Brazil

A modern map of Brazil

Brazil is a country located in South America facing the Atlantic Ocean. The capitol of Brazil during World War II was Rio de Janeiro and it was later moved to Brasília. The climate of Brazil varies greatly and some of these climates include tropical and temperate. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese and the currency from 1942 to the 1960s was the cruzeiro.

History

Brazil was a major supplier of radio grade quartz crystals for the United States throughout World War II. Brazil had attacked and sunk several submarines along its coastline, before joining the Allies by declaring war on Germany and Italy on August 22, 1942, after the sinking of several Brazilian ships by U-Boats. In 1944, a group of volunteers from the Brazilian Air Force travelled to the United States of America for advanced operational training, before joining the US Army Air Forces as the First Brazilian Fighter Squadron under the command of Lt. Col. Nero Moura. On arrival in Italy on October 6 1944, the squadron was attached to the 12th Air Force and, equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts, flew it's first mission on November 11.

Between their arrival in Italy and January 22, 1944, the squadron flew 897 sorties, dropped 339 bombs and destroyed 159 enemy road vehicles, one locomotive, 33 railway vehicles, 6 bridges, 3 fuel dumps, 2 ammunition dumps, one supply dump and one aircraft. The squadron also scored 94 cuts on vital railways, and damaged 9 enemy occupied buildings, 105 enemy vehicles, 36 locomotives, 306 railway vehicles, 7 bridges, 5 ships and small boats and one aircraft. 5 P-47s were lost to AA fire.