Real Submarine Technology & History Q&A

[Redmane]

I can't recall where it came from or where it might be here (search?), but I read somewhere recollections from crew about how things were when in a patrol area. They would run submerged all day, surfacing after sundown, diving just before dawn. The air in the boat would get very foul, it was always very hot and uncomfortable as the "air conditioning" really helped only to keep the humidity down so conditions weren't so hard on the equipment in the boat. Because of this, most of their off-hours while submerged were spent sleeping to help conserve oxygen. Also, being ex-Navy (never was a submariner though) I can tell you that between normal working hours and a rotating watch schedule, 4 hours on, eight hours off is how it works, and then there are the dog-watches, 2 hours for those, there were alot of times when my sleep schedule was so messed up it was difficult to stay awake during normal working hours. So far as the ship I was on, we could go more or less anyplace on board, though hanging out on the bridge was not really an option, but I would often take a walking tour about the ship, even passing through the engineering spaces, though staying out of the way of course. There were cat-walks running through the area with a ladder access leading up into the stack, and I would climb up there and exit via the access hatch onto the upper deck, as there was almost always a nice view to be had there, and the breeze would be cool after feeling the heat in the boiler room.