Rain Man
10-04-2014, 09:39 PM
I was reading a little bit about the Bahia, a Brazilian navy ship in World War II. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_cruiser_Bahia
It was sunk after the war in Europe ended. By its own crew. Shooting at a kite. Over 300 people died. If you survived and were the guy shooting, that's got to weigh on your conscience, though in fairness the real blame probably lies with the guy who removed the guide rails.
At the end of hostilities in the European theater in May 1945 various warships of the Allied nations, including Brazil's, were assigned to patrol in the Atlantic as rescue ships, standing by near routes frequented by military transport aircraft carrying personnel from Europe to the continuing war in the Pacific.[6][40] Bahia was one such ship;[40] on 4 July 1945, she was stationed northeast of Brazil around 0°N 30°W, near the Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo (Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago).[3][4][6] For anti-aircraft target practice, crewmen were firing the ship's 20 mm guns at a kite that was being towed behind the ship. One of them shot it down, but also accidentally hit the depth charges on the stern—a direct consequence of the lack of guide rails that would normally prohibit the guns from being aimed at the ship.[4][6] The resulting explosion knocked out all power on the ship and sank her in about three minutes.[1][4][41]
The survivors of the blast endured four or five days of no food, high temperatures and full exposure to the sun on their makeshift rafts;[41][42] some, driven mad by these conditions, simply jumped into the water and were devoured by sharks.[42] From this point on, sources vary greatly. According to an article in Time, Bahia's loss was not discovered until 8 July, when 22 survivors were picked up by a freighter, Balfe.[41][43][H] Naval historian Robert Scheina, however, says that the disaster was revealed when Rio Grande do Sul arrived on station four days after the sinking to take Bahia's place and could not find her.[4]
Sources also disagree on the number rescued and final death toll. The official history of the ship gives 36 rescued and 336 dead,[3] and the Navios de Guerra Brasileiros gives 36 and 339.
It was sunk after the war in Europe ended. By its own crew. Shooting at a kite. Over 300 people died. If you survived and were the guy shooting, that's got to weigh on your conscience, though in fairness the real blame probably lies with the guy who removed the guide rails.
At the end of hostilities in the European theater in May 1945 various warships of the Allied nations, including Brazil's, were assigned to patrol in the Atlantic as rescue ships, standing by near routes frequented by military transport aircraft carrying personnel from Europe to the continuing war in the Pacific.[6][40] Bahia was one such ship;[40] on 4 July 1945, she was stationed northeast of Brazil around 0°N 30°W, near the Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo (Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago).[3][4][6] For anti-aircraft target practice, crewmen were firing the ship's 20 mm guns at a kite that was being towed behind the ship. One of them shot it down, but also accidentally hit the depth charges on the stern—a direct consequence of the lack of guide rails that would normally prohibit the guns from being aimed at the ship.[4][6] The resulting explosion knocked out all power on the ship and sank her in about three minutes.[1][4][41]
The survivors of the blast endured four or five days of no food, high temperatures and full exposure to the sun on their makeshift rafts;[41][42] some, driven mad by these conditions, simply jumped into the water and were devoured by sharks.[42] From this point on, sources vary greatly. According to an article in Time, Bahia's loss was not discovered until 8 July, when 22 survivors were picked up by a freighter, Balfe.[41][43][H] Naval historian Robert Scheina, however, says that the disaster was revealed when Rio Grande do Sul arrived on station four days after the sinking to take Bahia's place and could not find her.[4]
Sources also disagree on the number rescued and final death toll. The official history of the ship gives 36 rescued and 336 dead,[3] and the Navios de Guerra Brasileiros gives 36 and 339.