Bahia was the lead ship of her class of cruisers built for Brazil by Armstrong Whitworth in the United Kingdom. Six months after her 21 May 1910 commissioning, crewmen aboard the ship mutinied during the Revolta da Chibata (English: Revolt of the Whip), killing one of the ship's officers during the four-day rebellion. During the First World War, Bahia and her sister ship Rio Grande do Sul were assigned to the Divisão Naval em Operações de Guerra (English: Naval Division in War Operations), the Brazilian Navy's main contribution in that conflict. Based out of Sierra Leone and Dakar, the squadron escorted convoys through an area believed to be heavily patrolled by U-boats. Between the wars, Bahia underwent a major overhaul and modernization and was mobilized against multiple rebellions. In the Second World War, Bahia was once again used as a convoy escort, sailing over 100,000 nautical miles (190,000 km; 120,000 mi) in 358 total days of sailing. On 4 July 1945 she was acting as a plane guard for transport aircraft flying from the Atlantic to Pacific theaters of war. While Bahia's gunners were firing at a kite for anti-aircraft practice, one aimed too low and hit depth charges stored near the stern of the ship, resulting in a massive explosion that incapacitated the ship and sunk 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. Conspiracy theories disputing this story and involving rogue German U-boats persist to this day.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_cruiser_Bahia
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1758:
French and Indian War: Ten-year-old Mary Campbell was taken captive from her Pennsylvania home by members of the Native American group Lenape, presumably becoming the first white child to travel to the Connecticut Western Reserve. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Campbell
1894:
The Manchester Ship Canal , linking Greater Manchester in North West England to the Irish Sea, officially opened, becoming the largest navigation canal in the world at the time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Ship_Canal
1927:
Aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, American aviator Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight, flying from Roosevelt Field near New York City to Le Bourget Airport near Paris. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_St._Louis
1998:
Indonesian President Suharto resigned following the collapse of support<!-Not bolded, cleanup issues-> for his three-decade-long reign. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suharto
2006:
The Montenegrin independence referendum was held in Montenegro, with 55.5 percent of the voters favouring independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montenegrin_independence_referendum%2C_2006
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
don't shoot the messenger (proverb): The bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/don%27t_shoot_the_messenger
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Some Figures monstrous and mis-shap'd appear,
Consider'd singly, or beheld too near, Which, but proportion'd to their Light, or Place,
Due Distance reconciles to Form and Grace. A prudent Chief not always must display
His Pow'rs in equal Ranks, and fair Array, But with th' Occasion and the Place comply,
Conceal his Force, nay seem sometimes to Fly. Those oft are Stratagems which Errors seem,
Nor is it Homer Nods, but We that Dream. --Alexander Pope http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope