Why Do Submariners Get Better Food Than The Rest of the US Navy? Part 1

In this episode, we're on board USS Cod discussing the difference between battleships and submarines in terms of food quality.
For Part II:
• Why Do Submariners Get...
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[@GlamorousTitanic21]

It’s simple. Because in a submarine, the chef has nowhere to run.

[@grizwoldphantasia5005]

That's why bagpipers march while they play, trying to get away from the racket. Or because a moving target is harder to hit.

[@nightbladexxx]

Bawahahahaha

[@mikecumbo7531]

They could hide in a torpedo tube….

[@wyjacobson3583]

😂 Love it!

[@studinthemaking]

@@mikecumbo7531 Homer Simpson already did that joke.

[@tomherron4334]

I teach high school. Years ago I had a very bright, motivated student who was also homeless who really wanted to be a high end chef. After researching his options he ended up enlisting in the USN to pursue his dream as a culinary specialist. Last time I heard from him he was 8 years away from retiring at age 38 with a nice chunk of savings. He also had earned his bachelors and was working on his masters in hospitality management thanks to the Navy.

[@animejanai4657]

Yes, the USA military is also the largest employer of diversity youth in the USA. So it provides a great deal of financial stability, discipline, and training for many people along with a retirement pension and retirement medial plan. It's really a social welfare system of sorts, but it makes the social welfare recipients work for it before they retire on taxpayers' monetary support.

[@obsidianjane4413]

@@animejanai4657 IDK if you meant to be condescending but... It is hardly a social welfare system. Even in peacetime service members are subject to hazards that are literally illegal in civilian life. Those benefits, as well as needing to recruit from "lower rungs" of society are necessary in order to attract enough to fill the manning needs of an all volunteer force that competes in a labor market where the high probability of being killed or maimed isn't part of the job. That it provides a means for disadvantaged people to raise themselves up is entirely a beneficial side effect.

[@AvengerII]

I salute the young man who pursued his dreams of being a chef. If there is ANYTHING that is more underrated before you leave home, it's the value of a good cook! I hope he has trained to be high end. I'd be willing to try a meal cooked by him!

[@robynstephens166]

Thank you for sharing this amazing story. From homeless to working on his masters. This is something to teach about never ever giving up if one has that burning desire to do stuff, good stuff in life. Thank you again.

[@phillyphakename1255]

​@@animejanai4657you know a lot of countries have social welfare systems where you can attend college and get healthcare without the prerequisite of military service. I think loving thy neighbor shouldn't be conditional. I think the Greatest Country On Earth should do the same.

[@eggsaladsandwhiches]

After 6 years in, I can tell you one things for sure: every cook in the navy starts out with the same ingredients, but you get wildly different results. I’ve seen cooks take pride in their work and make the absolute most out of very little. I seen cooks that could burn chicken on the outside so bad it looked like charcoal but it was still raw AND frozen in the middle. Both were impressive, just at different ends of the spectrum.

[@dbfbobt]

My first assignment on USS Sea Devil, SS-400 in 1963 was mess cooking. The head cook told me "We are on the most rusted, busted, f'd up submarine in the U.S. Navy. Our job in the galley is to make sure the crew is happy to be here." We had a tradition of knocking on the bread locker door before opening it so the cockroaches wouldn't stampede and upset the trim of the boat.

[@robertway5756]

😅

[@ssmt2]

I served on a 640 class FBM in the 80s and the one thing that I never saw on board was a cockroach. The worst thing that we ever had was an outbreak of crabs down in the crews zoo, aka crew berthing. Fortunately, being a missile tech, I got to sleep in the missile compartment berthing so I wasn’t exposed to them. The guy that brought them on board was extremely unpopular for the rest of the patrol and was transferred as soon as we tied up to the pier at the end of the patrol.

[@andybaldman]

Gross all around.

[@BDCF100]

He's only sort of joking folks. A nuke SSN came in to my shipyard for post comissioning repairs. I went down into the mess deck to disconnect the MK19 Gyro to have it rigged off the boat during the work period. No sooner did it slide off it's foundation then roaches went everywhere. And this was a nuclear submarine freshly commissioned after construction in the deep south. It brought a whole lot of hitch-hikers along when it came north for repairs.

[@dbfbobt]

@@BDCF100 I was not joking. The cockroach infestation in the crew's mess (after battery) was of little concern to the officers until somebody left a gallon pickle jar of captured cockroaches on the wardroom table.

