Brazilian cargo ship Araraquara

The ship belonged to the Araranguá Class, which included the Araranguá, the Araçatuba, and the Aratimbó - popularly known in Brazil as "Aras".

The Araraquara was launched on August 1, 1927, and was completed in October of that same year at the Cantiere Navale Triestino shipyard in Monfalcone, near Trieste, Italy, commissioned by Lloyd Nacional, her first and only owner.[note 1][1]

Passenger boarding

In addition to being a conventional cargo ship, she had refrigerated capacity and also provided service as a passenger ship on cabotage lines.[2]

The ship was named after the city of Araraquara in the state of São Paulo.

Schematic of a ship from the Araranguá class, of which the Araraquara was a part.

With a steel hull, she was powered by two four-cylinder diesel internal combustion engines coupled to two shafts/propellers, with a power of 1008 HP, allowing her to reach a speed of 13.5 knots. The ship had a gross tonnage of 4,872, and a cargo capacity of 3850 tons, measuring 115.21 meters in length by 16.37 meters in width and having a draft of 7.44 meters.[1][2]

Although diplomatic relations between Brazil and Nazi Germany had been broken off since January, and despite the sinking of fifteen of its merchant ships in the previous months, Brazil, in theory, was still a neutral country. However, in early August, in the face of American air patrols against Axis submarines from Brazilian bases (and with the help of Brazilians), the relationship between the two countries had seriously deteriorated, in a state of latent war between them.[3][4]

In this context, the Kriegsmarine High Command ordered the submarine U-507 to move to the Brazilian coast and there, execute "free maneuvers", that is, to sink any Allied or Latin American vessel, except Argentine and Chilean ones.[3][4]

The U-507 was a Type IXC submarine, manufactured in 1940. She had a displacement of 1,120 tons on the surface and 1,232 tons submerged. With a length of 76.76 meters, submarines of this type were powered by a combination of diesel and electric motors. On the surface, powered by diesel, an IXC type could sail 13,450 nautical miles (25,000 km) at a speed of 10 knots (18.5 km/h). Submerged, with the electric motor, she could only sail 63 miles at a speed of only 4 knots. They had 22 torpedoes and a load of 44 mines. They operated with a crew of between 48 and 56 men.[5]

Her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Harro Schacht, was very experienced. He had begun his naval career in 1926, serving on the cruisers Emden and Nürnberg, until he was transferred to the Navy Command Office, where he was promoted to corvette captain and took command of the U-507 shortly thereafter.[6]

By the time of the sinking of the Araraquara, the U-boat had already counted 11 attacks (with ten shipwrecks), including that of the Baependi, which had occurred a few hours earlier.[3][4]

At 2:00 pm on August 11, a Tuesday, the ship left Rio de Janeiro, bound for Cabedelo, in Paraíba, with stops in Salvador, Recife, and Maceió. It was commanded by Captain Augusto Teixeira de Freitas and carried 177 people (81 crew and 96 passengers) on its initial route, in addition to a general cargo valued at more than nine million cruzeiros (currency of the time).[1]

At 11 a.m. on the 15th, the ship set sail from Salvador and took the northern course, bound for the port of Maceió, now carrying 142 people, including 74 crew and 68 passengers.[1]

At precisely 21:03 (2:03 on the 16th by Central European Time), the U-507 fired at the Araraquara. There were two torpedoes, with a one-minute difference between them. The first hit the engine room, starboard side, and the second hit hold #3 which soon caught fire.[7]

The ship sank within five minutes, and rescue equipment could not be used to their satisfaction. The captain, first mate, six officers, 58 crew members, and 65 passengers died, totaling 131 victims. Only three passengers (one man and two women) and eight crew members were saved.[8]

Contributing to the high death toll was the fact that most of the crew and passengers had already retired to their cabins. The flash from the torpedoing of the Araraquara was seen by the castaways of the Baependi, who had been wandering at sea for at least two hours.[8]

Milton Fernandes da Silva, the vessel's first pilot, was one of the survivors. A month after the attack, he wrote a succinct report describing the incident. His testimony was very detailed.[7]

About the torpedoing he stated:

"At 9:00 p.m., with the ship almost at the portside of the city of Aracaju, and with its glare in sight, I was sleeping in my cabin when I was awakened by a hollow bang, followed by the ship shuddering. I got up immediately, still hearing the noise of the explosion, and tried to turn on the light, but the power was out. I realized that the ship had been torpedoed. I was wearing my uniform pants over my pajamas when the Commander came up to me and asked the officer on the watch, 2nd pilot Benedito Lunes, what had happened. These were his words: - "What was it, Benedito?"

