I served on submarines during the Cold War period 1978-2000. We enjoyed great cooks and the night baker. Our watches were 6 on 12 off. Officer stood 6 on 18 off. Sometimes the enlisted sailors also stood 6 on 18 off but most didn’t like it made the time drag on while 6/12 went faster. We had steak and lobster. Pizza made by the officers to feed the crew. Liberty in Scotland and Rota Spain. On SSBN’s on fast boats SSN’s we had long times at sea months and months. Those were good time I am in my 60’s now and missing my boat days. I retired from the Navy and still miss it
I’m ex Royal Air Force but a few years ago I was on a training course with an ex USN submariner, he had fond memories of Liberty in Scotland. It might have been cold and raining at times however the atmosphere in the pubs and bars made up for the climate.
@@jonnieunix I have been in a British pub just twice but they were really cosy, so no surprise that they say there are a lot of alcoholics over there - considering the weather I have no problem with that ...
I salute the cooks and bakers who keep the force fed... they work hard; REAL hard! I found that out during an exercise I was "killed" on the flightline and was sent to the dining facility to assist the food specialist and I was educated on how difficult their jobs are.
It took being on a COP in Iraq to really see the work that the Army cooks put in. Those couple of guys really took the food that the Army gave them and did their own thing with it to make chow time something to look forward to.
One of the things we had to do in Army Basic was at least once pull "KP duty." If you ever thought the cooks had it easy, one shift of that taught you how much work they put in.
My dad served on Finback's last patrol in 1945. He said that "Johnson the Crazy Baker from Nova Scotia" smoked cigars while baking. He set a cigar right about in the place where Mr. Farace put the pack of Chesterfields. Later he couldn't find the cigar. He found it when he sliced a loaf of bread open.
Brings back memories! I was a submarine sailor during the cold war in the 1970’s. There was a lot that STUNK on board, including sanitary tanks, diesel fuel and amine (used for atmosphere control,) but you could always look forward to the smell of bread and stickybuns during the midwatch.
I visited the COD as a kid. I'd like to go through her now, but as a 70 year old who probably couldn't get my bulk through the hatch, these videos are a great substitute.
US Submariner (Ret) here. The night baker is a (small) God. We had one guy, Mark H., who was insanely good. He would - conditions permitting - get permission to realign the ventilation to take a suction on the galley, and redistribute through the entire boat. Let me tell you, waking up to the morning watch, the scent of fresh baked bread in the air? Wonderful! Then there was Ray A. and his infamous "Slant Cake" - we were in harbor, alongside the pier, and the harbor was *shallow* - when the tide went out, we'd ground, and roll just a bit. Well, Ray was going to bake a sheet cake, and we had about a five degree list on. Ray forgot to chock up the pan to compensate for the list. The result? One side was a quarter inch thick and baked as hard as a cracker. The other side was about three inches thick and soggy. 😨 He then made up the variation with a reciprocal layer of icing. 😨😨 We still bust his chops about that, to this day. Cooks are kings, but a good baker? *That* is a treasure beyond price!
Fresh bread was one of the things that we all loved on a super carrier, and I imagine every ship in the Navy. Our bakery could turn out an awful lot of really great treats that were greatly welcomed. Yes, we all know that the submarine force provided the best food. Those of us in the surface forces did not envy them. They deserved it. We knew it when the fresh foods ran out. Eggs, milk, bacon, etc. When we went to sea we had about 7 days of fresh food. We all loved doing a work party when we unrepped from an AFS (refrigerated stores ship for those who don't know the designation) because we knew we were going to have fresh food the next morning. (Unreps usually occurred about 0100 when we were on the line.) When Ranger returned from her 1968-'69 deployment, all of us who got liberty went to the commissary and totally cleaned out the produce and pretty much all of the dairy. I was eating a head of ice berg lettuce like an apple, as were others. Some were guzzling milk by the quart. (No cardboard containers in those days.) This was totally normal when ships returned from those long deployments.