[@CelticKnight2004]

I remember being told a story, how my grandfather would deliver fresh hot bread to the submariners at Fremantle Western Australia (Brisbane / Sydney was the pacific side, and the Indian Ocean patrols were conducted from Fremantle). Grandpa was a WW1 vet, and Gallipoli survivor. After being crippled by a shell on the Somme, he spent the rest of WW1 in a British hospital, and returned to WA. He spent WW2 baking bread for the sailors based out of Fremantle.

[@jimfrazier8611]

My Grandpa was a cruiser sailor (career Navy) and a Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal vet, but he wouldn't talk about his war experience, except to tell me how much he loved every day in port Down Under. Kinda surprised he came home to the wife and kids after the war to be honest... 😉

[@Ashfielder]

Gallipoli and the Somme? Bad luck.

[@CelticKnight2004]

Fact he got out of Gallipoli uninjured, just to get to France and be near-mortally wounded. He switched from Medical core to Artillery...

[@timjohnun4297]

@@CelticKnight2004 My great uncle survived Gallipoli, only to be killed in action at the Somme the following year, 19 years old

[@CelticKnight2004]

@@timjohnun4297 would be interesting to know.. maybe he served alongside my grandpa?

[@camickelson]

I'm a ex-bubblehead.. yes we had some good food.. Also some not so good. But so Thankful for the cooks who did it all

[@Idahoguy10157]

My four years on an SSN we had good chow. Occasionally really good meals. Rarely a bad meal. When we had bad food the cooks caught hell from the crew. The Chief and the supply officer had a very unhappy XO on their a$$

[@jasonwarner1850]

When I was on the USS Texas SSN 775 the Texans cheerleaders came to our Christmas party and met us on the pier when we pull into Galveston, Texas for commissioning.

[@zachjones6944]

Texas was next to my boat in the yard. The Moral seemed so much better in Texas.

[@jamescouture775]

The submariners got a lot of perks because they were one of the highest risk positions in the navy.

[@patroberts5449]

Hopefully it helps them forget about not seeing or communicating with their family for months, not seeing the sky, not walking on the Earth, not hearing any animals, not having any privacy plus the stress of those jobs…..so for Gods sake I think they more than earn decent food, but you realize that officers have to pay (higher the rank the more you pay) for those meals!! Like you have an option to order a pizza or do a run to the drive thru……

[@Squiddhartha]

⁠@@patroberts5449 I'd like to see a Virginia class try to get through the drive thru at Wendy's

[@phillyphakename1255]

​@@SquiddharthaSir, this is a Wendy's, not a nuclear battleship base.

[@tyvernoverlord5363]

@@patroberts5449 The boat underway is foremost on the mind by dint of the operating environment of the sea, that said VLF messages are piped down the floating antenna from space from command and they can get flash messages from home. Sometimes in VERTREP transfers mail is in those resupplies.

[@danielbritton8588]

I remember spying on Russia for a month straight underwater. We pulled into Guam. Carlos & I went to the EM club immediately when free. Closed until noon. It was almost 12. Carlos sat on the dock & put his feet in the water. Soon the dude showed up & we went in for beer. Later that night I come back on board the boat & Carlos is on crutches with both feet wrapped up with second degree burns by 10 minutes of being in that water.

[@jimfrazier8611]

WW2 wasn't much fun for anyone involved, but submariners probably had it the worst of anyone on sea duty. Those boats were tiny and cramped, and stank to holy hell. They couldn't stay safely submerged on batteries for long, so they had to run shallow enough to snorkel or surface to recharge the batteries. This made them "easy meat" for aircraft and destroyers, and we lost a lot of subs and crew during the war. They deserved that good chow. I thought my time on nuclear boats in the 80s/90s sucked, but after I talked with a WW2 Pacific sub vet, I had it freakin' easy by comparison.

[@chanman819]

And that was on the winning side too. The loss rates for Axis submariners was absolutely horrific

[@Shinzon23]

"Pig boats", yeah. They would burn the mattresses afterwards

[@ruckus7041]

@@Shinzon23 I served on a DDG during Vietnam and it could get to not smelling at all good. Especially as the water maker was being run by the book. Once the guy in charge talked to his counterpart on another ship and was told to throwout the manual and how to make fresh water, we could actually take showers once a week and get our clothes washed. I could not imagine living on a WWII sub and I used to give tours on one while in tech school in San Diego. The best part was everything was removed from the compartment that the main ladder was in and the folks touring would always say "I didn't expect it to be so roomy." Then I'd take them aft. The looks on their faces were priceless.

[@grast5150]

Submarine Veteran, USS Georgia 729 SSBN, I can attest that in my time in the 90s. The food was very good. We were fortunate enough to get a cook which served on President Reagan's Kitchen. When came to the boat, the food went through the roof. Today I still miss what he called his Doubly Good Chicken Soup. It was such a staple on the boat that extra freezer space had to be alloted for the extra chickens needed for the soup. It was so popular sailors would wake up to get it and in the end. It was the only item on the menu for days schedule. Later.

