An Alternative Explanation: Why Britain succeeded in defending
itself against Germany’s most dangerous attacks in World War II
– while the United States lagged behind. May 4, 2011 Leave a
comment The sun is beginning to set on a beautiful May afternoon
in 1945. At the end of a nice, eventless May 5, the Coast Guard
at Point Judith, Rhode Island looks up and sees the SS Black
Point, an Allied ship that has been serving the country since
1918, pass by the lighthouse, carrying 7,500 tons of coal en
route to Boston, Massachusetts. The ship, which left Newport
News, Virginia a few weeks earlier, is nearing the completion of
its long route, was sailing unescorted with 41 seamen, five
United States Navy Armed Guards, and captain Charles Prior. The
Coast Guard peers down at his notebook, the rays of the sun
shining on his face, as he notes what he has just seen.
Suddenly, he hears a massive explosion, and looks up to see a
40-foot gash in the ship’s stern, and water gushing into the
hull within fractions of a second.