Cooking UNDERWATER: Inside the Galley of a US Navy Nuclear Submarine
The Challenges of Cooking Underwater: Inside the Galley of a US Navy Nuclear Submarine
The life of a U.S. Navy submariner is not easy. These sailors live for months in a steel tube cruising through freezing cold water, surrounded by explosives, flammable materials, and even nuclear weapons. Even in peacetime they run the risk of terrible accidents. In wartime they risk being hounded to destruction by enemy ships and helicopters. But they eat magnificently well. If you don't believe me, then check out this video where we will tell you more about what a sailors eat on a nuclear submarine!
When you live under the sea for months at a time, food becomes not only a necessary part of the health of the crew, but it becomes a profoundly important psychological factor in their well-being too. The cooks on submarines are the elite in the Navy. They have to be able not only to prepare, cook, and bake all of the different types of foods for the various meals, of which there are four in a 24-hour cycle, but they have to do it in the smallest spaces imaginable.
#usnavy #aircraftcarrier #sailors
As a former Army Grunt, I have nothing but love, admiration and respect for Cooks in any branch. You people are heroes, bravest of the brave.
THE most important part of any military!
Lies again? Naughty America Cum Inside
hope that's sarcastic
Amen, brother.
Vietnam. When all you ever get is WW2 C rations and at best B rations. I did enjoy being on the Troop Carrier Ship. The food was much better. Sitting in the South China Sea. Mobil Riverine Force. BROWN WATER NAVY
I wasn't a Submariner. But, I spent 40+ years, working on, or building them. And, I live close to the base, where I do most of my shopping. This story is spot on, about the eating habits on subs. BRAVO ZULU on this report.
Every year there are a couple of videos of life cooking on NAVY vessels and I always enjoy them all.
I was assigned to the sub base at Kings Bay when it opened. Everyday 24/7/365 the tender crew for the subs provided everything these folks needed. It was an amazing sight to see at times. Subs tied up port & starboard. We could be loading food to one sub and weapons to another sub. The cooks on the tender did a fantastic job. The tender had about 1,200 crew, then the sub crews often ate on the tender during their 3 month overhaul. PJ
Thanks PJ! I was stationed on one of those subs tied up alongside port, starboard or along the pier - USS James Madison 627 (B) 1984-1986. Thanks for all the assistance in getting us back underway to guard us against the commies!! Good times shipmate!!
Thank you to the culinary Chefs. My son, age 24, is currently on one of these Sub. It is good to know he is well taken care of!
God's Blessings to your son 🙏🙏🙏
Finally a military video that stays on topic. Thank You!
As a Navy vet, I never had any gripes with our chow. God bless all of those who prepare these meals.
So if cooking over open flame is prohibited........why do you show cooking on an open flame gas range ?
Listen here Paul...We dont take kindly to your type around these parts..With all your common sense statements n questions..so knock it off.😮
@@kevinjohnson-lf3kjI man it’s common sense
It's not a legit video. He mixed in shots from other vids to make you think this Canadian is totally factual. He "ooted" himself, eh.
A Newfie, no doubt! LOL!@@johnleeson6946
One of my favorite stories were about WW2 crews coming back to Pearl Harbor from patrol. They would line up for salads and get as much fresh fruit as they could get😂
Last 4 minutes of the video was him just repeating himself.
WRONG!!!! There are LOTS of fresh food loaded on subs. It gets used first. The person making this video is clueless
I figured that
After a Northern Run in '87, my Fast Boat spent a week in Brest, France. On the way back, we had a shitload of French cheeses in the Activity Space that were out of this world!!! Merci, Froggers!!! The German sub pens were still there. Probably too expensive to remove then. The bomb craters were very noticeable.
@@johnleeson6946 cool story
It’s kind of funny that at the same time he said that fresh foods are not loaded they are showing fresh fruits on the line
I’ve never been in the navy, but even I saw the lack of logic in his statement. We’ve known about rickets, etc for centuries, and it makes sense they would take on enough fresh food to last until it would spoil. Thanks for confirming what I thought.
