Beyond the Breakers

In this THREE-part episode we delve into a disaster on the US home front during WWII and the subsequent work stoppage that contributed to the eventual desegregation of the US Navy.
Part I deals with the Port Chicago disaster itself, and Parts II and 3 will cover the details of the famous "mutiny" that took place in its aftermath.
Sources: 
https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1944/port-chicago/port-chicago-lessons-learned.html
Allen, Robert L. “The Port Chicago Disaster and Its Aftermath.” The Black Scholar, vol. 13, no. 2 / 3, Spring 1982, pp. 2 - 29. 
Guttridge, Leonard F. Mutiny: A History of Naval Insurrection. Berkley, 1992. 
Olwell, Russell. “The Mare Island Mutiny: Pressure to Desegregate the U.S. Armed Forces.” OAH Magazine of History, vol. 15, no. 2, Winter 2001, pp. 64 - 70. 
Reddick, L.D. “The Negro in the United States Navy During World War II.” The Journal of Negro History, vol. 32, no. 2, Apr 1947, pp. 201 - 219. 
Wollenberg, Charles. “Black vs. Navy Blue: The Mare Island Mutiny Court Martial.” California History, vol. 58, no. 1, Spring 1979, pp. 62 - 75. 
https://portchicagoalliance.org/history.html - Port Chicago Alliance website
https://portchicagomemorial.org/2006/03/19/port-chicago-in-print-and-music/
Port Chicago Mutiny Jazz Suite

Support the show

In this two-part episode we delve into a disaster on the US home front during WWII and the subsequent work stoppage that contributed to the eventual desegregation of the US Navy.
Part I deals with the Port Chicago disaster itself, and Part II will cover the details of the famous "mutiny" that took place in its aftermath.
Sources: 
https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1944/port-chicago/port-chicago-lessons-learned.html
Allen, Robert L. “The Port Chicago Disaster and Its Aftermath.” The Black Scholar, vol. 13, no. 2 / 3, Spring 1982, pp. 2 - 29. 
Guttridge, Leonard F. Mutiny: A History of Naval Insurrection. Berkley, 1992. 
Olwell, Russell. “The Mare Island Mutiny: Pressure to Desegregate the U.S. Armed Forces.” OAH Magazine of History, vol. 15, no. 2, Winter 2001, pp. 64 - 70. 
Reddick, L.D. “The Negro in the United States Navy During World War II.” The Journal of Negro History, vol. 32, no. 2, Apr 1947, pp. 201 - 219. 
Wollenberg, Charles. “Black vs. Navy Blue: The Mare Island Mutiny Court Martial.” California History, vol. 58, no. 1, Spring 1979, pp. 62 - 75. 
https://portchicagoalliance.org/history.html - Port Chicago Alliance website
https://portchicagomemorial.org/2006/03/19/port-chicago-in-print-and-music/
Port Chicago Mutiny Jazz Suite

Support the show

In this episode we discuss HMS Hermes, the first vessel designed explicitly as an aircraft carrier. 
The Sameer Project 
Sources:
"Hermes". World War II Database. Osprey Publishing. https://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=160
"HMS Hermes I: Fleet Aircraft Carrier." Index of Naval Aircraft Carriers. 
Symonds, Craig L. World War II at Sea: A Global History. Oxford University Press, 2018. 
Support the show

This week it's the story of the cargo vessel MV Rema, lost in the North Sea in April 1998. 
The Sameer Project
Sources:
Flooding and sinking of dry cargo vessel Rema with loss of 4 lives. https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/flooding-and-sinking-of-dry-cargo-vessel-rema-off-whitby-england-with-loss-of-4-lives
Support the show

This week we have the saga of the SS Springfjord, which survived World War Two unscathed but could not escape the wrath of the Central Intelligence Agency. 
The Sameer Project
Sources:
Handy, Jim. Gift of the Devil: A History of Guatemala. South End Press, 1984. 
Handy, Jim. Revolution in the Countryside: Rural Conflict and Agrarian Reform in Guatemala, 1944 - 1954. University of North Carolina Press, 1994. 
Prados, John. The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA’s Heart of Darkness. The New Press, 2017. 
https://web.archive.org/web/20101105080457/http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0000919986/DOC_0000919986.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/1954/07/01/archives/the-text-of-dulles-speech-on-guatemalan-upset.html
Support the show