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Brazilian Ship Sunk By WWII U-Boat Located

News February 19, 2025

Side-scan sonar image of the hull of Vital de Oliveira
Brazilian Navy
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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL--According to a CNN report, the Brazilian Navy
confirmed the location of the shipwreck of Vital de Oliveira 28 miles
off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The ship was transporting supplies
and soldiers along the coast when it was torpedoed by German U-boat
U-861 on the night of June 19, 1944. The wreck was first reported 14
years ago but was finally definitively identified using multibeam and
side-scanning sonar. Brazil was the only South American country to
send troops to fight in World War II on behalf of the Allies, which
caused German forces to retaliate. Vital de Oliveira was the
Brazilian Navy's greatest loss of the war. It was carrying 270 souls
when it sank, 99 of whom perished. To read about a survey to map
wrecks from World War I and World War II on the Irish Sea floor, go
to "An Undersea Battlefield."

Sonar image of the hull of Vital de Oliveira on the seafloor Sonar
image of the hull of Vital de Oliveira on the seafloor

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