Love to see the food go around. Everything from it's shipping, preparation, and delivery to the personel. Appreciate the tediousness of making mealtime the most interesting and satisfying time, during dangerous work, or normal sea going conditions. Much admiration for the cooks!
One advantage: barometric pressure is much greater. Cooking time is a good bit less. Water boils at higher temperatures, cutting the cooking time by quite a margin.
This is interesting but needed more editing. One of the clips showed a tile wall, which seems unlikely on a submarine. Later it shows a gas burner, followed by a comment that open flames are dangerous and not allows. Then we are told the cooking appliances can be electric and gas.
A lot of the photos where not on submarines.
@@paulready8897 Yep, too much open area.
Photos & video clips are from a similar piece on aircraft carriers.
Good catch! I heard that too and thought wtf!!?? Definitely no flames during my 4 patrols on the Madison 627 or my 2 yrs on the Grayling lol
I served onboard a nuclear submarine (USS JAMES MADISON. SSBN 627) back in th early to late 70s. While tied up along side the tender getting the boat ready to go on patrol the One day no one looked forward to was load-out day. That day was dedicated to loading ships stores (food) where almost the entire crew loaded the food by hand. It always amazed me about the quantity of food that was brought onboard. And, it all had to fit through a hatch not much larger than the shoulders of a large man. Try to imagine passing 35 pound cans of coffee and vegetables down a hatch...and you did this for much of the day. I understand that today's boats have hatches for loading foods and that it takes very few hands to get the food loaded. Good memories.
I have a question I've always wanted to ask a submariner maybe you could give me an answer or some insight The question is I've always wondered what happens if someone totally breaks down, becomes claustrophobic and is unable to do their job do you just end up in the brig or do they rendezvous with a surface ship and remove them or is the training standard so high it just doesn't happen
Thanks for your Undersea Service buddy!. Former airborne infantryman here.
@@davemeads859 As a former Nuke sailor, we were conditioned to live in a cramped environment: four guys in a room built for three during schooling at Nuke School. If we were submerged and a crewmember freaked-out, he'd be restricted and removed ASAP. Never saw this happen while I served.
Another never in combat VN guy
Hello shipmate! I was on the Madison (B) from 84-86, then did a split sea tour to the Grayling 646. Good times, wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Looks good 👍 👌 thanks for your service guys
Served on US attack subs in the 1980s. The food aboard was generally pretty good, unless there was an extended period at sea. We once went 57 days, unexpectedly, and there was a lot of tuna casseroles and peanut sandwiches the last couple weeks. Luckily, there was no risk of running out of coffee.
The kitchen looks better than some commercial ones I’ve worked in!👍👍🇦🇺
Most of the pictures were not of submarine gallies
Excellent viewing 👍👌
i was 7 years usaf in the 80's. everyone in the military knows that submarine food is the best in the military, and to a man, i never met anyone who begrudged them that. everyone said: "they deserve it."
5:10, I think there was an error of script here, you basically said the same thing twice, word for word
I know ...we get it, no fresh fruit or veggies are onboard!!
It is Winning the War even though it haven’t started yet. Through the Best FOOD SERVED. 🥇🥇🥇🏆🏆🏆👏👏👏
Interesting views of a hard-to-reach military space - thanks! You may want to double check some of the shots showing British Royal Navy cooks (like the two women at 6:39) - unless they were on some sort of exchange program on a U.S. sub ;)
Much respect for these hard working Service Men/Women! I think it would suck to be stuck underwater for 3 months doing dishes and cleaning for the whole boat! No thanks!
God Bless the "Culinary Staff" gotta keep the crew happy...:):):)
Interesting to see a Royal Navy rating on an American sub - ! 😊
When I was deployed, Army, every Friday for dinner was Surf n Turf for us. (Guess they figured might as well treat us for surviving the week lol)
You’re speaking about submarines, however you are repeatedly showing the galleys of Aircraft Carriers.
How do they keep the noisy down?
So many factual mistakes in this video ----- eg - no open flames allowed but you show gas burners on the stove. eg - Nuclear subs do carry a lot of fresh food that last for a few weeks at the beginning of a voyage ----- very disappointing for Navy Media.............
And used royal navy images when its a video about the US navy..
