The Brazilian navy had great difficulties with this ship, which was hard to navigate and, due to the casemate's model, had an unprotected section, which was vulnerable to diving projectiles.

In the last years of the war, the ship was no longer in needed and returned to Rio de Janeiro, where it underwent repair works.

In 1873, it was assigned to the third naval division, with the mission of patrolling the Brazilian coast between Mossoró, in Rio Grande do Norte, to the limits with French Guiana.

Added to this was the fact that the ship was built with a system of double casemates that left, amidships, an unprotected area over the boilers, vulnerable to diving shots.

According to a Brazilian historian, “Curupaiti resisted with all the powers of despair, filling the air with a hideous roar, and not being able to hold back the gallant ships that followed their destiny with strings of bullets.

[13] To carry out this passage, three battleships were designated, Cabral, Silvado and Piauí, who would force the pass, and two who would act in their protection, Lima Barros and Brasil.

[15] During October 1868, the ironclads Tamandaré, Bahia, Silvado, Barroso, Brasil, Alagoas, Lima Barros and Rio Grande, in that order, forced the passage of Angostura, a fortress on the Paraguay River heavily defended by several batteries.

On 19 November, the fort was again violently bombarded by the same squadron with the support of Colombo, Herval and Mariz e Barros, with captain Mamede Simões directing the fire.

[16] A week later, Brasil, Cabral, Piauí and the steamer Triunfo made the crossing of Angostura, a fort that would continue to be bombarded throughout December, until its complete surrender on the 30th.

[19] On 17 May, Colombo served as a transport ship for the troops of general José Antônio Correia da Câmara, who was in pursuit of Solano López, to the village of Rosario.

Colombo still participated in some missions earlier that year, however, this and other battleships were recalled to Rio de Janeiro, where they underwent major repair works.

[4] In the first district, which ran from the extreme south of Brazil to the border between Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, the ironclads Brasil, Lima Barros, Silvado and Bahia were allocated.

[21] By Notice of 20 February 1874, Colombo was given the display of half armament; on the other hand, on 5 January 1875, the ship underwent a disarmament show to go into repairs at the Arsenal of Rio de Janeiro.