Using sonar imaging technology, the Brazilian Navy identified the Vital de Oliveira, a Brazilian World War II warship that was sunk 80 years ago by a German U-boat.
Just before midnight on July 19, 1944, the German submarine U-861 fired a torpedo at the Vital de Oliveira, which hit the stern and caused the vessel to sink, resulting in the loss of about 100 lives out of approximately 270 crew members on board. The Vital de Oliveira was transporting personnel and supplies along the Brazilian coast when it was attacked, and the force of the blast reportedly toppled a “load of wood,” blocking escape passages, as reported by The Washington Times.
The wreck was initially discovered in 2011 by diving brothers José Luiz and Everaldo Pompermayer Meriguete, who were alerted by a fisherman whose net had become stuck on the seabed. The brothers called in deep-sea diver Domingos Afonso Jório, who found that the fishing net was snagged on a cannon of the sunken ship and notified the Brazilian Navy of the discovery, as reported by The Washington Times.
The new data on the ship “will allow a detailed assessment of the remaining structural conditions and the relationship of the vessel with the environment,” said Lieutenant Captain Caio Cezar Pereira Demilio of the Brazilian Navy, who participated in the survey, according to a Washington Times translation.
The wreck is located roughly 40 miles offshore from Macaé, Brazil, at a depth of 50 meters, as reported by The Sun.
The Vital de Oliveira was the only Brazilian military vessel sunk by enemy forces during World War II, although two other Brazilian Navy ships sank due to accidents, as reported by The Washington Times.
The U-861 survived the war and was surrendered at Trondheim, Norway. Its captain, Jürgen Oesten, lived to the age of 96, passing away on August 5, 2010, according to The Sun.
Brazil was the only Latin American nation that sent troops to Europe during World War II.
Both the Vital de Oliveira and the research vessel used in the recent investigation are named after Frigate Captain Manoel Antônio Vital de Oliveira, a soldier who was killed in combat in 1867 during the Paraguayan War, as reported by Smithsonian Magazine.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
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