Brazilian battleship São Paulo São Paulo was a dreadnought battleship designed for the Brazilian Navy by the British company Armstrong Whitworth . She was the second of two ships in the , and was named after the state and city of São Paulo . " São Paulo " was launched on 19 April 1909 and commissioned on 12 July 1910 . Soon after , she was involved in the Revolt of the Lash ( " Revolta de Chibata " ) , in which crews on four Brazilian warships mutinied over poor pay and harsh punishments for even minor offenses . After entering the First World War , Brazil offered to send " São Paulo " and her sister to Britain for service with the Grand Fleet , but Britain declined since both vessels were in poor condition and lacked the latest fire control technology . In June 1918 Brazil sent " São Paulo " to the United States for a full refit that was not completed until 7 January 1920 , well after the war had ended . On 6 July 1922 , " São Paulo " fired her guns in anger for the first time when she attacked a fort that had been taken during the Tenente revolts . Two years later , mutineers took control of the ship and sailed her to Montevideo where they obtained asylum . In the 1930s , " São Paulo " was passed over for modernization due to her poor condition — she could only reach a top speed of , less than half her design speed . For the rest of her career , the ship was reduced to a reserve coastal defense role . When Brazil entered the Second World War , " São Paulo " sailed to the port of Recife and remained there as the port ' s main defense for the duration of the war . Stricken in 1947 , the dreadnought remained as a training vessel until 1951 , when she was taken under tow to be scrapped in the United Kingdom . The tow lines broke during a strong gale on 6 November when the ships were north of the Azores and the " São Paulo " was lost . Background . Beginning in the late 1880s , Brazil ' s navy fell into obsolescence , a situation exacerbated by an 1889 revolution , which deposed Emperor Dom Pedro II , and an 1893 civil war . Despite having nearly three times the population of Argentina and almost five times the population of Chile , by the end of the 19th century Brazil was lagging behind the Chilean and Argentine navies in quality and total tonnage . At the turn of the 20th century , soaring demand for coffee and rubber brought prosperity to the Brazilian economy . The government of Brazil used some of the extra money from this economic growth to finance a naval building program in 1904 , which authorized the construction of a large number of warships , including three battleships . The Minister of the Navy , Admiral Júlio César de Noronha , signed a contract with Armstrong Whitworth for three battleships on 23 July 1906 . The new dreadnought battleship design , which debuted in December 1906 with the completion of the namesake ship , rendered the Brazilian ships , and all other existing capital ships , obsolete . The money authorized for naval expansion was redirected by the new Minister of the Navy , Rear Admiral Alexandrino Fario de Alencar , to building two dreadnoughts , with plans for a third dreadnought after the first was completed , two scout cruisers ( which became the ) , ten destroyers ( the ) , and three submarines . The three battleships on which construction had just begun were scrapped beginning on 7 January 1907 , and the design of the new dreadnoughts was approved by the Brazilians on 20 February 1907 . In South America , the ships came as a shock and kindled a naval arms race among Brazil , Argentina , and Chile . The 1902 treaty between the latter two was canceled upon the Brazilian dreadnought order so both could be free to build their own dreadnoughts . , the lead ship , was laid down by Armstrong on 17 April 1907 , while " São Paulo " followed thirteen days later at Vickers . The news shocked Brazil ' s neighbors , especially Argentina , whose Minister of Foreign Affairs remarked that either " Minas Geraes " or " São Paulo " could destroy the entire Argentine and Chilean fleets . In addition , Brazil ' s order meant that they had laid down a dreadnought before many of the other major maritime powers , such as Germany , France or Russia , and the two ships made Brazil just the third country to have dreadnoughts under construction , behind the United Kingdom and the United States . Newspapers and journals around the world , particularly in Britain and Germany , speculated that Brazil was acting as a proxy for a naval power which would take possession of the two dreadnoughts soon after completion , as they did not believe that a previously insignificant geopolitical power would contract for such powerful warships . Despite this , the United States actively attempted to court Brazil as an ally ; caught up in the spirit , U . S . naval journals began using terms like " Pan Americanism " and " Hemispheric Cooperation " . Early career . " São Paulo " was christened by Regis de Oliveira , the wife of Brazil ' s minister to Great Britain , and launched at Barrow - in - Furness on 19 April 1909 with many South American diplomats and naval officers in attendance . The ship was commissioned on 12 July , and after fitting - out and sea trials , she left Greenock on 16 September 1910 . Shortly thereafter , she stopped in Cherbourg , France , to embark the Brazilian President Hermes Rodrigues da Fonseca . Departing on the 27th , " São Paulo " sailed to Lisbon , Portugal , where Fonseca was a guest of Portugal ' s King Manuel II . Soon after they arrived , the 5 October 1910 revolution began , which caused the