Black gang (ship)

The black gang are the members of a ship's crew who work in the fire room/engine room;[1] they are also called stokers or firemen.[2] They are called "black" because of the soot and coal dust that is thick in the air in the fire room/engine room. The term began being used in the days of the coal-fired steamships. The term is commonly used in the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy to describe personnel in "M" and "B" divisions.

Coal dust adhered to the perspiration-drenched skin and clothing of men shoveling soft coal in the radiant heat of a hot boiler firebox.

References
  1. Santos, Michael (2002). Caught in Irons: North Atlantic Fishermen in the Last Days of Sail. Rosemont Publishing & Printing Company. p. 64. ISBN 1-57591-053-5.
  2. "Titanic's unsinkable stoker". BBC. Northern Ireland. March 30, 2012.


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