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The tanker off Cape Florida

A flag painted to keep a ship safe, a commander's wrong reading of it, and a country at war.

Collection: Miami · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

Tanker Potrero del Llano burning, May 1942
Tanker Potrero del Llano burning, May 1942 · US Navy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.

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How the story begins

She sailed with her flag painted on her side and lit up, so that she could be seen to be neutral. On 14 May 1942, about seven miles out from this beach, a German commander looked that flag up in his books, and his books said Italian. The Potrero del Llano was a Mexican tanker, carrying six thousand tons of petroleum from Tampico to New York, with no escort. Mexico's flag has an eagle at its center, but only the navy could show the eagle.

The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.

Visiting

Ocean beach at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, 1200 Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne, reached by road over the causeway. Call the park at 305-361-8779 for hours and entry fee.

Sources

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