fall of the Portuguese monarchy . Although the president offered political asylum to the king and his family , the offer was refused . A rumor that the king was on board , circulated by newspapers and reported to the Brazilian legation in Paris , led revolutionaries to attempt to search the ship , but they were denied permission . They also asked for Brazil to land marines " to help in the maintenance of order " , but this request was also denied . " São Paulo " left Lisbon on 7 October for Rio de Janeiro , and docked there on 25 October . Revolt of the Lash . Soon after " São Paulo " s arrival , a major rebellion known as the Revolt of the Lash , or " Revolta da Chibata " , broke out on four of the newest ships in the Brazilian Navy . The initial spark was provided on 16 November 1910 when Afro - Brazilian sailor Marcelino Rodrigues Menezes was brutally flogged 250 times for insubordination . Many Afro - Brazilian sailors were sons of former slaves , or were former slaves freed under the " Lei Áurea " ( abolition ) but forced to enter the navy . They had been planning a revolt for some time , and Menezes became the catalyst . Further preparations were needed , so the rebellion was delayed until 22 November . The crewmen of " Minas Geraes " , " São Paulo " , the twelve - year - old , and the new quickly took their vessels with only a minimum of bloodshed : two officers on " Minas Geraes " and one each on " São Paulo " and " Bahia " were killed . The ships were well - supplied with foodstuffs , ammunition , and coal , and the only demand of mutineers — led by João Cândido Felisberto — was the abolition of " slavery as practiced by the Brazilian Navy " . They objected to low pay , long hours , inadequate training , and punishments including " bolo " ( being struck on the hand with a ferrule ) and the use of whips or lashes ( " chibata " ) , which eventually became a symbol of the revolt . By the 23rd , the National Congress had begun discussing the possibility of a general amnesty for the sailors . Senator Ruy Barbosa , long an opponent of slavery , lent a large amount of support , and the measure unanimously passed the Federal Senate on 24 November . The measure was then sent to the Chamber of Deputies . Humiliated by the revolt , naval officers and the president of Brazil were staunchly opposed to amnesty , so they quickly began planning to assault the rebel ships . The officers believed such an action was necessary to restore the service ' s honor . The rebels , believing an attack was imminent , sailed their ships out of Guanabara Bay and spent the night of 23 – 24 November at sea , only returning during daylight . Late on the 24th , the President ordered the naval officers to attack the mutineers . Officers crewed some smaller warships and the cruiser , " Bahia " s sister ship with ten 4 . 7 - inch guns . They planned to attack on the morning of the 25th , when the government expected the mutineers would return to Guanabara Bay . When they did not return and the amnesty measure neared passage in the Chamber of Deputies , the order was rescinded . After the bill passed 125 – 23 and the president signed it into law , the mutineers stood down on the 26th . During the revolt , the ships were noted by many observers to be well handled , despite a previous belief that the Brazilian Navy was incapable of effectively operating the ships even before being split by a rebellion . João Cândido Felisberto ordered all liquor thrown overboard , and discipline on the ships was recognized as exemplary . The 4 . 7 - inch guns were often used for shots over the city , but the 12 - inch guns were not , which led to a suspicion among the naval officers that the rebels were incapable of using the weapons . Later research and interviews indicate that " Minas Geraes " guns were fully operational , and while " São Paulo " s could not be turned after salt water contaminated the hydraulic system , British engineers still on board the ship after the voyage from the United Kingdom were working on the problem . Still , historians have never ascertained how well the mutineers could handle the ships . First World War . The Brazilian government declared that the country would be neutral in the First World War on 4 August 1914 . The sinking of Brazilian merchant ships by German U - boat s led them to revoke their neutrality , then declare war on 26 October 1917 . By this time , " São Paulo " was no longer one of the world ' s most powerful battleships . Despite an identified need for more modern fire control , she had not been fitted with any of the advances in that technology that had appeared since her construction , and she was in poor condition . For these reasons the Royal Navy declined a Brazilian offer to send her and " Minas Geraes " to serve with the Grand Fleet . In an attempt to bring the battleship up to international standards , Brazil sent " São Paulo " to the United States in June 1918 to receive a full refit . Soon after she departed the naval base in Rio de Janeiro , fourteen of the eighteen boilers powering the dreadnought broke down . The American battleship , which was in the area after transporting the body of the late Uruguayan Minister to the United States to Montevideo , rendered assistance in the form of temporary repairs after the ships put in at Bahia . Escorted by " Nebraska " and another American ship , , " São Paulo " made it to the New York Naval Yard after a 42 - day journey . Major refit and the 1920s . In New York , " São Paulo " underwent a refit , beginning on 7 August 1918 and completing on 7 January 1920 . Many