I would usually get sick eating my first meal of fresh food at end of patrol.
Dude there aren’t any open flames on submarines. Just adding any footage you want doesn’t make sense in reality. You might as well talk about how the sailors get in and out of a submarine and show a screen door.
Being on a modern nuclear sub would be like heaven in comparison to a World War Two pig boat. In contrast to the boats guys served on in World War Two, the cleanliness and quality of the food alone would astound a World War Two submariner. To get an idea of how grungy submarine life was before the advent of the nuclear navy, one should watch "Das Boot" to get an idea of how awful it was when it came to serving on submarines. The smell of spoiled food, unwashed bodies, diesel oil, bilges, and foul air, must have been truly stomach turning. At the same time, the ever present condensation would turn everything moldy. In contrast, a modern nuclear sub is a luxury love boat. in comparison.
I heard the British submarines use vegetables and fruits because they use dried freeze food extending their operation time for over a year without surfacing.
Thank you
I don't understand how you talk about the kitchen in a submarine but the kitchen in the video has a brick wall interior ? When did they start doing this ?
they also repeated themselves like 3 times in 5 minutes about special meals and veggies '
Some of these can't be on a submarine, that was one, another was of a burner on a gas stove. I REALLY doubt they have gas stoves in submarines, that sounds like a REALLY bad idea.
A lot of the photos were not gallies on a sub.
@@paulready8897 right ! And this video is about cooking in submarines. What's wrong with this picture, err.. video ?
So many scenes that have been cut and pasted from many different videos
Food energy for the body is important, so the cooks are keu
How is "Open Flame" cooking not allowed for safety But Gas is WTF..?
I knew a Submariner who said that they also had at sea resupply or underway resupply.
He was lying...
@@johnleeson6946: So you’re saying that the sub had to go to port to resupply their food stuff and whatever spare parts they needed?
@@jameshanlon5689Yep! That's how it was when I was on my SSN from '83-'88...
@@johnleeson6946: That was from 83 to 88. The guy was in it from 90 to 2000.
@@jameshanlon5689 Still lying. It isn't practical to resupply a sub at sea. Physically or logistically
"A submarine is a tight and enclosed space", "OceanGate: hold my beer"
Love to see what ww1/2 submariners had to eat daily, obviously they where in a combat situation. These programs are always interesting 👍🏻
Those subs were substantially smaller too
Check out WWII USS Cod Museum's channel: kzhead.info/sun/qdiqYZWpjn6klpE/bejne.html
Golden Point - The Value of e now inclufes the true value of all electrical fixtures throughout history
A lot of the footage is from surface ships and some even from what appears to be the Austrailian Navy.
With regard to emergency supplies are we talking MREs or spam?
I was on my SSN from '83-'88. No MREs back then and no Spam. Dehydrated shrimp, stale saltines, peanut butter, and whatever ravioli in a #10 can that was loaded three years previously. Oh, we didn't have pallets of food loaded via a crane. We lined-up from the pier to the boat and hand-loaded the stores. Many times a box of Pringles made a detour to the Engineroom... When there was a lull in the loading, pears or apples would be eaten in-line and the cores would be thrown at the deck gang painting the boat! The worst one was in La Madd, Italy during a horizontal rainstorm!!!! Ahhhh, Good Times...
Biggest question I've always had about submarines was when they cook while under water what they do with all the smoke ?
they have air hoods like any kitchen would to collect the smoke from the flat top or the deep fryers, as well as very complicated air filters everywhere on the submarine that continuously filter the air. I imagine they also try to just not burn stuff in the first place so there is minimal smoke of any kind coming off.
There’s specialized equipment on board to neutralize harmful gasses
Never saw gas stove like you showed on a sub. Been on Diesels and a nuke, all electric and when fresh runs out, canned or instant potatoes and of course, coffee and bug juice.
Me either, brother. Gas stoves on a boat? Really? I served on the USS James Madison back in the 70s. Made 8 patrols out of the Loch.
@@petehayes8779 Fast Boat sailor in the '80s. Went there once during a Northern Run. Didn't spend much time there, though. "I'll see you on the Dark Side of Danoon." Pink McFloyd?
