5 Interesting Facts About Life On A Submarine

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[SandroAndres]

Spent a number of deployments on nulcear submarine tours. The cooks are unsung hereos. Fresh vegtables/fuit last a few weeks only. However even months into the tour my spirits were always lifted during meal time. Praise to any submariner cooks in any country

[supergeek]

Ex nuclear submariner here.

Speaking about the smells: After you've been down for 2 1/2 months, you simply don't notice it. Once you surface, though, if you're on the topside rigging party, when you first get out into the fresh sea air around 10 miles off shore (some of the freshest air on the planet) you almost get sick because it smells like *death* --- you get used to it pretty quickly, though. When you eventually go back down below decks --- *THAT'S* when the smell *really* hits you and will churn your stomach.

Also, you could always tell the guys in the tender's mess hall who have just gotten off of patrol: Their mess trays were full of nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables, and two or three glasses of fresh milk!

[aaronbeaupre]

Former bubblehead here- I was all set and ready to be that pedantic 'Well actually...' guy but this was pretty damn spot on from what I remember of my time underway.

[everyman]

As a submariner in the early 90’s I can say one of the most overlooked benefits is the crew quality. Submariners were all volunteers. We went to sub school for six weeks and had to undergo sub quals once assigned to a boat that were rigorous. Nothing against the surface pukes, but submariners were generally more intelligent. An often overlooked benefit of being on a sub was if you pulled into a foreign port with no other US Navy ship ( happened often) then your captain was the senior US officer and could decide which areas where off limits. Normally this meant everything was open to the crew cause the officers wanted to go there too🤫.

[daniraesunshine]

Way back when I was in culinary school I had several classmates who were submariners. It was great, they were some of the most polite and supportive co-students I ever had.

[spacemansquid]

Having served aboard both a LA class and Ohio class submarine while active duty (Houston and Michigan, respectively), I can confirm going from the smaller Houston to the Michigan felt like I’d stepped into the hanger deck of a carrier. So much glorious room!

[davidstrother]

The Navy can have soft serve ice cream available 24/7, but McDonalds can't keep the ice cream machines working.

[markg]

As a fellow submariner I can say we ate Very well. Steaks, lobster, fish, everything that a 5 star restaurant serves.

[TheKulu]

I once had lunch aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia as part of a media tour. We had meatball subs (no pun intended) and prime rib among other treats. One submariner told me that when you're away from your family for months, the last thing you need is bad food. As for space, designers cram in everything needed for the sub's mission and the crew make do with what's left.

[nuggdimmadome]

Submariners are an entirely separate class of human altogether. A man I consider my father figure was a submariner before he became an army kiowa pilot and passed away in Iraq. Those folks are badass. I could never do what they do, even as a combat vet.

[johnleeson]

FRESH BREAD EVERY DAY!!!
Along with pastries and brownies...

SSN from '83-'88.
We came back from Brest, France with all kinds of locally-made cheeses. A big slice of bleu cheese on your hamburger was great. Then brie for dessert.

"Steak and Lobster Tails, AGAIN?!"

[seanbigay]

Waaay back around 1976 or so my parents and I visited my sister in Hawaii. Naturally we did the tourist thing, including a visit to Pearl Harbor. And it was on the way into Pearl Harbor that I had the privilege of seeing this long black THING go slithering out of port and into the sea. It was likely a Poseidon-class boomer, and the memory of it gives me goosebumps to this day.

[micahphilson]

Keep in mind Ballistic Missile subs are only one type. The "Nuclear" in a "nuclear submarine" refers to how it's powered.
There are also Fast-Attacks and Guided Missile submarines that don't carry any nuclear weapons. And the reactors themselves are some of the safest in the world, between how they're built and how their crew is trained.

[HowieIsaacks]

I found the interior of the submarine I served on quite roomy actually. Sure, it was cramped to some degree but it was easy to move around in. A third of the crew was always asleep in their bunks. My favorite thing to do when I had brief periods of off time was to go to the furthest aft end of the boat and watch the propeller shaft spin. The captain did that a lot too so he and I had a few friendly conversations about how fascinating it was to be at the spot where the propeller shaft exits the hull of the sub.

[StrongDreamsWaitHere]

I knew a guy who used to be a nuclear engineer on a nuclear sub. He was also an amateur photographer, so when the sub would sneak up on Soviet naval activities, he would be called to the conning tower, take photographs through the periscope, develop them in a makeshift dark room, stamp them classified, and then it would be illegal from then on to look at his own photographs or negatives.

[bnthern]

having completed submarine training - there is so much more to learn - going on leave (time off) seems to be boring as you grow so use to having 16 to 18 hours a day filled for activity / learning!

[AbbyNormL]

I am a former US Navy fast attack submariner arriving on my first submarine, the USS Bremerton (SSN-698), while it was still under construction at Electric Boat in Groton, back in 1980.

We called sharing beds as hot-racking and it sucks. The policy on some submarines, including this one, is that all sailors that are “Qualified in Submarines” get their own racks regardless of rank. This process generally takes about one year and requires leaning every system on the submarine and passing a 3-man oral board. So the faster you pass, the faster you get your own rack.

The deal with performing a “reactor scram” drill, the instant they initiate a drill, it is no longer a drill but a real reactor scram. This puts all electrical loads on the battery and you either get the reactor and steam turbine generators back online or you stick a snorkel mast above the waves and crank up the diesel engine.

I was a nuclear power plant operator and we almost always had the engine room back up before the guys up front could get the diesel going. With a simple reactor scram where the cause is known, it took 15-20 minutes to get the reactor going.

The electricians were not fond of reactor scram drills because the generally had to perform a battery charge, which is far more complex than plugging a cable into a wall socket.

[brs]

In the army we have a process that involves putting water and ice in a plastic bag full of powdered eggs to make them edible, the coffee is a can of coffee boiled in a pot with snow or ice thrown into it so you don't have to chew it as much. In the war the steaks were tendons and lobster had been boiled 3 times before they cooked it. Getting off the main base to get to a forward operating base usually meant you could get a toasted sandwich or a lamb taco.

[davea]

Question: What do you call a dog in a submarine?
Answer: a subwoofer
😜

[betsam]

B-52/FB-111 pilot here. Good on these submariners. After we got done babysitting our nuke, after week of alert, we got to go home.
I think the Blue and Gold crews did 3 months at a stretch. Hats off to you.