of her crewmen were assigned to American warships during this time for training . She received Sperry fire control equipment and Bausch and Lomb range - finders for the two superfiring turrets fore and aft . A vertical armor bulkhead was fitted inside all six main turrets , and the secondary battery of casemate guns was reduced from twenty - two to four guns . A few modern AA guns were fitted as well : two 3 " / 50 caliber gun s from Bethlehem Steel were added on the aft superstructure , 37 mm guns were added near each turret , and 3 pounders were removed from the top of turrets . After the refit was completed , " São Paulo " picked up ammunition in Gravesend and sailed to Cuba for firing trials . Seven members of the United States ' Bureau of Standards traveled with the ship from New York and observed the operations , which were conducted in the Gulf of Guacanayabo . After dropping the Americans off in Guantánamo Bay , " São Paulo " returned home in early 1920 . August 1920 saw the dreadnought sailing to Belgium , where King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth were embarked on 1 September to bring them to Brazil . After bringing the royals home , " Sao Paulo " traveled to Portugal to bring the remains of the former emperor Pedro II and his wife , Teresa Cristina , back to Brazil . In 1922 , " São Paulo " and " Minas Geraes " helped to put down the first of the Tenente revolts . Soldiers seized Fort Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro on 5 July , but no other men joined them . As a result , some men deserted the rebels , and by the next morning only 200 people remained in the fort . " São Paulo " bombarded the fort , firing five salvos and obtaining at least two hits ; the fort surrendered half an hour later . The Brazilian Navy ' s official history reports that one of the hits opened a hole ten meters deep . Crewmen aboard " São Paulo " rebelled on 4 November 1924 , when First Lieutenant Hercolino Cascardo , seven second lieutenant s and 260 others commandeered the ship . After the boilers were fired , " São Paulo " s mutineers attempted to entice the crews of " Minas Geraes " and the other ships nearby to join . They were only able to sway the crew of one old torpedo boat to the cause . The battleship ' s crew , angry that " Minas Geraes " would not join them , fired a six - pounder at " Minas Geraes " that wounded a cook . The mutineers then sailed out of the Rio de Janeiro ' s harbor , where the forts at Santa Cruz and Copacabana engaged her , damaging " São Paulo " s fire control system and funnel . The forts stopped firing soon after the battleship returned fire due to concern over possible civilian casualties . The crewmen aboard " São Paulo " attempted to join revolutionaries in Rio Grande do Sul , but when they found that the rebel forces had moved inland , they set course for Montevideo , Uruguay . They arrived on 10 November , where the rebellious members of the crew disembarked and were granted asylum , and " Minas Geraes " , which had been pursuing " São Paulo " , escorted the wayward ship home to Rio de Janeiro , arriving on the 21st . Late career . In the 1930s , Brazil decided to modernize both " São Paulo " and " Minas Geraes " . " São Paulo " s dilapidated state made this uneconomical ; at the time she could sail at a maximum of , less than half her design speed . As a result , while " Minas Geraes " was thoroughly refitted from 1931 to 1938 in the Rio de Janeiro Naval Yard , " São Paulo " was employed as a coast - defense ship , a role in which she remained for the rest of her service life . During the 1932 Constitutionalist Revolution , she acted as the flagship of a naval blockade of Santos . After repairs in 1934 and 1935 , she returned to lead three naval training exercises . In the same year , accompanied by the Brazilian cruisers and , the Argentine battleships and , six Argentine cruisers , and a group of destroyers , " São Paulo " carried the Brazilian President Getúlio Dornelles Vargas up the River Plate to Buenos Aires to meet with the presidents of Argentina and Uruguay . In 1936 , the crew of " São Paulo " , as well as ' s crew , played in the Liga Carioca de Football ' s Open Tournament , a cup where many amateur teams had the chance to play the likes of Flamengo and Fluminense . As in the First World War , Brazil stayed neutral during the opening years of the Second World War , until U - boat attacks drove the country to declare war on Germany and Italy on 21 August 1942 . The age and condition of " São Paulo " relegated her to the role of harbor defense ship ; she set sail for Recife on 23 November 1942 with the escort of two American destroyers ( and ) and served as the main defense of the port for the war , only returning to Rio de Janeiro in 1945 . Stricken from the naval register on 2 August 1947 , the ship remained as a training vessel until August 1951 , when she was sold to the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain . After preparing from 5 to 18 September , " São Paulo " was given an eight - man caretaker crew and taken under tow by two tugs , " Dexterous " and " Bustler " , in Rio de Janeiro on 20 September 1951 for one last voyage to Greenock and the breakers . When north of the Azores in early November , the two lines snapped during a strong storm . American B - 17 Flying Fortress bombers and British planes were launched to scour the Atlantic for the missing ship . The ship was reported as found on the 15th , but this proved to be false . The search was ended on 10 December without finding " São Paulo " or her crew .