Question about food storage on a submarine


 
Grant Cunningham

Grant Cunningham

TVWBB Pro
An odd topic, I know, but does anyone have experience or knowledge about this?

I know that on board a submarine, the cooks store foodstuffs all over the boat. Where there's an empty space, there's something edible (or the components of something edible) shoved into it.

My question is: how do they keep track of what they have, where it is, and how much is left? Do they use a spreadsheet, paper checklists, or ???

As my wife is cleaning out and rearranging the freezer for the umpteenth time, it occurs to me that maybe she could adopt whatever they do to keep things straight.

Inquiring minds, and all that.
 
No idea about submarines, but our freezer (luckily) holds milk crates almost perfectly stacked and aligned...so I have six milk crates, and I keep certain things in each. I can pull out three crates to easily get to all the three underneath, or just pull out one, and slide the other top ones side to side to get to a single one underneath...

Like that game where you move the sliding squares around...
 
Grant Cunningham said:
An odd topic, I know, but does anyone have experience or knowledge about this?

I know that on board a submarine, the cooks store foodstuffs all over the boat. Where there's an empty space, there's something edible (or the components of something edible) shoved into it.

My question is: how do they keep track of what they have, where it is, and how much is left? Do they use a spreadsheet, paper checklists, or ???

As my wife is cleaning out and rearranging the freezer for the umpteenth time, it occurs to me that maybe she could adopt whatever they do to keep things straight.

Inquiring minds, and all that.
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this will answer many questions you might have, including but not limited to food stores:
 
I like the milk crate “Puzzle” concept Grant! But, a brisket won’t fit, nor a lovely whitefish fillet. I’ve decided I need to get one more cooler (that will make an even dozen, I think) because when on vacation I realized I didn’t have room for a fillet to lay flat for transport!
Sorry, tangent!
 
Grant Cunningham said:
Actually, his onboard video is what prompted my question. Unfortunately he doesn't touch on exactly how they keep track of it all, but shows how it's packed everywhere.
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hahahahaahah.. they do keep track by using a pre-planned rotating menu which drives how much they order of which products and amounts used to prep each meal. they know exactly what is in storage, being used and what has been consumed so that they can order ahead for next port of call restocking. various ports have various products available in those ports (think Europe as being different than USA for product availability). and while storage looks odd to non-submariners, they know where and what is stored on the boat. everything is 100% accounted for at all times. it has to be. there's almost no margin for error.

btw, that was a great series. my info comes from navy vet friends. i do not have first hand knowledge.
 
Brett-EDH said:
hahahahaahah.. they do keep track by using a pre-planned rotating menu which drives how much they order of which products and amounts used to prep each meal. they know exactly what is in storage, being used and what has been consumed so that they can order ahead for next port of call restocking. various ports have various products available in those ports (think Europe as being different than USA for product availability). and while storage looks odd to non-submariners, they know where and what is stored on the boat. everything is 100% accounted for at all times. it has to be. there's almost no margin for error.

btw, that was a great series. my info comes from navy vet friends. i do not have first hand knowledge.
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Yeah, I got all that, but how do they know where the stuff is? For instance, they know they should have 7 cans of peaches left, but how do they know exactly where they all are if they're not stored together? What is the mechanism?

(My cousin was a sub commander; he says "I dunno how they do it, they just do".)
 
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Grant Cunningham said:
Yeah, I got all that, but how do they know where the stuff is? For instance, they know they should have 7 cans of peaches left, but how do they know exactly where they all are if they're not stored together? What is the mechanism?

(My cousin was a sub commander; he says "I dunno how they do it, they just do".)
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your cuz is correct. it's someone's job to know where it all is. most of the #10 cans are stored in/on a can rack so they don't roll around or get lost. but when the boat is restocked, stuff goes anywhere and everywhere. organized chaos.
 
There is a reason that is referred to as “Ships stores” someone has to account for it all. That would be an accountant who would know exactly where everything is. Just a theory.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
I like the milk crate “Puzzle” concept Grant! But, a brisket won’t fit, nor a lovely whitefish fillet. I’ve decided I need to get one more cooler (that will make an even dozen, I think) because when on vacation I realized I didn’t have room for a fillet to lay flat for transport!
Sorry, tangent!
Click to expand...
I've got a special section by motor area for the oddball stuff - 20lb turkeys, brisket (though I rarely freeze them - I just buy and cook), and long, skinny packages fit between the wall of the freezer and the basket...all totally civilized for crazy OCD A brain like mine!
 
My uncle was in the "silent service" on a Guppy class in WWII. Oddly he was a cook and also took care of the ship "stores". I wish he was with us still to ask. FWIW the Guppy class IIRC was the smallest class sub from WWII (but I might be wrong). I do recall him telling me what a challenge it was to maintain edible product on his ship
 
I don’t have a sub background and I’ve been retired for 32 years. When computers were installed in Navy ships one element of the data stored was managed by the Supply Dept. An aircraft carrier has many storage areas and inventory is maintained on the computer. I’m sure subs use a similar system.
 
Lew Newby said:
I don’t have a sub background and I’ve been retired for 32 years. When computers were installed in Navy ships one element of the data stored was managed by the Supply Dept. An aircraft carrier has many storage areas and inventory is maintained on the computer. I’m sure subs use a similar system.
Click to expand...
That's pretty much what I thought!
 
I've got a special section by motor area for the oddball stuff - 20lb turkeys, brisket (though I rarely freeze them - I just buy and cook), and long, skinny packages fit between the wall of the freezer and the basket...all totally civilized for crazy OCD A brain like mine!

My chest freezer only came with one basket that slides back/forth across the top. The game changer was when I got two additional baskets that also fit across the top.

So I now have three baskets suspended across the whole top. Lift one of those out to access the one big area underneath for turkeys, rib slabs, etc. I should have thought of that idea years ago.
 
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