The ''Marcílio Dias''-class destroyers (sometimes referred to as M class) were three

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s of the

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

that served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They were based on the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's . They entered service in 1943 and served on Atlantic

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

duty with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. In July 1944, the three destroyers escorted the

Brazilian Expeditionary Force The Brazilian Expeditionary Force (, FEB), nicknamed (literally "the Smoking Snakes"), was a military division of the Brazilian Army and Air Force that fought as part of Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II. It numbere ...

to Italy. Following the end of the war, the destroyers remained in service, undergoing modernisation. Two were discarded in 1966, with the last taken out of service in 1973.

Design and description

The ''Marcílio Dias'' class was based on the United States' , built within Brazil. They had a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of and were at full load. They were long overall and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

with a beam of and a mean draught of . The destroyers were powered by four

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. is an American energy technology and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Historically, the company is best known for their stea ...

Express boilers supplying steam to

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

geared turbines that drove two shafts. The engines were rated at and the vessels had a maximum speed of . The ''Marcílio Dias'' class had capacity for of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...

and had a range of at . The destroyers had a complement of 190 officers and ratings. The planned armament of the class was to be five /38 calibre guns mounted in single turrets. This was augmented with four 40 mm guns and four 20 mm guns for

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

defence. They were also to be equipped with two quadruple

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

mounts. However, while under construction, one of the 5-inch guns and one of the quad mounts of torpedo tubes were removed and the number of 20 mm guns was increased to eight. Only the forward 5-inch gun was given a gun shield. For

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

, the destroyers were given two

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

racks, four depth charge throwers and equipped with

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

. In 1966 a Sea Cat missile system was fitted to ''Mariz e Barros'', with the destroyer used as a test platform. The system was later removed and installed on the .

Ships of the class

Service history

The ''Marcílio Dias'' were the first

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s constructed in Brazil of any size, and due to this fact, took a long time to build. After commissioning, all three vessels were assigned to Naval Forces North-East patrolling the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

. Each patrol lasted roughly fourteen days and were used primarily to intercept

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blockade runners A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usual ...

. The patrols sometimes worked in concert with United States Navy forces. The destroyers also saw

escort duty between Rio de Janeiro,

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and in July 1944, escorted the five convoys that carried the

to Italy.

Citations

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcilio Dias-class destroyer Destroyer classes World War II destroyers of Brazil