[@josephstevens9888]

"Doubly Good Chicken Soup"... sounds delicious!

[@VincentVega93]

What was so good about it? Got a recipe?

[@grast5150]

@@VincentVega93 OK, OK, OK........ No Recipe unfortunately. He refused to share it and when let the boat after 3 patrols, the other cooks tried to continue because they had seen the process, but it was never as good. I think it was dedication. As to what made it so good. So it was chicken and dumpling soup basically. BUT it was the first soup where the dumplings did not just disintegrate. They were done, not slimy, and had texture. The soup portion was the best as it was fresh stock from chickens while at the same time not runny but had weight to it. and finally the chicken meat was perfect. No bones, not over-cooked and tough and full of flavor. Fair warning. This is the ramblings of an old man remembering something from early 20s. To this day, I have never found a replacement. I try every chicken dumpling soup I see and they all are pale in comparison.

[@jbeckley6849]

Why do submarines get better food then the rest of the Navy? Simple, you are in a very small, enclosed container where the smallest mistake is almost certain death. Where you got to hot bunk and maybe get lucky with once a week showers. Where everything smells like reprocessed air, fuel, and sweat. Finally, you got a lot of big guys who can make life very interesting for people who they are ticked off with. Yeah, having good food is the least the Navy can do.

[@chrismaverick9828]

Also, proportionately, they probably saw the most action of any naval units. Their jobs were to go after the convoys and that would inevitably result in tangling with destroyers and depth charges. Imagine having that hanging over your head daily for months at a patrol AND having bad or mediocre food. Morale would kill you just as fast as a depth charge.

[@jbeckley6849]

@@chrismaverick9828 Or you shove the cook and maybe the XO in the torpedo tube.

[@benjurqunov]

We could sponge bath daily, but only shower once per week. The cooks and helper were allowed daily shower.

[@gunhog11]

Also, many kudos to Battleship New Jersey for traveling to the many different navy ship museums in the USA and presenting information on them. That is some solid mutual support you guys provide the ship museum community, and I hope that other ship museums will do the same on their KZbin channels both with Battleship New Jersey, as well as the many other ship museums out there. This is truly the definition of a rising tide lifts all boats, as it comes to the difficult complex challenges that ship museums all face. Well done on this too!

[@matchesburn]

The bit about instant coffee reminds me of my dad. He was a kid during the war and went through rationing and grew up knowing government surplus food. One of them was instant coffee. And because it was so much cheaper and more available after the war that's what he drank, every day, for some 40 years as he worked as a machinist. At the shop he'd have instant. At breakfast he'd have a quick cup of instant. After coming home, he'd have instant coffee after dinner because that's what he was used to drinking. After he retired we moved and he went to drinking drink brew coffee like what was normally "on tap" (so to speak) at home. After getting adjusted to it he couldn't stomach drinking instant coffee ever again. He at one point said, "I don't know how I drank that shit for nearly 4 decades..."

[@ukeyaoitrash2618]

Same for me but the other way around. You can get used to anything xD

[@FranktheDachshund]

Sanka!

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

I wake up at 1am sick and this is what I choose to watch :) Thanks for being a lil calm in my storm tonight!

[@markwatson3135]

WW2 submariners also had their own R&R hotel in Pearl Harbor, the Royal Hawaiian. My dad, who put many years in the submarine service from WW2 to nuclear fast attack boat, was a great cook. He would make up a quick meal after coming off watch. I miss his cooking!

[@Luis-be9mi]

Not sure if this was true, but cooks aboard US subs during WW2 were able to shower everyday. While others had to shower once a week.

[@TheJhtlag]

My dad - who's still with us - was a Lt jg to LT in Pearl Harbor and as an officer his jobs were mine sweeping and going to Nawiiliwili Kauai to get fresh vegetables for the submariners, he mentioned that, they got the best food.

[@paulfarace9595]

​@@Luis-be9micooks did shower daily and on USS Cod the men showered every three days... a basin bath daily. When snorkeling in the 60s not so much ...

[@mdsx01]

CSC on my first boat almost went to mast after he threw out a bunch of good food to make room for 2 tons of fajita meat. It was literally 2000 lbs of beef, 2000 of chicken. The cooks had to use it in every meal they made. Almost 2 years later when I left, they were still using it.

[@thedamnyankee1]

I used to live in Cleveland. The Cod is such an excellent museum. Intact hull.

