Hygiene leadership prevented disease aboard U-boats

Many U-boat commanders left washing to individual choice or relied on an occasional rainstorm to clean the crew. Others allowed free-flooding deck spaces to serve as baths when conditions permitted. The captain of U-68 had a seawater shower built on deck, with officers checking men off a list and sending them up two at a time. He later claimed that his patrols had seen no disease caused by dirt or infection, although the men disliked the soap he praised. The comparison reaches back to the age of sail, when French and Spanish officers expressed surprise at the cleanliness of Royal Navy ships spending long periods at sea. Regular cleaning offered a practical way to prevent illness and preserve the crew's ability to work.