Patrolling under cover
 

During a patrol, did either the German or the American submariners wear their hats?

I would think in the cramped spaces it would get in the way. I would imagine on a big surface ship it is not an issue but on a sub?

Was wearing a hat dictated by rank? Officers and CPO wear em but ratings didn't?

In a lot of the movies and the staged photographs they are shown under cover.

I am afraid that my experiences are non-naval. We never wore our hats inside unless we were under arms but I know them sailors do things differently :arrgh!:

From some of the pictures that the German naval correspondent Lothar Gunther Bucheim took during his career it appears to be a real mix. However, I imagine most U-Boat crew members simply kept them on their head due to the limited personal space on a U-Boat. You really didn't have anywhere to hang or store it and sometimes you might have to go topside in a hurry.:cool: