SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - MESS ATTENDANT TRAINING AND SKILLS IN A FLEET BOAT

CaptBones · 02-06-15, 06:05 PM

Wrong...

Fleet subs in WW II most certainly did have "mess cooks" and "stewards".

Three men in my family served in subs in SUBSOWESPAC and SUBPAC. Besides their stories, told around the table and out at the hunting shack during the 50's and 60's, I have ship manning documents and "Watch, Quarter and Station Bills" from four boats, covering most of 1942-1946, along with COMSUBPAC Ship's Organization and Regulation Manuals (SORM) which include policy, procedures (and limitations) for assigning men to "Mess Attendant" duties.

Having served in two Guppy's and a nuc boat during the early years of my own 30 year Navy career, I can also say that we had mess cooks and stewards up until the mid-70's. I did my own brief (1-week) stint mess cooking during a Midshipman Summer Cruise in the "Grampus" (SS-523).

Although stewards did bring meals from the galley to the wardroom pantry and then serve it in the wardroom, the mess cooks did not serve meals to the crew. The mess decks were run "cafeteria style" and mess cook duties were to set up the chow line, wash the trays/dishware/utensils and clean up after meal time...and any other time the cooks decided cleaning was in order. I got my butt kicked for showing up to set up for mid-rats without a T-shirt, which the galley Watch Captain declared was grounds for me to spend the rest of the morning deep-cleaning the entire serving line, sinks, tables, chairs, and the deck.

If that's not good enough, there are a couple of good WW II submarine books written by enlisted men that describe life in the boats in detail. My personal favorite is "Wake of the Wahoo"; I met and talked briefly with Forrest Sterling in Gulfport during a business trip to Avondale and Ingalls shipyards in 1998.

02-06-15, 06:05 PM	#7
CaptBones The Old Man Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Rockton, IL Posts: 281 Downloads: 208 Uploads: 0	Not to quibble...but... Wrong... Fleet subs in WW II most certainly did have "mess cooks" and "stewards". Three men in my family served in subs in SUBSOWESPAC and SUBPAC. Besides their stories, told around the table and out at the hunting shack during the 50's and 60's, I have ship manning documents and "Watch, Quarter and Station Bills" from four boats, covering most of 1942-1946, along with COMSUBPAC Ship's Organization and Regulation Manuals (SORM) which include policy, procedures (and limitations) for assigning men to "Mess Attendant" duties. Having served in two Guppy's and a nuc boat during the early years of my own 30 year Navy career, I can also say that we had mess cooks and stewards up until the mid-70's. I did my own brief (1-week) stint mess cooking during a Midshipman Summer Cruise in the "Grampus" (SS-523). Although stewards did bring meals from the galley to the wardroom pantry and then serve it in the wardroom, the mess cooks did not serve meals to the crew. The mess decks were run "cafeteria style" and mess cook duties were to set up the chow line, wash the trays/dishware/utensils and clean up after meal time...and any other time the cooks decided cleaning was in order. I got my butt kicked for showing up to set up for mid-rats without a T-shirt, which the galley Watch Captain declared was grounds for me to spend the rest of the morning deep-cleaning the entire serving line, sinks, tables, chairs, and the deck. If that's not good enough, there are a couple of good WW II submarine books written by enlisted men that describe life in the boats in detail. My personal favorite is "Wake of the Wahoo"; I met and talked briefly with Forrest Sterling in Gulfport during a business trip to Avondale and Ingalls shipyards in 1998.