During the Second World War, Germany produced several types of submarines, but the two that were mass-produced were the Type VII and Type IX. The smaller of the two was the Type VII and it is the focus of this discussion, although the same general food service arrangements were also to be found in the Type IX.

American veteran submariners who served in Fleet Type boats, GUPPIES or nuclear powered boats may find it difficult to imagine the absence of a crew's mess. The Type VII submarine had a galley which was considerably smaller than that found in a Fleet Type submarine of the same era. It was located aft of the petty officers' berthing space and forward of the engine room roughly equivalent to where the crew's head was located in a Fleet Type boat. Here, food was prepared in the simplest of form for about 45 crew members. The normal diet consisted of a rich, thick stew called, "Eintopf". This could be carried in a lidded, stainless-steel urn called a "long-boat" to eating locations throughout the submarine.

The Type VII submarine had separate berthing for crew members according to their rank. Petty officers were berthed forward of the galley and aft of the control room. Forward of the latter, the commanding officer had a tiny stateroom on the port side while a combination yeoman's station and sonar station was on the starboard side, opposite to the commanding officer's stateroom. Adjoining the commanding officer's berthing and open to it, was the wardroom which consisted of a small, wooden table and slide-around bench. A non-watertight bulkhead separated the wardroom from the warrant officers' berthing. Below these living spaces was the forward battery well.

The seamen occupied what little space was left around torpedo stowage in the torpedo room. On the port, aft side of the torpedo room was the single crew's head. Bunks were a luxury unknown to the occupants of the torpedo room. These non-rated youngsters slept on the deck, in empty skids and, when possible, in hammocks.

Food was served in these spaces, all of which did triple duty as an action station, place of rest and mess. Eating utensils were not kept in the respective spaces, but were dispensed at the time of serving. To understand the conditions of habitability in a Type VII boat, a quote from Harald Busch's "U-Boats at War" may be in order.

"In the diminutive galley, the cook is preparing the supper. It has been pushed back a few hours tonight, because of the late sailing. When the meal is ready, the duty stewards (mess cooks) will come staggering along the central gangway to fetch the meal for the seamen in the fore-ends and the petty officers abaft the control room, carrying in one hand the can for the coffee or ready-sweetened tea, and in the other the "long-boat", a deep, bucket-shaped container for the food. As the ship lurches in the seas, they will have an awkward time of it on their return trip, propping themselves against a bulkhead here with their elbows, leaning there, backs pressed against some other support, while the men along their route lend willing hands to see that the supper reaches its destination intact. Those that can't manage a job like this - well, it's just too bad, they're not suited to life in a U-boat and before long they'll be posted ashore.

"While the stewards wait at the galley, the mess traps are brought out from the cupboard and the racks - called Fiddles- are secured to the table to prevent the dishes sliding off with the movement of the boat. In the petty officers' mess, too, a hum of voices has started up in anticipation of the meal.

"A hot, grease smeared face pops out of the galley door and before starting to dish out, the cook issues a preparatory warning, "Fried eggs, three each!" Then he starts counting them out into the containers. After the eggs, come the gherkins, then the steward from the seamen's' mess, "The Emissary of the People", goes staggering forward again, through the throng in the petty officer's mess, through the control room, through another hoop, past the Commander, who sits reading on his bunk, through the ward room and the warrant officers' mess and so to the seamen's mess close to the bow.

"For the petty officers, arrangements are more genteel. They have their eggs served straight onto their eating boards, the gherkins are put on a separate plate, the butter in a metal dish, and they are issued thick slices of bacon and sausage, as well. These is tea, with or without lemon juice, and bread is slung in hammocks above the mess table where everyone can help himself.

". . . The men in the seamen's mess usually eat with their bare hands, simply lifting the eggs out of the long-boat and stuffing them down, or else eating them without knife or folk on a piece of bread. As to washing their hands afterward - "What?" they'd say. "In the middle of eating your supper? Far too much trouble. Once a day is enough, in that oil-filmed water you get from the tank."

"The German submarine service had a rate of cook, but there was only one such person to each U-boat. Most of the cooking was done by stokers who performed mess duty work much as did in the American submarine service.

This description stands in stark contrast to the Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine cuisine which is prepared by a rate of Culinary Specialist, served cafeteria style in the crew's mess.