[@markholmphotography]

Well I know they do and for a long time as one of my best friends in HS had a brother who was an officer on a boomer. I’d say they get the best food because it is one of the few things they can do for moral given the constraints of essentially being stuck living where you work and an extremely small space too.

[@jimfrazier8611]

Modern Boomers aren't actually that cramped, but you still have to deal with chronic long work hours and lack of sleep, plus constant drills and cleaning. Don't get me wrong, it still totally sucks, but at least two guys can twist sideways as the pass each other without getting nut-to-nut. Unless it's two chiefs, because the weight standards are more relaxed after age 30, but I've always believed that liking having your nuts brush against another dudes was a prerequisite for making chief.

[@robynstephens166]

Many years ago I worked at a mining company in middle of nowhere Western Australian desert town fully owned by the mining company and every one of us totally agreed that walking into the mess hall for breakfast and smelling fresh baked bread still warm when we got it was amazing and lifted our sprites because we all where isolated in the middle of nowhere doing dirty work and getting paid very good. The company looked after us very well. I can see why isolated submariners got the best food.

[@denniss5512]

Really enjoy these excursions to other museum ships. How about some overseaps trips, maybe Canadian or the Brits?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

We hope to do so eventually!

[@KkevrockK]

@@BattleshipNewJerseyHaida has got to be on that list…should have done it when you were in Buffalo cause it was just another 1-2 hrs away from there.

[@politicsuncensored5617]

It is one of the few "Luxuries" if you can call it that & they deserve it. It takes a special person who can live 90 days locked up with no windows or port calls. PJ

[@JoshuaTootell]

The meals weren't always "the best", but the FS's (cooks) always seemed to do their best and it was appreciated. Preparing meals for a crew

[@bfg1836]

I was on subs, and on my boat we had a cook who told me this story. Said he was 18 and sleeping on the streets in New York City. Said early one morning he was sleeping in a doorway when someone woke him up and handed him a bag from McDonalds. Turned out it was a Navy recruiter. The guy brought him food for a week and found out he had no criminal history and no drug use, just a kid with a hellacious home life. Signed him up and he chose to be a cook because the guy promised him he’d never have to go hungry again.

[@Shinzon23]

What happened in the end to him?

[@bfg1836]

@@Shinzon23 don’t know. I’m pretty sure he made it a career. That was his plan.

[@wtmayhew]

Thanks for covering Cod. A friend was recently a radio operator there for Amateur Radio Museum Ship Day. He seemed impressed.

[@subvet694]

When you have a hundred guys living in a broom closet, you don’t want to serve a bad meal… you just don’t…..

[@markmclaughlin2690]

I remember following COD as it went thorough their dry dock process recently. I’d like to visit that boat , behave been on Drum multiple time and visited the sub at Intrepid once as well.

[@chrismaverick9828]

I want to get up there this summer. It's not far away, but work always makes a mess of things time wise.

[@leonardpoindexter5289]

True. I was on a SSBN and we got a great meal every 6 hours if you wanted to eat. Props to our cooks.

[@keithrosenberg5486]

One of the US Subs in the Pacific found out when they got out on patrol that the frozen meat they had been issued was of the poorest cuts. Someone had made a swap.

[@tomhenry897]

Sold on the black market

[@tyvernoverlord5363]

Oh I bet that was a riot

[@keithrosenberg5486]

@@tomhenry897 Used for the local soldiers most likely since it was Midway Island if I recall right.

[@scottishscott3504]

Murder was legal that day?

[@peterhessedal8539]

I just toured the USS Cod 2 weeks ago. felt cramped even with old about a dozen other people touring. I cannot imagine it during a wartime patrol.

[@gunhog11]

That was a fun and interesting talk there. Thank you for doing an episode aboard one of the sub museums! Hope to see more. Well done!

[@MK0272]

I was just thee a few weeks ago with my son and a couple of members of his Trail Life troop. It was well worth the visit!

[@brentgranger7856]

Being a radioman/electronic warfare operator on an improved Los Angeles-class submarine (688I) had its perks. The navy required 2 exits from every space on the submarine, so our emergency exit was a hatch directly over the galley dish sink. We nicknamed it the "cookie hatch" since the cooks would often pass us freshly baked cookies and bread. We also used the "cookie hatch" to prank the "NUBS" (non-useful bodies, new and unqualified personnel) with practical jokes since they would be right below the hatch washing dishes.