Something about fresh bread unlocks something in your brain. My mom used to do it 3-4 times a year but my fondest memories was going to school in the 90’s and smelling it from the cafeteria. Would make your mouth water and stomach grumble.
@@southcoastdub My mother would always make an extra loaf because she knew that all of us would slice extra thick slices, slather a lot of butter on them and eat them still hot. She taught me to make bread from scratch. I haven't made any in a while. I think it's time I did so. ❤❤🍞🍞
Served in the Bake shop for awhile onboard LSD-36 1970-74... My dad was a WWII submariner and told a story about his Mac & Cheese crawling off his plate. Yum
Great description of the galley operation and watch rotation. Will never forget the smell of bread baking at 02:00 wafting through the boat. In four more hours the midwatch will be relieved, and then its down to the galley for breakfast a cup of coffee and hit the rack for 6 hours. That was during 1981 to 1985. Similar galley, just larger and more electrical power available.
Kudos to George and all of the Mess Specialists ( Culinary Specialists now) who have served on boats. Cool to hear stories of this important job working in the galley. Our MS crew all had distinct personalities and worked their butts off to keep us fed. Excellent video. Thanks!
The World War II rating was ship's cook. It became commissaryman in 1948. Mess management specialist existed from 1975 to 2003, when the rating was re-titled culinary specialist.
I was a EO Seabee and was assigned as the USS Taigrones Captain when they pulled into Bermuda in the 70's. I had some of my best meals on that WW2 Diesel Boat. My salute to the Cooks. They were great!
I used to work with the Hobart A120 mixer. It looks just like the one you have and was manufactured in 1952. It works as good today as it did back then and will probably out live me! If you know how to use a screwdriver, and a grease gun it will outlive all of us.
Looks like somebody took the speed selector switch off this one and just replaced it with a common house light switch. Tracking down an original part might be a bit of a tough cookie, but that's the life of vintage collectors and museums.
I love hearing all the little differences between the Electric Boat and Government yard boats, it’s interesting how placing the range one side or the other made differences in crew life to a degree.
Neato. Somewhere I have a recipe for chili con carne from a ww2 sub. ("Slaveship Chili". Submariner humor.) Truly astonishingly dense. You can really tell it was meant to feed a few dozen working young men. A single cup is a pretty solid serving. A whole bowl and I need a nap. A lot of meat, a ton of bacon, and a block of cheese in the recipe. Not cheese as a garnish, a ton of cheese actually in the chilli. A real belly bomb. Bloody delicious too.
I have been watching Cod videos for a couple months now. Never commented until now and just wanted to say all these videos are entertaining and informative. Thank you for these videos.
Growing up in California in the 60's there were many Army/Navy surplus stores. I remember thousands of the 4 loaf bread pans and navy coffee cups. Every surplus store had a ton of them
I remember my dad always referring to square eggs from his time spent in the Army. It wasn't until he was long retired and I was doing my own stint in the Navy of course that I realised why they were called square eggs was because powdered eggs came in a box!
My grandad was a navy baker aboard ships in the pacific but also for the seabee units once they went ashore. He, like George, was a commercial baker for Stop and Shop in Cambridge Mass before and after the war. He did say his skills would get him out of trouble more than once. The person who baked all the bread and cookies was a prized crew member...
Fascinating! I am a retired Flight Attendant and I learned to work in galleys from the MD-80, 737 to the 767. I actually loved working in a galley but one thing I learned is you have to be organized for things to run smoothly. I actually have five galley carts in my house/kitchen and all the service China . Those guys that served in subs were and are very specialized men as that’s a tuff training to pass …. God Bless them all
An army cannot move without food, and the fact that the submariners were given some of the best food in the military (Except that case of "mis-marked" fry cut/stew beef that Tang got) showed just how the crew's dangers and trials were understood and respected by the brass, and especially by an old submariner like Adm. Lockwood. With nuclear power came ceaseless time underwater and the food and crew care became more than just a luxury; It became essential for mental survival.
