Crews' Quarters

The main berthing (sleeping) area is located in the after battery compartment and is packed with 36 bunks stacked three high. Through an assignment system know as "hotbunking" up to 54 crewmen can bunk in this compartment. Hotbunking works by assigning two bunks to three men whose duty assignments assure that at least one of the three is on duty at any given time. Thus when one man wakes up and goes on duty, another coming off duty might climb into the still warm bunk. In this room there are also two crew toilets, a washroom, showers and a washing machine.

In the photo below we see one of Cod's crewmen taking a "navy" shower. To conserve precious water the procedure is to quickly wet yourself thoroughly and then turn off the water. After you have soaped and scrubed yourself the water is again turned on for a few moments to rinse away the soap. Freshwater showers are a luxury enjoyed by U.S. submarine sailors that were not available aboard most other nation's submarines during WW-II.

Crewman in crew's shower

A bunk in one of the torpedo rooms is preferred by the enlisted men over the main sleeping compartment because these areas are cooler, quieter and kept dark - until a target is sighted. There are 15 bunks in the Forward Torpedo Room and 12 in the After Torpedo Room.


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Last revised 24 July 2000
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