Mess Attendants training on 20mm guns on USS Copahee (CVE-12)
Here we see a group of African American mess attendants on the Bogue class escort carrier USS Copahee (CVE-12) manning one of her 20mm machine guns on 9 September 1942. During the 1920s and 1930s mess attendant had been the only role offered to African Americans, but that changed under the pressure of war, although only to a limited extent, with two warships getting largely African American crews late in the war.
How to cite this article:
Rickard, J (29 November 2019), Mess Attendants training on 20mm guns on USS Copahee (CVE-12) , http://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/pictures_USS_Copahee_CVE12_20mm_gun.html
