Question regarding food quantity

[Segwin]

It's '39 and I'm in the IIA. I go down around the channel, turn off the engines and just wait. Now I could do this forever however, how much food did they pack away for the trip? Week, month?

TIA

[melnibonian]

I don't think SH3 takes into account the amount of food on board. As long as you have fuel, crew and a boat you can sail forever. In reality though I think type IIs were patroling for a few days (maximum a couple of weeks I think).

[nightdagger]

Yeah, I think by the time you ran out of gas your food supply would be pretty low.

[melnibonian]

Don't forget that ocasionally U-Boat crews were fishing as well

[AS]

Because of the limited range the small Type II-boats didn´t hang out long. The Type VII had patrols lasting between 2 and almost 4 weeks. It´s amazing how much food they had in those small subs, especially considering that they didn´t have any real "food-storage". That´s why there are all the bananas in the command room...

[melnibonian]

If I remember correctly in the Iron Coffins book it is mentioned that one of the toilets of the boat (they had two) was used as food storage facility. Almost every free area inside the boat was covered with torpedoes and food. That must have been a difficult environment to live and work.

[Krupp]

About u-boat provisions: http://www.uboataces.com/articles-life-uboat.shtml

"Food aboard a U-boat was another interesting topic. At the beginning of a journey, as much food was cramped into every nook and cranny available in the U-boat. This resulted in one of the toilets being filled to capacity with food. They brought the best foods available with them, including fresh meat, sausages, bread loaves, fresh fruits and vegetables, but the small refrigerators meant that food spoilt quickly, especially in the damp environment of a U-boat. Very soon, fresh loaves of bread would sprout white fungi, which the crews promptly nicknamed as “Rabbits”, due to the white fuzzy appearance. By that time, food consisted mainly of canned goods supplemented by a soy based filler called Bratlingspulver. Issued by the military for U-boat crews, the crew unkindly referred to it as “diesel food”, due to the constant exposure of diesel exhaust that surrounded them."

I reckon, that type II(C & D) had stores for around 2-3 weeks, type VII's "four ton" which equals for about 4 weeks without replenishing from other boats. Type IX's (especially C and D2's) had provisions 12 000 to 16 000 kg¨s for 12 to 16 weeks. According to Brennecke's book "the hunters and the hunted ( for IX's that is).


And here's a list for captured U-505: http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/U5...d/05_food.html

"Approximately 12 tons of food were loaded onto U-505 before she departed for a 100 day patrol. The crew ate the fresh foods on board first, and then relied on canned foods once the fresh foods had been consumed or had spoiled. A typical U-boat food supply included:
494 pounds fresh and cooked meats
238 pounds sausages
4,808 pounds preserved/tinned meats
334 pounds preserved fish
3,858 pounds potatoes
397 pounds dried potatoes
3,428 pounds other vegetables
1,226 pounds bread dough
2,058 pounds preserved breads
463 pounds rice and noodles
595 pounds fresh eggs
917 pounds fresh lemons
2,365 pounds other fruits
551 pounds butter and margarine
611 pounds soup ingredients
408 pounds marmalade and honey
309 pounds fresh and preserved cheese
1,728 pounds powdered milk
441 pounds fruit juices
154 pounds coffee
205 pounds other drinks (including beer)
441 pounds sugar
132 pounds salt"