[CaptBones]

There seems to be a lot of misinformation and misinterpretation of information here.

First, let’s clarify what a “Mess Attendant” is in the WWII USN; he is not a “cook” or a “baker”, he would most likely be a non-rated Seaman or Fireman. You ask, “what does that mean?”

It isn’t really difficult, but it also isn’t that straightforward. Enlisted personnel in the U.S. Navy generally have a “rate” and may have a “rating”…only officers have “rank.” Personnel in pay grades E-1 (Seaman Recruit [SR], Fireman Recruit [FR]) and E-2 (Seaman Apprentice [SA], and Fireman Apprentice [FA]) are “non-rated”, while E-3’s (Seaman [SN] and Fireman [FN]) may be rated and in that case they are called “strikers”, indicating that they are pursuing or “striking” for a rating. BTW, there are other E-1 through E-3 non-rates and strikers, such as Airmen and Corpsmen; I merely limited the discussion to the two that would be part of a submarine crew.

“Rating” is the occupational specialty that enlisted personnel acquire through training and experience, having demonstrated suitable skills and aptitude to either attend a school or ...once upon a time...to be advanced in grade by the Captain. “Rate” is a combination of pay grade and rating and is the approximate equivalent of officer “rank.”

Cook or Baker, in the WW II era Navy (they are Commissary Specialists today), would be a man’s rating; his commensurate rate would be Petty Officer or Chief Petty Officer in that rating. A mess attendant (they are called “mess cooks” today) would most likely be a SA/SN or FA/FN. They were essentially waiters and busboys and handled the jobs of setting up and cleaning up the mess decks, serving/bussing, as well as washing dishes and assisting the Cooks/Bakers as required. It was a temporary assignment that rotated among the most junior personnel in the crew; in a sub that usually meant all of the men not yet “Qualified in Submarines” were eligible for “Mess Attendant” duties. I’ll avoid any discussion concerning Officer Cooks and Stewards, except to point out that in the WW II era they were a separate category and were specifically assigned to the Officers’ Mess (and they were almost always black, Panamanian or Filipino).

OK…on to specifics related to submarines. Everyone…meaning everyone aboard a sub then and now, had to “Qualify” in submarines. That applied to rated men regardless of their rating, including Cooks and Bakers back then. Non-rated men would almost never be part of a submarine’s crew, simply due to the requirement to complete submarine training before getting to a boat. Submarine School was a Class “C” school, which generally required completion of either a Class “A” or Class “B” school; those in-turn qualified a man for advancement to E-4 or for designation as a striker, giving him rating and rate.

To quote the Navy’s policy and requirements in 1940; “To qualify as a submarine man, certain requirements must be fulfilled. He must have served at least six months on submarines. Before presenting himself for examination, the candidate must submit a notebook. This book must contain all data specified by “Submarine Instructions.” '(ed. note: that included hand-made line-diagrams of all the piping systems and electrical systems in the boat as well as diagrams of the hull structure with all machinery, weapon systems, equipage, and tankage.)' The examination is an oral and practical one. It consists in going through the boat and operating all apparatus in the boat and answering any questions pertaining to the same. A commissioned officer conducts the examination.”

So, not to delve into any of the mistakes that I have found in “U-571” or any other submarine movie, as a Mess Attendant, “Eddie” would have been a striker and could certainly have performed planesman duties, and many others, if he was “Qualified in Submarines” or even progressing well toward his examination.

I’d also hasten to point out that “Fireman” has nothing to do with firefighting (except when assigned to a Damage Control Party). The term was borrowed from the railroads and came about when steam propulsion emerged as the standard and specialists were needed to operate the equipment; a Fireman’s job originally was to shovel coal or feed fuel oil to the boilers and assist the rated propulsion engineers to operate the multitude of engines, pumps, compressors, etc. It remains, to this day, as a category of non-rated and striker personnel that are progressing into propulsion engineering ratings.

Hope that helps; have a nice day all...