Brazilian battleship Aquidabã Aquidabã , anglicized as Aquidaban , was a Brazilian ironclad warship built in the mid - 1880s . The ship participated in two naval revolts ; during the second she was sunk by a government torpedo boat . After being refloated , " Aquidabã " was sent to Germany for repairs and modernization . During a routine cruise in 1906 , the ship ' s ammunition magazines exploded , which caused the vessel to sink rapidly with a great loss of life . Design . " Aquidabã " was long , had a beam of , and had a draft of . The ship displaced and had a crew of 277 officers and enlisted men . She was powered by a two - shaft engine and eight boilers ; this produced up to for a top speed of . Fuel stores were initially , though after refits this was increased to . " Aquidabã " s main armament consisted of four 9 . 2 in ( 234 mm ) guns mounted in two twin gun turret s , each of which was placed off the centerline , " en echelon " , with the forward turret offset to port and the aft turret to starboard . Secondary weapons included four 5 . 7 in ( 146 mm ) guns , two fore and two aft , and thirteen 1 - pounder guns , all mounted in single emplacements . The ship was also equipped with five torpedo tubes ; three were above - water tubes , while the remaining two were submerged in the hull of the ship . The ship was equipped with compound armor . The armored belt was thick in the central portion of the ship , where the most critical parts of the ship were located . This included machinery spaces and ammunition magazines . At either ends of the central section of the belt , thickness was reduced to . The main battery turrets were protected with worth of armor , as was the conning tower . Construction and commissioning . " Aquidabã " was built in England by Samuda Brothers ; her keel was laid on 18 June 1883 , and she was launched on 17 January 1885 . The ship was a slightly smaller version of the earlier battleship , being shorter , having a lighter draft , and being equipped with only one funnel . After undergoing gunnery trials on 14 August , she sailed from England on 16 December , calling upon Lisbon and Bahia before reaching her ultimate destination of Rio de Janeiro on 29 January 1886 . Rebellions . " Aquidabã " was part of a rebellion which started on 23 November 1891 , headed by Rear Admiral Custódio José de Mello . Two years later ( 1893 ) , she voyaged to the United States to take part in the International Naval Review . In that same year , she was the flagship of the " Revolta da Armada " ( ) , once again led by de Mello . On April 16 , 1894 , " Aquidabã " was anchored off the coast of Santa Catarina , near the Fortress of Anhatomirim . Early in the morning , the first class torpedo boat , accompanied by three other torpedo boats , attacked " Aquidabã " ; two torpedoes connected with the battleship and she sank in shallow water , inflicting only light damage in return . The battle , which marked the first use of torpedoes by the Brazilian military , signaled the end of the revolution in Brazil . The members of the revolutionary government based in Desterro , in the island of Santa Catarina , fled to the continent ; loyalist Colonel Antonio Moreira César would later regain control of the city . Refloated in June 1894 by government forces , " Aquidabã " was quickly renamed to first " Dezesseis de Abril " ( English : " 16 April " ) , then " Vinte e Quatro de Maio " ( English : " 24 May " ) due to anger over the ship rebelling twice in four years . Partially repaired , the ship was brought to Stettin , Germany , and Elswick , England for a full repair and refitting . The work lasted from 1897 to 1898 , and included the installation of two heavy fighting masts . Later career . In 1900 she was renamed again , this time to restore her original name . In 1904 , the ship underwent further modernization at the island of " Ilha das Cobras " ( English : " Snakes Island " ) , near Rio de Janeiro . This included the removal of the two heavy masts that had been installed in 1898 and two torpedo tubes . " Aquidabã " made many cruises in these years to test the new technology of wireless telegraphy and to train midshipmen . On 21 January 1906 , " Aquidabã " was scheduled to voyage to the port at Jacarepaguá , near Rio de Janeiro , to escort and accommodate the Minister of Marine and his staff , who were attached to the cruiser . They were inspecting sites for use as an arsenal . At about 10 : 45 p . m . , when she was moored at Jacuacanga Bay , near " Ilha Grande " ( English : " Big Island " ) , the powder magazines blew up , sinking the ship within three minutes . A total of 212 people were killed , including three admirals and most of the officers of the ship , and 36 were injured ; 98 survived .