Special dietary requirements for crew with heart disease of diabetes? I would be very surprised if a diabetic or heart disease patient would qualify for sub duty. (7:40)
I was thinking the same thing
You can be a marathon runner with low body fat and be diabetic. Genetics.
I would be surprised if the darker and darkest tints are allowed. You know, Homey don't play that game. And they better not be gay.
They are. Navy would get sued into oblivion if they didn't
I was once chatting with an ex-WWII submarine cook and he said the most difficult part of the job was doing it silently.
I,v never been a navy squid,but,that chow looks really edible
There is Culinary Specialists.. they are not called Cooks..there rating or m o s is designated as C S.
The Mess Hall on a Sub..is called " Mess Decks" ..not mess hall.
That's what they call it on all Naval Vessels, not just subs.
When I served on a boomer and an SSN in the 70s, it was the crew's dinette.
NEVER PISS THE COOK OFF .. GUYS DI A TOTTALY AWSOME JOB
these are the biggest gallies i've ever seen on a submarine. they should of titled this the challenges of cooking on shore duty and an aircraft carrier
The gallies on subs are very small. A lot of the pictures were not on subs.
Cooking in a normal kitchen is hell. Cooking in a nuclear sub kitchen is tartarus.
Life in all Submarines actually are quite risky and dangerous. If anything happens, sank and dropped below the sea deep, you're getting drowned slowly and died slowly. 😒
Once the sub gets past crush depth, the pressure of the in rushing water is so great; you’re dead before your brain reacts to let you know you’re dead.
Did you come up with that all by yourself.
Does Everybody remember the Episode of the Simpsons where Homer Joins the Navy and ends up being Captain after accidently firing its Captain out of a torpedo tube? his excuse was Its my 1st Day
This give the salty old guy a flash back
God bless my shipmates.
This video was pieced together. There are scenes of Marines cooking and of a gas stove, of which subs do not have. The kitchens are all electric. This distracts from the theme of the video.
Can you make a video about cooking inside of Russian, French, British (and so on) submarines?
Right. They are going to board a Russian vessel to film what they cook and eat? Maybe a Chinese vessel too? These are our potential enemies.
subs deserve the best food
They’ll usually serve a special meal when they extend your 80 day mission by another 30 days 😂 unless of course you ran out of food then it’s just rice with a sprinkle of ground beef
This was written by a high school student who forgot to study 3 days before it was due
isn't gas an open flame?
Some of your video is not from a submarine.
Some of the shots are from the Royal Navy.
Good video. Small caveat to the fresh produce though. They do have fresh produce....it just gets used up first and quicker
No they don't
correction. There is NO bone in meat on a sub as shown on 3:33
Those potatoes and pancakes look good 🇺🇲🇺🇲👍
why does EVERY VIDEO about food on a submarine use the same footage? most of which WAS NOT filmed on a sub
A lot of this video is not from a submarine galley
Right.
Bingo !!!!
My brother often told me how well he ate while on active naval duty. Being in the Army I thought he was yanking my chain. Now after seeing this, I know better. But, we had some good food in our more tradional grounded Mess Halls.
Hey, Airborne Infantryman here.....I loved the chowhalls in the Army back in garrison- which I was mostly away from, being in the Infantry we lived in the woods, forest, trainings and deployment plus two combat tours. Army food was good especially breakfast. Man, loved the SOS and the fried potatoes.
@@RivetGardener I did a tour with HHC 3 ID. Being Division HQ had its perks. We ate really well in the field because of the two star and all of the brass that came in for meetings and such. We would rotate in an Infantry Company as our Palace Guards and boy they really loved getting our food. Those were the days....
@@RivetGardener i was in the australian army our cooks were known as tucker fuckers, cos they take good food throw it in a pot and turn it into crap.............................
FYI food storage space on a nuclear submarine is limited.
It's been recognised in the military for many, many years that the subject that has the biggest effect on morale is food. Get it right, happy crews.Get it wrong, major problems.
not being around a bunch of assholes plays A WAY BIGGER PART on morale - way more
@@recoswell Ahh, you mean the officers - ! 🤣
What has happened to the military???!! as a former veteran we were never given a special diet !!!!??
