Food for the crew is the bulkiest commodity in a submarine and becomes the limiting factor for patrol duration. Fresh food lasts about two weeks, then it is canned, dried, and frozen food for the rest of the patrol.
In all, the submarine will typically carry about 15,000 pounds of food, or about 110 pounds per sailor per patrol.
Deployments on a submarine can vary in length, depending on the type of submarine. Overall assignments last three years. On a ballistic missile sub, two full crews rotate shifts to allow the vessel to remain at sea as often as possible. Each crew may serve for about 60 to 80 days before resurfacing and rotating out.
Submarines typically serve 4 meals per day at sea - breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight rations (or midrats).
How long is a day on a submarine? A submarine “day” lasts 18 hours and is split into three six-hour shifts. So a submariner may work for six hours and train, maintain equipment or sleep for 12 hours.
There is also the etiquette of shower time -- three to five minutes being what these sailors constitute as being considerate of others since it is all about the "water run time" and the cycling out of dirty water for clean water these sailors must do.
Submarines are sometimes equipped with on-board devices that can connect to the internet with higher data rates, including via satellite, but these can only be used when submarines rise to the surface.
The showers on a submarine are set up much like the ones in your home, well kind of. They have hot and cold water access with a recirculation pump so that the water stays hot so that you can use it quickly and efficiently by minimising water usage. Reducing water usage is a constant major driver for submariners.
Aboard fast-attack submarines, two bathrooms - each with four toilets and two urinals - serve 100 crew members. Crew chiefs and officers use another three baths. Designating one bath for a small number of women could disadvantage scores of men, while making them unisex raises other problems.
There is a small gym onboard for exercise and alcohol is permitted, in limited quantities, although most abstain.
Submarine Duty Incentive pay is a monthly taxable pay for sailors attached to submarine staffs. They can get Submarine Duty Incentive Pay: While attached to a submarine crew; While serving as an operator or crewmember of an operational submersible (including an undersea exploration or research vehicle);
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.
Total Pay Estimate & Range
The estimated base pay is $110,912 per year.
James Lind is remembered as the man who helped to conquer a killer disease. His reported experiment on board a naval ship in 1747 showed that oranges and lemons were a cure for scurvy.
When a Navy submarine first deploys to sea, it is stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. A week in, the lettuce in the salad bar turns translucent, the tomatoes become mushier, and thawed fruit is common. Eventually, canned sauces and beans and dehydrated potatoes replace all fresh produce.
Any time the submarine sends a signal, it identifies its position, and loses the secrecy that is at the core of the crew's mission. There is only one washer and dryer on board, so clean clothes are a luxury. But submarines are famous for their good food, always topped off with a desert or two, including ice cream.
Ectopic pregnancies, which are not statistically rare, would create additional emergencies requiring immediate, extremely hazardous, evacuations, sometimes in midocean. Britain, Canada and the U.S. Navy do not put women on submarines primarily because of these irresolvable health risks and operational complications.
The human eye is less sensitive to longer wavelengths, so red light is chosen to preserve the night vision of the crew while still allowing them to still see their instrument panels.
The wardroom, with one table, is not much roomier. Sleeping quarters, which sailors will call home for months at a time, are even tighter. Bunks measure 74 inches by 25 inches, with 18 inches overhead — about as roomy as a refrigerator.
In the enclosed atmosphere of the submarine, these pollutants can build up and pose a health risk. Therefore, aerosol cans (such as hair spray, shave cream, spray deodorant) are not authorized to be brought on board.
Submariners spend prolonged periods submerged without sunlight exposure and may benefit from vitamin D supplementation to maintain vitamin D status.
Submariners even wear tennis shoes when underway to silence their footsteps! To increase stealth, submariners take advantage of how sound waves act in ocean water. The speed of sound in seawater is greatly determined by temperature, pressure, and salinity.
At a depth of 750 metres, a Blue Planet II submarine was shoved by some enormous sixgill sharks. The team were tracking a dead sperm whale that had floated onto the Atlantic Ocean seabed.
In conventional submarines, the renewal of the air occurs with the use of the snorkel or when it is in the sea surface. The cooling machinery consists of two identical plants, one either side of the ship's center line, working in conjunction with the direct-expansion coolers in the diverse air conditioning units.
The fearless cookie-cutters have even disabled the most dangerous ocean creature of all—the nuclear submarine. They attacked exposed soft areas including electrical cables and rubber sonar domes.