[@dagabbagool2600]

Whatever the sub boys got was no comparison to the what the big chow halls in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 00's were serving. All of your usual buffet comfort foods, meat carving station, made to order items like omelets, cheeseburgers, quesadillas. Fully stocked 20 ft long salad bars with proteins, a dozen different kinds of fresh fruit peeled and sliced right in front of you. And just about anything you want to drink, even near beer. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

[@justinfowler2857]

I remember some of the "meat" they were serving us. I ate a lot of buttered noodles. Still beats K rations by grandfather ate.

[@jimfrazier8611]

We didn't have to worry so much about IEDs though, although some of our practical jokes were damn near as dangerous. 😁

[@tomhenry897]

Yet there was a line at Pizza Hut

[@Floods-uy6tl]

This bloke was great! Love hearing the yanks pronounce it “Bris-bane” we call it “bris-bn” but I reckon we are probably incorrect on that one. Always enjoy listening to the stories about the day to day life of sailors.. always make me smile; just a bunch of guys doing their best Greetings from AU

[@rherman9085]

Been to USS COD many times. Hi Paul!! Great boat, great tour!

[@katmandoism]

I worked the mess hall at cherry point nc in 1970. I remember making mid rations. Did it for air crews.

[@henrycarlson7514]

Interesting , Thank You . Such a fun visit .

[@kanrakucheese]

If only the navy cared as much about the submarine’s torpedoes as they did their food.

[@tyvernoverlord5363]

Mk.48 ADCAP ACOT/CBASS/TI1 are a far cry from the fuck ups of the Mk.14-21 torpedoes.

[@jimskywaker4345]

LMAO

[@walterpleyer261]

I remember visiting a russian Tango class sub in Hamburg port and I was really surprised how in such a confined space they managed to cook several meals per day for dozens of sailors. It seemed almost impossible, even if you assume probably not so high russian standards.

[@johnroden3431]

I miss the huge meals after field days, they would make these amazing slider burgers! I was on the USS OHIO and USS NEVADA from to 2001 to 2005. We would even get crab legs occasionally! It was a great experience and would absolutely do it all over again.

[@thekidfromcleveland3944]

I was just there a couple weeks back awww man. Well hope you enjoyed the Land and hopefully you gave the Mather some love. The bow thruster is very neat.

[@Scarter63]

Cool! I've been on the USS Cod. I really liked the mechanics rules in the engine room.

[@brianhaynes6718]

Great interview! George looks like he was an amazing cook.

[@nathanweitzman9531]

Nice to see USS Cod get some exposure :)

[@jamesberwick2210]

I joined the AF, my cousin the Navy, he went in as a cook. He volunteered for sub duty, they sent him to a ton of schools so he could take what they had and make it a feast. What happened, he ended up going to France to the Cordon Bleu chef school, came back and became the personal chef to one of the top sub admirals and the top brass on base. Served his time, went back home, ended up in San Fransico at one of the top motels as head chef in time, made a ton of money, and never went to sea. I got electronics trained and went everywhere but home. Should have been a cook!

[@tedolphbundler724]

Visiting the Cod is an incredible experience. Don't miss it if you are ever in Cleveland.

[@vrod665]

My question always was, on a 688 we stored cartons of eggs under deck plates in the tunnel - the “passage between crews mess and the machinery spaces. (A)Did the reactor sitting next to my eggs keep them fresher longer? (B)Or did I just not care because I saw them coming out of shell and it made me happy? I still say “A” - even if it just sub legend.

[@ssmt2]

The missile compartment bilges were where the eggs were stored for our 70 day patrols. They kept fresh longer if we were doing a North Atlantic patrol in the winter time. The bilges were like a refrigerator on those patrols because the sea water temps were usually in the 27 to 30 degree range. The water in the condensate bilge would ice over on those runs.

[@briancrawford69]

I've actually been on the Cod. Awesome ship

[@ahill209]

The fresh stuff was consumed after about 3-4 weeks, depending on the item. So, they ate good for at least the first month of deployment. After that, it was frozen or reconstituted items. Today's subs can stay submerged for 1-3 months, depending on the mission. Even though a nuclear-powered sub can remain submerged longer, there's only so much food you can pack into the galley.

[@CoThG]

Ryan, when are you going to rotate one of NJ's turrets?

[@michaelguerin56]

Thank you. Good stories.

[@timgernold1715]

My most memorable meal in the Navy was when I was stationed on the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). Just before we went in the yards for the 90-95 overhaul, they were trying to use all the food in the freezers before the ship was turned into swiss cheese. For midrats one night while we were out at sea, they served a special pizza....lettuce pizza. Crust, cheese, sauce, and lettuce. The Navy is also where I was introduced to the various grades of beef. I helped load a couple of pallets of food stores which included many boxes of "USDA-Utility-Not fit for officer consumption"

[@mike-ph3fk]

Dang! I wish I could've met you on your tour! I live about an hour away. The cod is a really cool ship! I've visited on a few occasions.

