What are the dimensions of a bunk on a current US Navy Submarine?

Question

I am wondering the amount of space alotted for sleep and personal storage area on a subamarine. Pictures would be helpful as well as H*L*W dimensions. What about footlocker space? Or mattress thickness?

Enlisted mens quarters only not officers.

Thanks

Answer 1

It depends upon the submarine...

and in some submarines you don't get a bunk to yourself, you have to "hot-rack" which means that while you are working someone else is sleeping in your bunk.. so you may not have very much personal space at all.

Answer 2

Don't know the dimensions, but the three pics at the following link were taken in October 2006 on my son's boat. It's a Los Angeles Fast Attack, but I won't say which one.

--The first pic is him standing beside a stack of racks. If you'll notice, there are half packed seabags and other things stacked on them. They were in port at this time so not everything is stowed away. Oh, and if the privacy curtains look "funny," it's because I've removed the markings that might identify the boat.

-- The second pic is the same set of racks, but he's cleared everything off so we could get a better look. Pretty, huh? ha! The "pan" under the mattress is partially open. It's divided into three compartments because as many as three Sailors may be using one pan. You don't always get your own rack and space. A whole lot of sharing goes on. On his boat, they rarely have to actually hot-rack (this involves three Sailors sharing the same rack so the rack doesn't have time to cool off between rotations.) They do more cold-racking. (you only have to share with one other Sailor so at least it has time to cool off before the next guy gets in.)

-- The third pic is what our son calls "the suite". ha! Don't you just love all the wires? This is a rack in the torpedo room. It's also where he's sleeping this very night! He says he actually sometimes prefers it though because the mattresses are better because they haven't gotten the wear that the others have. He also swears the boat still has the same mattresses it had when it was commissioned 20 years ago! ha!

Aaaaah, the life of a Submariner!!


http://momsnavy.photos.military.com/gallery/2346609/1/122822922

Answer 3

I have only visited a couple of subs, but do remember that they are very small.
I was on surface ships and the bunk sizes ranged from small to not being able to turn over. My first ship in 1980, I slept on a canvas bed and had to tighten the ropes on the bed every week. After a month on that we got regular beds that were about 6" high by 3' wide and 6.5' long we also got a standup locker to hang our uniforms in and store whatever else we could pile in there. You learn very quickly to fold clothes or roll them so you can fit more in your locker. We didn't have footlockers. The thickness of the mattress was about 2 inches thick and sometimes it felt like you didn't even have a mattress, but you were so tired most of the time that you didn't care.
Anyway, here is some info that I found online. Hope it helps. Sub duty is great duty and the education that you get is second to none. It's not for everybody, but the people that go into sub duty swear that there is no better duty in the world.

On U.S. Navy submarines, living quarters are called "berthing areas" that provide no more than 15 square feet of space per man for sleep and personal belongings. On most submarines, each crewman's bed (called a bunk, berth or rack) has a reading light, a ventilation duct, an earphone jack for the ship's audio entertainment system, and a curtain to provide a small (but welcome) measure of privacy. The crewmen store their clothing and personal belongings in a sturdy pan-like locker beneath their mattress. When a U.S. Navy submarine is at sea, lights in the berthing areas are normally dimmed. About one third of the crew is asleep at a time because submarines operate 24 hours a day. The crew works in shifts, normally six hours on, 12 hours off. Only the captain and executive officer of the submarine have private rooms, called staterooms, in which to work and sleep. Sometimes, there are more people onboard than there are regular bunks. When this happens, a few of the crewmen have to sleep in makeshift bunks in the torpedo room. These temporary bunks are fitted on storage racks where torpedoes and missiles are normally kept. Space is always very limited on submarines, and there are very few large or open spaces where people can make a bed.

Answer 4

Nicholaus B. You sub bunk pics are from a WW2 Sub museum. not Current standards at all.

This Photo is from a Coast Guard Cutter but the racks are pretty much the same.
http://www.uscg.mil/d9/grudet/units/bbay/BBCrewBerthing.jpg

Note the small flap on the side of the top bunk. Both bunks have it but you can see it best on the top one. you lift this up and the whole bunk lifts up and you can store personal items in the tray underneath. it is about 6 inches deep and the size of the whole bunk in area.
Also if you look just beyond the bunks you can see a stand up locker (near the shoes).

For the most part each person will have one coffin locker (the locker inside the bunk) and one stand up locker.
Usually one or two bunks will not have a coffin locker or there may be one stand up locker short for all bunks. these will usually be given to junior enlisted.

The only Difference for a sub is that space is even more limited. Very few stand ups and as someone else mention, junior enlisted may have to "hotrack" share same bunk with someone on an opposite watch. and you will have to share coffin locker space.
http://www.usspreble.org/pictures/p1999_28.jpg
This picture is from a decommed ship. it shows a typical three tier bunk. the top bunk is missing. you can see the coffin lockers of the middle and bottom bunk. all matresses and privacy screens are missing.
http://habitability.net/photos/gallery/index.htm
OK this is perfect. none are actually from a sub but they are the same. You can see the coffin lockers, stand ups, privacy screens (Blue). each bunk also has a small personal light and an EBA (Emergency Breathing Apparatus) locker. Also note the straps to keep you from being pitched out of your rack and to the deck in heavy weather.

Answer 5

As a submariner on both a Fast Attack Sub and a Trident I can tell you exactly what they are. They are 6'4" long and 3' deep and are about 2' from your rack to the guy above you depending what shape your mattress is, and whether or not you have a top rack or not. Newer mattresses are about 4 inches but remember they sit in a tray, so normally only about an inch sticks out. but if you have a jacked up one it can be like 2.5" or so. the foot locker is about 12"x4"x12".. kinda of guessing on that, but about right. The racks are exactly the same on a fast boat and trident. But a trident has alot more storage because of an extra locker/drawer that you get.

Answer 6

As a ex-submariner, I've spent plenty of nights in one. I was on a Los Angeles class submarine, however I have toured the Ballistic subs and they are pretty much the same.

The average rack is 6'x2.5'. The matress is low-grade foam which is about 4-5" thick, depending on if its been compressed in its use. (I would suggest finding a small camping materess to cushion it.) You have a rack pan, which is storage for your clothes and anything else you would want to bring. Its basically the bunk dimension with a 8" depth.

As you gain experience on the sub, you find other storage compartments for yourself that are not really officially designated, if you catch my drift.

The officers have the same rack size but are given a 4'x6' room to share with two other officers. In the office, there is one desk and three small lockers to place uniforms, etc.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

The storage area is the size of the regulation mattress. The regulation mattress is on top. You have about 12" -16" above to the next bunk. There are no hanging closets. Sometimes they are "hot". Which means when you aren't sleeping in it, someone else is assigned to sleep in it so yousleep when you are assigned. Gotta be tough.

Answer 8

Submarine Bed

Answer 9

You have about 12" -16" above to the next bunk.

Answer 10

Pictures of some sub bunks
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2054598480048699643zXHkHV
http://www.ericjamesstone.com/gallery2/v/hawaii2005/CIMG0291.JPG.html
http://community.webshots.com/album/408403703oRjFQc