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."