[@patrickchambers5999]

I remember when I was in Thailand with the Air Force in 1971 and we had many days of powdered eggs and the cooks would always put a couple of saved eggshells when they mixed up the powdered eggs to make scrambled eggs. On special days we had real eggs, cracked into bowls that were stacked up beside the grill and we could make an omelet, usually fried bologna and cheese as there was no ham.

[@mrkeiths48]

My Pop was a tin can sailor, and he always said I would have the best chow in the Navy when I reported to my sub. I never ate on a surface ship, so I could not compare the two. I always thought the Navy should be able to bring the best food to any ship or sub that goes to sea. Great video. (Pops also said I would never paint as I was not a Boatswain's Mate. He got that one wrong. Someone has to paint that bilge.)

[@JoshuaTootell]

Crew size. Hard to cook quality meals for 5000 people. But small crews is doable

[@pepawg2281]

My dad served aboard the USS Steelhead in WW2. He was one o r the cooks and also was assigned to load the deck gun as action called. He always said the submarine service ate the freshest food of any branch of the military. This was largely due to the fact that they could only carry enough provisions for about 2 weeks at a time. This also coincided with the time of a regular war patrol, then it was back to Brisbane for resupply.

[@matthewdudley6278]

My Grandfather Elmer Gerdeman was a Machinist's Mate/Boiler Tender on an LST and a Fletcher Class (actually THE Fletcher) in WW2. While he served in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters, I remember him telling me whenever he put into Pearl Harbor he would look for submarines where he had friends on so he could eat their superior food relative to what he had on his ships. He's the biggest reason I did NROTC and became a Naval Officer...

[@leebatt7964]

My father served as fire control on the USS Hardhead in the early 50’s. 15 years later he moved to a small town in Maine and discovered the head cook of the Hardhead that served with him lived their as well. He used to joke his time on the sub was haunting him. Apparently he wasn’t a fan of the chow.

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

Interesting point about Nescafe , it's very popular in the UK. although nowadays there are many other brands as instant coffee an easy alternative for tea if you feel like a change . Subs are very cramped and claustrophobic so morale is important .

[@actaeon299]

Yes. Waking up to freshly baked bread was the best part of being underway. The smell of dozens of bad eggs one morning, on the other hand was TERRIBLE.

[@jimfrazier8611]

One midwatch the night baker sent his non-qual crank back to the engine room with a plate of hot, fresh chocolate chip cookies and his qual card. All was going great until smoke started pouring into Maneuvering from a burning vent heater, and we had to call away a fire at 3am. The EOOW shoved the plate of cookies into his desk, and we all donned EABs with our cheeks packed full of gooey cookies. Somehow our phonetaking was good enough that nobody from the DC party caught on, and we spent the rest of the watch after the casualty was secured laughing our asses off, and of course finishing off the cookies.

[@petehayes4801]

My favorite memory are the mid-watches when our baker made the bread. He would call me when the first batch came out. He would have a loaf sliced up with a saucer of real, cold butter waiting on me!

[@killforcash]

Would anybody happen to have an idea where a fellow could get some of those coffee mugs? Perhaps some recreations even?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Ebay has them for like $50

[@blacksquirrel4008]

My cousin was on a Sub out of Key West during the Cuban Missile crisis. We were invited to go on during the day as guests as a cover for their actual nighttime activities, as the subs were being watched. I still remember the steak and eggs and ice cream sandwiches.

[@frankcherry3810]

Coffee Cups- I had the chance to go on some Liberty Ships that were waiting to be scrapped. There were barrels of crockery

[@oldnumber5866]

I was on the USS Permit SSN 594, sister ship to the Thresher. This was back in the 70’s. We were coming into port after 6 weeks out and had to turn around and do another boat’s patrol. On the last day of that patrol I was walking through the mess and saw the mess cooks cutting off mold on the food so it could be serve at lunch. Bad air, bad food, and no water for bathing. Those were the days!

[@nicholasresar]

Cool to see you visiting my hometown museum ship.

[@RuralTowner]

When talking about the cooks. Reminded me of that one sub crew that "Requisitioned with great guild" some ice cream equipment from a BB I think it was?

[@divarachelenvy]

That Chicory product is still available and loved by our oldies.