The officer, overcome by great nervousness, answered nothing, and I then said: "We were torpedoed".

- "We were torpedoed, and the ship is sinking considerably." By now the garrison was approaching the gangway awaiting the command order, which was as follows:

- "Put on your life jackets and run to the lifeboats."

The commander's order was immediately executed:

As I passed by the whaleboat No. 1, on the way to No. 3, of which I was in charge, I saw the commander, the first engineer, and others who were near the whaleboat's garrison already starting the service of lowering the ship.

When I arrived at lifeboat number 3, after about one minute after the first explosion, with the ship already well adhered to the starboard side, where the torpedo hit, another explosion was heard, followed by another explosion that set fire to hold number 3, and knocked down part of the bilge, with the awning of the bilge lowered over my boat, making it completely useless. Seeing the impossibility of lowering it, I thought about saving part of the garrison, and I went up to the roof of the last awning to look for the rafts, which I couldn't find because they had already fallen into the sea, due to the great inclination of the ship. I went back to the whaleboat, but I couldn't find the garrison anymore, because, seeing the impossibility of lowering it, they looked for other ways to save themselves. I then ordered the disoriented passengers to go to the other side and try to save themselves as best they could, because the lifeboat would not be lowered.

I crawled out on the deck, followed by several passengers, and carefully went down the awning rails until I reached the side that was already horizontal, with the ship lying completely flat. I ran to the keel, making for the sea, certain that it would be impossible to save myself.

I swam a little, aided by the wagons that were quickly pulling me away from the ship. I stopped and was able to witness the same, bury, or rather, dive the stern, standing completely upright and disappearing.

There was no time for any whaleboat to be lowered, every means having been employed to do so."[7]

On the hallucinations of castaways:

"With the vacuum produced by the sinking of the ship, I went down a little, having drunk plenty of oiled water and taken several hits with the wreckage of the ship. When I came back to the surface and was able to breathe, I grabbed onto a floating box, cargo from hold #3. I saw a piece of the awning of the bar and swam to it, where I climbed up and was able to collect 3 more people, being: the 3rd engineer, Eralkildes Bruno de Barros, the deck boy, Esmerino Slina Siqueira, and an army officer, a passenger on the ship.[note 2]

We were at the mercy of the waves, without finding other people nearby to whom we could turn. So I picked up and placed everything within my reach that I thought might be of some use on the board. That is how I got a small board, a trestle, a sack of flour and a defensa balloon, from which I used the whip of the cable to tie the small board and the trestle to the planks so that the sea would not take them away, because they served as ballast, i.e., they made weight on the board, sinking it, preventing the crest of the waves from bursting them. During the whole dawn we saw constant flashes of explosions at the place where the ship sank, explosions that I believe were in the compressed air bottles and oil tanks. We continued over the canopies, noticing that the sea was bringing us closer and closer to land, always in front of the Aracaju bar.

This is how we spent the rest of the night of the 15th and the whole of the 16th, when, at approximately 2 o'clock on the 17th, the sailor began to show signs of mental disturbance, asking for food, saying he heard the coffee bell ringing, then tried to attack the lieutenant, which we avoided; afterwards, desperate with hunger and thirst, he threw himself into the sea, making any salvation impossible. Soon after, the second lieutenant began to show the same symptom, asking for his colleagues. I remembered then to ask his name, and he answered Oswaldo Costa. I tried to calm him down, it was impossible, he threw himself into the water. Carefully, so that there would be no imbalance on the few planks we had left, I grabbed him by the boots and managed to put him back on them. However, a few minutes later, putting himself in an aggressive attitude, saying that my companion and I were drunk, that he was going home, he went overboard again, and this time, it was impossible to save him."[7]

About the arrival on the beach and the rescues:

"There were now only myself and the third engineer left on the board. So we continued always sighting the flash of the city of Aracaju, where we were being taken.

At daybreak, when we were already sighting the houses of the aforementioned city, the Continguiba River ebbing and the strong wind blew us out, causing us to fall into the banks. This just destroyed the boards and threw us into the water. We struggled with this riptide, swimming always in search of the board, because it still offered us resistance, but as we approached it, we were thrown back into the distance, making it impossible to grab it. We continued in this fight until about 9 o'clock, when we saw a crown, and headed for it. I noticed that the tide was rising, and calculating that at high tide, we might not be able to reach the crown, and that we were weak because we hadn't slept or eaten in 36 hours, I convinced my companion that we shouldn't rest, but rather swim to shore, from which we could already see the coconut trees. We stayed only for about 10 minutes, to regain our strength, and then we went out to sea, swimming towards the beach of Estancia, where we arrived at 3:00 pm.

