The Sailor's White Hat

[Ivanhoe]

 

No mention of the "black hats," i.e. sailors who worked in the engineering spaces. Often derisively referred to as snipes or bilge rats. My father served in the engine room of a small ship in WWII, one time he told me his gang were referred to as "black hats," and why. No point trying to keep a white canvas hat clean when you work covered in dirty lube oil. He never used the other terms.

Here is one of the few web pages I could find on the subject;

https://navycrow.com/snipes-of-the-navy-the-sailors-that-sail-below/

Amazingly, the google search engine came up blank, of all things Bing found this page.

 

 

[shep854]

On 9/24/2023 at 12:39 PM, Ivanhoe said:

 

No mention of the "black hats," i.e. sailors who worked in the engineering spaces. Often derisively referred to as snipes or bilge rats. My father served in the engine room of a small ship in WWII, one time he told me his gang were referred to as "black hats," and why. No point trying to keep a white canvas hat clean when you work covered in dirty lube oil. He never used the other terms.

Here is one of the few web pages I could find on the subject;

https://navycrow.com/snipes-of-the-navy-the-sailors-that-sail-below/

Amazingly, the google search engine came up blank, of all things Bing found this page.

 

 

I don't recall the term black hats for the engine crews; I remember 'black gang' and 'snipes'.