[@fire304]

You have to talk about the toilet paper supply issues for subs (USS Skipjack)

[@woodeye6699]

Could tell so many chow stories from my 7 years on the boats. But maybe this one is a little different. First boat was the USS SeaLion in 1964 was APSS-315 out of Norfolk and St Thomas (the WWII subase) ,one of two troop transport submarines, the other being USS Perch APSS-315 in the Philippines and . W were reconfigured with the forward engine room being the munitions locker and other stuff for troop support. The SeaLion trained UDT and Force Recon as well as this new outfit called SEALs. There were 70 crew and often 65 troops on the boat. The cooks did a fantastic job with the 7 sittings it took to serve a meal. And we had three meals, 6, noon and 6 as well as midrats. The Mess Cooks got up at 4 AM and went to be at 2 AM when we had troops aboard. But Pappy Benton, our Chief Cook (and Navy Boxing Champion) made sure everyone got plenty of good food, maybe not fancy but no one went hungry. And the ice cream machine was always ready to fill your bowl. And yes, we had racks for many to sleep in, bit the troops slept with their head turned to the side, because if you laid with your head in. It’s normal position your nose touched the head of the guy above you. And junior guys hot racked, you just found an empty bunk and jumped in. I had the good fortune to have my own upper bunk, but the hinges were broke on the mattress platform and when the ship rolled (and subs do that a lot) my bunk would slide out into the passageway, and when we rolled the other way, it would slide back in. I learned to sleep with my hand around the 600 pound air line into the ballast tank to keep from falling on the deck. So many more sea stories I could tell. And then I left the tourist cabins alongside the state highway and .hey stored potatoes. Another time…

[@mysticwanderer4787]

I was in submarines for over twenty years and you guys have missed an essential fact that makes submarine food better and that is the commanding officer on a submarine eats the same food as the crew so if the galley serves up a stinker the captain and the chief's get it too. On surface ships, the officers and the senior enlisted usually have their own cooks and get the best of the supply of food on board. The other reason is of course the arduous nature of the duty. On more than one occasion I have gone a week without anything more to eat than rice and ham and nothing to drink but coffee and water because of the nature of our mission or our mission changed. This along with weeks without a shower. Submarine MS's have always taken great pride in the food they served to the crew. They earn their dolphins like everyone else. They are submariners!

[@swimmingmide]

One of my favorite quotes is from Robert Heinlein, "A man who can cook will never go hungry". You always need someone to cook the food and make it taste good. You can survive knowing how to hunt/fish/farm, but you only live if you can cook what you catch.

[@dannyluttrell6050]

I was in the Navy brig in 1965 for being AOL they had a Submarine Tender by are work detail. Best food I had in the Navy.

[@tyvernoverlord5363]

"Through these halls pass the best fed sailors in the navy." I loved it, and would do it again in the next life!

[@camickelson]

On the SSBN, Sonar was right above the galley, they used to being us the Sticky Buns..Yummm. They also used to give us, Seafood, Crab!

[@ironpig701]

In WWII some subs ran so many guys that between them and supplies you had to hot cot thus 2 guys share 1 bed. Then water was in short supply so no showers. Food was only thing keeping them from going crazy

[@shellyd3302]

I was surprised by how big those submarines are, im sure it may change by class of submarine, but i took a tour on the USS Bowfin and im 6'7" and could move around pretty freely.

[@paulfarace9595]

Same size as Bowfin

[@richardgibson4757]

Aircraft carriers had good food in the 90s and I used to make my own stuff back then..fried potatoes,green pepper and polish sausage for breakfast,for me and the cooks.. Cooking was a big thing on ships

[@woodenmetal2977]

I remember an underway in which we ran out of coffee. As in, no more grounds anywhere on the sub including all the little hiding places - fresh out of coffee. Some of the crew packed emergency energy drinks, like red bull or monster, but most of the coffee drinkers in the crew didn't like carbonated energy drinks. So, for the last week of the underway, the unprepared coffee drinkers were on edge. Many of them were first classes and chiefs who were the SME's of their equipment and the NUBs (we called them "interns" on my sub) needed them for qual card signatures. Two NUBs, both sonar techs, went to a TM1 for a ship's signature regarding countermeasures, and he grilled the fuck out of them - no mercy, no lube. He's normally on the more chill side, as far as it goes for submariners, but as a member of the coffee-drinking club, he was extra pissed off since he didn't have any coffee. As I was leaving the chief's quarters, after doing an interview for my BDW qual card, I heard a lot of shouting coming from the torpedo room. I went in to see what was going on and immediately heard "LS3, get the fuck out!" and left the area immediately. It was absolutely hilarious.

[@Electronzap]

Nice stories.

[@shaider1982]

4:59 man, instant coffee always tasted bad for me if cream is not added. Brewed (normal or drip) was the best to taste without sugar, cream or milk. But , yeah, it's war and they have to be practical. Though nice to know even submariners didn't like instant coffee either.

