MESS ATTENDANT TRAINING AND SKILLS IN A FLEET BOAT

SeaviewSkipper · 02-01-15, 10:20 AM

Hi everyone. I was wondering if any of you know what the mess attendants in WWII Fleet boats were trained in, other than their serving duties. I've done some Google searches, but can't find the information. I know they had damage control training, but that's about it. With all of the WWII submarine books I've read over the years I've encountered precious little about the "messboys".
In the movie U-571, the mess attendant "Eddie" is able to helm the boat and do other control-room duties once they're stranded on U-571. Is that historically accurate, or were they being politically correct because Eddie was black? Thanks. Jeff

02-01-15, 10:20 AM	#1
SeaviewSkipper Loader Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 84 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	MESS ATTENDANT TRAINING AND SKILLS IN A FLEET BOAT Hi everyone. I was wondering if any of you know what the mess attendants in WWII Fleet boats were trained in, other than their serving duties. I've done some Google searches, but can't find the information. I know they had damage control training, but that's about it. With all of the WWII submarine books I've read over the years I've encountered precious little about the "messboys". In the movie U-571, the mess attendant "Eddie" is able to helm the boat and do other control-room duties once they're stranded on U-571. Is that historically accurate, or were they being politically correct because Eddie was black? Thanks. Jeff