen believed that they had hit a mine that detonated one of the ship's magazines

Magazine (artillery)

Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...

. Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

Jorge Dodsworth Martins—Brazil's chief of naval intelligence—thought that Bahia could have been mined or torpedoed by , which surrendered under strange circumstances in Argentina on 10 July (some two months after Germany's surrender), but the Argentine Naval Ministry stated that it would have been impossible for the submarine to travel from the site of the sinking to Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...

in six days (4–10 July). It is 4400 kilometres (2,734 mi) from St Peter and Paul rocks to Mar del Plata, which can be covered in a little over five days at the 35 kilometres per hour (21.7 mph) surface speed of the U-530 U-boat class. By late October, the Brazilian Navy had come to the conclusion that Bahia had been sunk by an accidental explosion.

Sources

Moore, John, ed. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Random House [Jane's Publishing Company], 2001 [1919]. ISBN 1-85170-378-0. .
Scheina, Robert L. "Brazil" in Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...

: Naval Institute Press, 1984. ISBN 0-87021-907-3. .
Scheina, Robert L. Latin America's Wars: Volume II, The Age of the Professional Soldier, 1900–2001. Washington D.C.: Brassey's, 2003. ISBN 1-57488-452-2. .
Smallman, Shawn C. Fear & Memory in the Brazilian Army and Society, 1889–1954. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press
University of North Carolina Press
The University of North Carolina Press , founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina....

, 2002. ISBN 0-8078-5359-3. .
Whitley, M.J. Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1995. ISBN 1-55750-141-6. .

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