[@michaelbagley9116]

The thing is that a submarine is a closed atmosphere. It develops a smell at its own no matter what they do. However, the long hard life required some benefit. Food is a major motivator for sailors.

[@lynnhauenstein4136]

My Dad on Diesel Electric sub..Korea era. He told me submarine food known as best and was attractive. And influenced his choice to stay on subs as electrician.

[@JHX1]

Small pantry and storage = more fresh food. And the budget is higher...and the cook can't hide..

[@JHX1]

@@ralphgesler5110 The budget is higher, for a few reasons but also to keep the crew more happy, since they live in a crowded space.

[@jeffzaun1841]

Every day is Tuesday on the boat. . That's actually a saying from naval aviation. We called the carrier 'the boat.' If you have to drive it, it's a ship. If you have to land on it, it's a boat.

[@MesaperProductions]

Served 4 years onboard a nuclear attack boat in the 90s. We didn't have the best food in the Navy, particularly on deployment. Everything we ate came from either a can or a freezer.

[@michaeldelaney7271]

My Dad was a Motor Machinist Mate on subs out of Brisbane during WW II. He said they would raid the "emergency" food (crackers, canned goods, etc.) for snacks during the patrol. When they got towards the end of the mission, about all that was left aboard to eat was Spam, powdered eggs and powdered milk, all of which they hated. Meanwhile, my Mom was building Victory Ships and Grandma was building Vultee trainers here in Southern California. What with "meatless Tuesdays" and so on, Mom and Grandma were thrilled when they could get Spam. Returning after the war, Dad refused to eat Spam ever again but the rest of us were always fans.

[@highdesertutah]

I love spambled eggs.😊

[@michaeldelaney7271]

@@highdesertutah Me too!

[@KkevrockK]

It was Canadians that took the u boat with coffee cups…and coke bottles but from a corvette not a sub and only did so because the guns couldn’t depress enough. Hmcs Oakville if you want to read more on that story.

[@robertstephens6757]

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and great food. Bob Hope. Miss America. Dancers. And coffee! That was the battleship experience. Months at sea too, but we could sun on deck.

[@treyhenry8802]

I never drank coffee before my first boat...20 years later 😬

[@2tommyrad]

Could have been a lot longer. Very interesting. Thanks.

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Make sure you go to Cod's page for the other half of the video!

[@2tommyrad]

@@BattleshipNewJersey Thanks!

[@charlenetrawick1647]

LOVE!!!!

[@jamesturner2126]

Speaking of subs and recent news, how does Big J pump water? A sub uses a complex ballast tank system that uses the weight of the ocean to drag the sub under, then it uses a super complex POWERFUL compressed air system to move sometimes over 1000 tons of water out the sub. They literally do "blow the tanks!" I looked into our USS Pampanito Museum air system, it was scary! I never realized just how much stuff could go wrong! HAHA! Can Big J do any fancy pumping tricks with her triple bottom?

[@michaelbyrne8238]

Any foods avoided on ships? On offshore sailboat racing, people would get mad if dinner was lasagna because it was bad on their stomach. Although the first night at sea salad with acidic dressing, lasagna and red wine for dinner was my favorite no matter the conditions. Salad is tricky cause it blows away; kinda gotta get in a ball with your back to the wind and scarf it down. On racing sailboats there is no eating below deck.

[@Idahoguy10157]

I served on an SSN, 1977-81. Food was very good. At sea submariners do not have underway replenishment. Fresh fruit and vegetables were gone in a week. Or in a day. No more fresh anything till after your patrol

[@davidroyer2258]

Having served on a submarine tender, I can definitely attest to the fact that submarines got the very same food we got on the tender. I'm not sure having never gone to sea in a sub whether there was something different in how food was actually prepared for the sailors on the subs. When you're serving a considerably smaller crew I'm sure that makes a difference.

[@daveh7720]

"Chicory and paint chips." 😆 I'll have to remember that one!

[@timjohnun4297]

They would have to be well fed to prevent diseases like scurvy. Also to compensate for a lack of fresh air and sunshine (Vitamin D). I did 10 years on surface skimmers, they couldn't pay or feed me well enough to do submarines, even though I have had a lifetime interest in them

[@ak_downrange_threat7251]

2:00 You can coat the shell of an Egg in Mineral oil and keep it in the fridge and it will last for close to a year.

[@daviddubose8804]

Great info!! My wifes maiden name is farragi !!!

[@chrishince8947]

I always wondered if they had Chilli night on subs?

[@mm3mm3]

The sub would have extra buoyancy on Chilli night lol

[@tomhenry897]

Had navy beans