[...] we started walking, and after walking 2½ leagues, we found the Barra farm owned by Manoel Sobral, where the administrator, Mr. Luiz Gonzaga de Oliveira, prepared dinner and offered it to us. After the meal, the administrator sent two of his employees in a canoe to take us to the city of São Cristóvão.

During the trip, we were able to sleep a little in the back of the boat. At 21 hours we arrived in the city, and we were received by the people, and then the mayor presented himself, who led us to his residence, forcing us to take a small meal, while we waited for the driver to continue the journey to Aracaju. I then asked them to telegraph my family that I was safe.

As we were finishing our meal, another survivor of the Araraquara appeared; it was the passenger Caetano Moreira Falcão, who had washed ashore on one of the rafts and was picked up by a fisherman. On that raft, there were two other passengers, who died fighting the surf. Mr. Mayor took us in his car to Aracaju, where we arrived at midnight, taking us to the State Governor, with whom we talked for a few moments. After leaving the life jacket and lifebuoy we had brought with us in the palace, we retired to the Hotel Marozzi, where we stayed.

The next day, we were rescued and medicated by Dr. Moysés, a doctor at the assistance station.

I was unable to move around for 10 days, by doctor's order, and during this period, other castaways were arriving in Aracaju; I was informed of this by the agent, Dr. Carlos Cruz, who I asked to telegraph the company, informing them of everything, as well as the families who telegraphed me asking for news of their loved ones."[7]

About the other survivors:

"The other survivors were the following: José Pedro da Costa, barber, who saved himself on a piece of the board; Francisco José dos Santos, sailor, and Mauricio Ferreira Vital, taifeiro, who saved themselves on one of the rafts, bringing with them the passenger, d. Eunice Balman; José Rufino dos Santos, sailor, José Correia dos Santos, young man, and José Alves de Mola, a charcoal collector, who came ashore on the keel of the whaleboat no. 4, which floated down after the ship was submerged, with the passenger, Mrs. Alaíde Cavalcante, in tow.

Several corpses washed up on the beach, being photographed by the police, and, among them, I could identify two: the whaler, Celso Rosas, and the Caldeirinha corporal, Pedro Vieira. Lifeboats number 1 and 2 also washed ashore but were empty. On the 29th, we went by order of the Company to Bahia, where we stayed aboard the ship Itaquera, from where we left on September 4, traveling by land to Rio de Janeiro, where we arrived at 11 pm on the 10th.

It was reported in the city of Salvador that the crew of the yacht and the barge that was boarded, the latter being bombed, identified the U-boat garrison as being of German nationality, thus proving and recognizing the cowards who torpedoed 5 completely defenseless passenger ships within 48 hours."[7]

It was only on Tuesday, August 18, that the Press and Advertising Department's (DIP) relay station broadcast to the entire country, and the newspapers published, the communiqué that would outrage the country:

"For the first time Brazilian vessels, serving the surveillance of our coasts in the transportation of passengers and cargo from one state to another, suffered attacks from Axis submarines (...) The unspeakable attack against defenseless merchant marine units of a peaceful country, whose life takes place on the margins and far from the theater of war, was carried out with disregard for the most elementary principles of law and humanity. Our country, within its tradition, does not shy away from such brutalities, and the government is examining what measures to take given what happened. The people must remain calm and confident, in the certainty that the crimes committed against the lives and property of Brazilians will not go unpunished", -Department of Press and Propaganda, August 18, 1942.

The news revolted the Brazilian population that, outraged and wanting retaliation, turned against immigrants or descendants of Germans, Italians, and Japanese. In many Brazilian cities, there were episodes of depredations of commercial establishments belonging to people from those countries, as well as lynching attempts, even against those not sympathetic to the Nazifascist cause, which were the vast majority.[9]

Students, trade unionists, workers, and other sectors of society marched through the streets of the country's main cities demanding the country's entry into the war. In Rio de Janeiro, around the Guanabara Palace and the Itamaraty Palace, seats of the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, respectively, demonstrations occurred tempered by slogans calling for a firm and courageous response to the attacks.[8]

On August 22, after a ministerial meeting, Brazil ceased to be neutral, declaring a "state of belligerency" to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, formalized through Decree-Law No. 10,508, issued on August 31, 1942.[10]

• Brazil in World War II