Brazilian ship sunk by WWII U-Boat located
archaeology.org
archaeology.org
That's a nice find.
Some interesting points:
* This was the last Brazilian ship sunk during WWII
* Brazil was an US ally, providing raw materials, but mainly rubber after Asia trade routes were suspended by the Japanese
* If Brazil didn't become an US ally, there was a plan to invade the rubber producing area - known as Plan Rubber [1] - it was not necessary since Brazil joined the allies
* To warm up Brazilians public reception to a US partnership even Disney got involved (and Carmen Miranda!) creating the character Zé Carioca [2]
* Brazil sent 25k+ troops to the Italy front
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[1] Plan Rubber - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_Rubber
[2] Zé Carioca - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Carioca
The Smoking Snakes!
As part of that they had pilots flying P-47s.
I understand the rationing of gasoline in the US during the war was intended to conserve rubber, not (just) gasoline. Eventually synthetic rubber became available but this took a while and was a huge effort.
The Brazilian government was a dictatorship closely aligned with Italy. The Brazilian society was closely aligned with the US.
At the moment that ship sank, you could replace US with Italy and that phrase would be about as true. That ship was basically the last drop that made Brazil push the government into breaking ties with Italy.
And yeah, shortly after that Brazil participated on the taking of Italy.
From: https://guides.loc.gov/brazil-us-relations/brazil-world-war-...
> Foreign Minister Oswaldo Aranha's five-week visit to the United States earlier in the year secured Brazil substantial lines of credit, loans, and technical assistance for the development of Brazilian rubber and mining industries. On September 26, 1940 the United States and Brazil signed agreement for the financing and construction of the Volta Redonda steel mill. By the end of 1940, Brazil had privately resolved to throw its lot in with the Allies.
I recommend reading the whole article, very interesting. I remember my history teacher in high school actually teaching this (he mentioned only steel, not rubber), I am very surprised this fact is downplayed and a lot of Brazilians don't know about it. I remember my teacher also mentioning that Brazil tried to secure similar deals with Germany but with no luck, but I can't find any sources for that.
It did require a largish monetary loan as condition of entering the war. And yes, it did invest the loan on a some industries.
Also, all of this is extensively covered by Brazilian schools. I have no idea what accusation you have of downplaying stuff.
Yes I do, Brazil was selling food and raw materials to both sides while staying out of the war just like Sweden. The main difference is that Brazil moved out of its neutral position several years before the end of the war, but that only happened because of US direct support. Sweden probably got similar deals from the US but didn't want to risk getting invaded like Norway was.
> Also, all of this is extensively covered by Brazilian schools. I have no idea what accusation you have of downplaying stuff.
Like I mentioned, I was taught this in high school, but a lot of Brazilian people I mention this fact to doesn't seem to know about it. This is anecdotal though.
He also said there was no direct proof it was actually the Germans, and it may as well have been the US to force us to join on their side.
Which ultimately led me to find a pro-military website contesting this whole idea, and the author presented convincing arguments like, Brazil was sending resources to the US, so why the hell would they sink a ship that would bring resources to them?
Sadly, I cannot find the link. And it turns out the widely accepted theory is that Germans actually sunk the merchant boat, and it wasn't a covert US operation.