It's gotten better and sailors are treated better than ever before... Is that an issue?
@@bryancable7764 He just hating. Nothing wrong with that. He is a veteran, he earned it.
Yeah, "Special Diet?!" When we had liver & onions (there were a small group that loved it), they MS (Mess Specialists) group also served hot dogs at the same time. This wasn't a common dinner...
What’s the fuel used for the ovens and ranges?
They are all electric.
The weight gain. Most are significantly overweight. Really at most 1200 cals a day at breakfast and dinner are required. Be like the USMC. Waist like a wasp, shoulder like a locker box. They must be happy but not get fat. No one should have more than a 30-inch waist, and women 28-inch waist. We got weight tested constantly in the USMC. The tape. We may have weighed more, but it was from muscle and very low body fat.. At most 5%. I was on a sub-two times and a carrier 3 times. I ate little and exercised to the max. Water is plentiful. People have to do this their whole life until their last breath. Limited calories, no big breakfast/lunch/and dinner, run 5K or more a day, skip rope, and more. Could you take a look at a Marine DI? Not an ounce of fat on him. None. Size 30 waist and broad shoulders. Our soldiers and airforce should be held to the same standards. A person gets used to it. Unless pregnant, there is no excuse to weigh more than your high school or boot/OCS weight. No, you are not big-boned. No, your thyroid isn't a problem. It is what and how much you eat. Your belly must be tight. Man boobs are totally unacceptable and disgusting. You must do this daily, And practice martial arts to release stress. Our captain said if you come back with weight gained, you will lift weights and run for two weeks without shore leave. We were sure to meet the tape test. It's amazing what they do in a kitchen smaller than the one I have in my home. Mine is 1500 sq feet. They have less. Amazing that they can prepare that many meals a day. Never eat fried anything, soft drinks, nachos, chicken wings, or go to any restaurant. Make it yourself. The doc told me my LDL was too LOW. I said I won't gain weight or eat fatty foods, which was on his list of no-nos. He said, "Just drink two extra glasses of whole milk weekly." That worked at the next test I go for every three months to get checked out.
You sound like a miserable person and possibly homosexual.
"The galley is a small kitchen located on the submarine" Really it's on the submarine?
Need to really get your story right. you say open-flame cooktops aren't allowed, but you show one at 1:53 min.
“The galley is on the submarine”. So things haven’t changed since I was in.
Includes
The US Navy, US Marines, US Specialty forces are the best well trained etc.. in the world.
Cooks in Army all branches do most important jobs, physical jobs 24/7/365....if you think it is easy and go a head. Thanks
Trying to get ads😂🤤🤤😂
Gas appliances ?? On a sub ?
-An army marches on its stomach Napoleon Bonaparte
You did mention kosher, how about halal, is that also cated for?
Where does the smoke go.?
Great content but terrible repetitive narration. Don't u guys watch & edit these vids before u post them?
Totally coooooool,awesome.😅😅😅😅😅
THATS WHY THEY NEVER SURFACE. THE FOOD IS TO AWSOME..
Explain how there's no open flame but they have gas stoves?
Sir thats a dirty Lie none of the Stoves ever Farted
Thank you for pronouncing that Sub mareeners!!!!!
You showed a gas top stove and then say "no open flames"
The only thing they need to improve now is the toilets, then everything would be good morale.
if you can read and use a can opener - BINgo you're a navy "chef"
Incorrect at 5:20. They do carry fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and other things, they just use them up first
this video is stolen from the daily aviation video
Except they don't. That would be impractical and detrimental to the entire point of the ship and does not happen
@@JS-wp4gs Do a tiny bit of checking and you'll see you're completely wrong. From wooden sailing vessels to nuclear submarines, every long-range ship uses the perishable stuff first (that's why it's called 'perishable'!) and the less perishable stuff last. It's both practical by making supplies last longer, and necessary if the ship is on a long deployment without a port of call.
interesting
No way is gas used on a sub 😳
Thats true have u ever heard a Summarine Fart? imagine the oder after that
I got a feeling anyone with a food allergy is sent to the army for them to deal with