Brazilian battleship Minas Geraes

Minas Geraes at sea in 1909–1910
History
Brazil
Name	Minas Geraes
Namesake	The state of Minas Gerais[1]
Ordered	1906[1]
Builder	Armstrong Whitworth[1]
Cost	$8,863,842[2]
Yard number	791[3]
Laid down	17 April 1907[1]
Launched	10 September 1908[1][4]
Completed	5 January 1910[3][5]
Commissioned	18 April 1910[6]
Decommissioned	16 May 1952
Stricken	31 December 1952[6][7]
Fate	Scrapped 1954[6][7]
General characteristics
Class and type	Minas Geraes-class battleship
Displacement	19,281 tonnes (18,976 long tons; 21,254 short tons) normal 21,200 t (20,900 long tons; 23,400 short tons) full load
Length	543 ft (166 m) overall 530 ft (160 m) at waterline
Beam	83 ft (25 m)
Draft	25 ft (7.6 m)
Propulsion	2-shaft Vickers VTE 18 Babcock & Wilcox boilers 23,500 shp
Speed	21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Range	10,000 nmi (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) at 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Complement	900[A]
Armament	(as built) 12 × 12 in (305 mm)/45 cal guns (6 × 2) 22 × 4.7 (120 mm)/50 cal guns 8 × 3-pounder (47 mm) guns
Armor	Belt: 9 inches (230 mm) Belt extremities: 6–4 in (150–100 mm) Casemate: 9 inches (230 mm) Turrets: 12–9 in (300–230 mm) Conning tower: 12 inches (300 mm)

Minas Geraes, spelled Minas Gerais in some sources,^[B] was a dreadnought battleship of the Brazilian Navy. Named in honor of the state of Minas Gerais, the ship was laid down in April 1907 as the lead ship of its class, making the country the third to have a dreadnought under construction and igniting a naval arms race between Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.

Two months after its completion in January 1910, Minas Geraes was featured in Scientific American, which described it as "the last word in heavy battleship design and the ... most powerfully armed warship afloat".^[8] In November 1910, Minas Geraes was the focal point of the Revolt of the Lash. The mutiny, triggered by racism and physical abuse, spread from Minas Geraes to other ships in the Navy, including its sister São Paulo, the elderly coastal defense ship Deodoro, and the recently commissioned cruiser Bahia. Led by João Cândido Felisberto, the mutineers threatened to bombard the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro if their demands were not met. As it was not possible to end the situation militarily—the only loyal troops nearby being small torpedo boats and army troops confined to land—the National Congress of Brazil conceded to the rebels' demands, including a grant of amnesty, peacefully ending the mutiny.

When Brazil entered the First World War in 1917, Britain's Royal Navy declined Brazil's offer of Minas Geraes for duty with the Grand Fleet because the ship was outdated; it had not been refitted since entering service, so range-finders and a fire-control system had not been added. São Paulo underwent modernization in the United States in 1920; in 1921, Minas Geraes received the same treatment. A year later, Minas Geraes sailed to counter the first of the Tenente revolts. São Paulo shelled the rebels' fort, and they surrendered shortly thereafter; Minas Geraes did not fire its guns. In 1924, mutineers seized São Paulo and attempted to persuade the crews of Minas Geraes and several other ships to join them, but were unsuccessful.

Minas Geraes was modernized at the Rio de Janeiro Naval Yard in the 1930s, and underwent further refitting from 1939 to 1943. During the Second World War, the ship was anchored in Salvador as the main defense of the port, as it was too old to play an active part in the war. For the last nine years of its service life, Minas Geraes remained largely inactive, and was towed to Italy for scrapping in March 1954.

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