Q&A · 1:32:59-1:33:50

Food and living conditions in British submarines

British submariners relied heavily on canned food and endured hot, humid, cramped, and chemically demanding conditions.

Question

What did Royal Navy submariners eat, and what were their living conditions during the world wars?

Short answer

They ate much canned meat and vegetables. Conditions were fairly decent for submarines of the time, although still hot, humid, and smelly.

Notes

British submariners ate much canned meat and vegetables. Living conditions were reasonably good by the submarine standards of the period, but the boats were still smelly, hot, and humid. The heat explains photographs of men working shirtless or in shorts. Men handling chemicals sometimes needed full overalls despite the same uncomfortable conditions.