Do submariners get fat on duty/how do submariners stay fit?

[CrumpetsForAll]

Yes I’ve been watching The Vigil. Does anyone know this important bit of naval info?!

Is a submarine not a U boat? I thought it was just diff terms for the same thing

@CrumpetsForAll

Ewwwww no! Surely he was winding you up!! The smell when they open the hatch after 3months must be awful if not!

I can assure that the smell when one of these gets cracked open after 2 months under is rank. It didn’t help that the first task after tying up and safety barriers is ditch gash - and all of it had been lifted into the main corridor under the hatch ready for hand balling into the shore skips. Apparently when you live in the stench you don’t smell it. I imagine also a bit like the boiling frog analogy but with increasing levels of pong instead of hot water.

@Poshjock what’s gash?! (I kind of dread the answer...)

Oh no- no heartfelt reunion hugs until they’ve found a tap then?!

@CrumpetsForAll

Is a submarine not a U boat? I thought it was just diff terms for the same thing

A u boat is a German one I think? Maybe they built them smaller?

Both the time in shower and number of them is restricted due to management of water. So you wet, turn off shower, soap, turn on shower, rinse and out. The boat can only make and store a limited amount of water and I would doubt run desalination plant when silent. When alongside (shore or mothership) water and power is fed via umbilical connections.

Submarine people get moody if you call u boats submarines. U boats spent a lot more time on the surface, much smaller and very limited with how far and how long they stay underwater. In WW1 most U boats attacked from the surface with deck guns or going aboard and planting a bomb

On the big boats (vanguard class?) there will probably be a pti on board and a regulator ( naval police) which doesn't seem to have happened.

SIB would have gone on board alongside the "standard" police surely?

The original Das Boot was amazing

My brother was on the subs for a while and to this day he can still taste the stink.

My problem with the program is that I keep expecting young Morse to do some investigating. He’s got a beard and he’s Scouse but I know he’s there.

Loved it when some guy the murder victim was bunking with was like “well he was a shit sailer anyway”. It temporarily brought me out of the grittiness of the submarine and put me in mind that bit that happens in every episode of Poirot when, post murder, some cold aristocratic type immediately points out that they didn’t much like the dead man. Like you would say that to the detective

75% of german u boat crew died in the war

I saw her in the helicopter and thought she's not done the "dunker" training for that !

what’s gash?!

Rubbish.

Not sure if it includes sewage (or dessicated sewage? @Poshjock - over to you for detail on how that's dealt with!)

Is it really difficult for the sub to come back to the top? How long does it take from the bottom of the sea to the top? Does it have to dock to open the lid?

sorry so many questions

Also, do they have cleaners on the subs? It must be well paid

@Susannahmoody

Also, do they have cleaners on the subs? It must be well paid

I think they're called junior rates

As said above, everyone multitasks!

@TheMarzipanDildo hahaa yes! ‘Dreadful little man, never liked him and I’m glad he’s gawn. No I was asleep alone and no one can account for my whereabouts- why?’

@MoreHairyThanScary what’s dunker training and is it as wet as it sounds?!

@Susannahmoody

Is it really difficult for the sub to come back to the top? How long does it take from the bottom of the sea to the top? Does it have to dock to open the lid?

sorry so many questions

No it's not hard. Moving through water is what they are designed to do.

How long? Depends how deep they are...

No they don't have to dock unless they are underwater.

That's usually for emergency supplies/rescues however or secret personnel transfers they don't want to do on the surface to give away their position.

The hardest part is actually navigating. It's not like you have windows to see where you are going or where the enemy is.

Sonar specialists are very highly trained and can only work in short shifts due to the levels of concentration needed.

If you want to know more you might want to watch this about the Perisher course (for potential sub commanders).

It gives a good insight into the skill required.

Gash is the naval term for litter/garbage. Ditch gash = Literally passing black bin bags along a chain of people into a skip. I believe the food waste is macerated and pumped into the sea (when in accordance with international regulations and boat activity allows) and all other gash compacted and shredded.

Size varies. The boat I visited was tiny.

Shower and a shave would be the first order of the day I reckon. Although most seemed to head to the nearest smoking shelter!

Thank you, derigeur, really kind

@Ohdeariedear

I found this about it…

“ With a doctor on each Vanguard-class submarine and 24/7 gym facilities – including a rowing machine, treadmill and weights – the submariners can also ensure they stay healthy.”

I thought the tree wallpaper n the canteen was a nice touch 😂

Going to the gym under water is some voodoo shit

DD's ex was an officer on a Trident sub. No, he didn't come home fat. He said the food was good, and yes, there's exercise equipment. And Tridents are HUGE.

DH is a submariner and has done trips on both the A and V class Subs...

As has covered before there are small gyms. (rowing/running machine, weights, etc)

Food really depend on who the chef is and some can be really good but meals tend to be quite carb heavy as potatoes/pasta easy to store and golf for morale.

DH has just came home from near enough a 6 month patrol and we have no contact so he does surface...

Oh and they would never put dead bodies in the torpedo tubes as they would be half eaten by the time they god back!!!!

Sorry that should say he doesn’t surface.