We didn't get "the best" food - We drew from the exact same supply stream as anyone else. What we had were cooks who learned to get the absolute *best* from what they had. Cooks in the submarine fleet have a towering tradition to live up to, and they did. Nothing like a challenge and a charge to motivate maximum skill growth.
My maternal Grandfather Elmer Gerdeman was USN enlisted in WW2. I remember him talking about how whenever his LST pulled into Pearl Harbor he would see which submarines were in port. If he had a friend onboard of one of them, he would meet up with them so he could eat on their sub, as enlisted men could eat there. "They had, by far, the best chow in the Navy!" he always said! He's a big reason I was commissioned in the USN 50 years later!
@@wolfrickthedesigner4748 The decision to establish United States Navy (USN) submarine bases and support facilities in Australia during World War II followed a series of victories by the Imperial Japanese forces that resulted in domination of South East Asia and much of the South-West Pacific. Consequently, the American Asiatic Fleet submarines were forced to evacuate their base at Cavite in the Philippines, and were successively ordered to withdraw to Bataan, Java, Hawaii and Australia. The ports of Fremantle, Western Australia, and Brisbane, Queensland, were selected by the USN as suitable ports to support a major submarine offensive, and facilities were quickly established at both to provide the necessary infrastructure. Brisbane proved highly suitable, with well established port facilities and a dry dock capable of handling most US submarines then in service. It was also out of range of Japanese aircraft based in New Guinea. The first of eleven S Class submarines arrived at New Farm, on the Brisbane River, in company with the tender USS Griffin, on 15 April 1942 under the command of Captain RW Christie, USN. By the end of the month four were on active war patrols. The S boats were soon involved in the Solomon Islands campaign, and one of them, S44 (Lieutenant Commander JR ‘Dinty’ Moore, USN), became the first US submarine to sink a major enemy warship when it torpedoed the Japanese cruiser Kako off Kavieng on 10 August 1942. Moore was subsequently awarded the Navy Cross for this action. In Brisbane a warm rapport was quickly established between its citizens and the visiting US sailors, many of whom were invited into Australian homes. Brisbane was also transformed into a major submarine maintenance facility at which a total of 89 submarines were dry docked for repairs over a three year period. As the war progressed the ageing S Class boats were replaced with the Gato Class submarines, which were equipped with radar, had a greater radius of action, higher speeds and larger payloads of torpedos. In addition to interrupting Japanese sea lines of communication, the US submarines supported Australian coast watchers and Special Forces operating deep behind enemy lines throughout the Pacific. They also rescued numerous Allied airmen who had been shot down, or who had ditched, over the sea. Several famous US submarines were based in Brisbane, including USS Wahoo (Lieutenant Commander DW ‘Mush’ Morton, USN) and USS Growler (Commander HW Gilmore, USN). Gilmore was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honour in recognition of his self-sacrifice during Growler’s fourth wartime patrol, mounted from Brisbane on 1 January 1943. During that patrol Growler was on the surface in the early hours of 7 February when a ship’s shadow was sighted through the darkness in poor visibility. As Growler was preparing to attack what transpired to be the enemy store ship Hayasaki, the ship altered course with the intent of ramming Growler. Although evasive action was taken, Growler struck the Japanese ship head on at 17 knots. Following the impact the enemy opened fire on Growler’s conning tower at point-blank range with heavy machine guns. Two of the submarine’s crew were killed and three wounded, including Lieutenant Commander Gilmore. Two wounded lookouts were helped below but Gilmore remained at his post ordering his Executive Officer to ‘take her down’. Growler was severely damaged, and following a brief depth charge attack she surfaced to find the sea empty with no sign of the enemy or Lieutenant Commander Gilmore. Eighteen feet of Growler’s bow was bent at right angles to port, and her conning tower was full of holes from machine gun fire. In spite of this damage the crew made temporary repairs, and after a slow ten day transit back to Australia she entered Morton Bay to undergo extensive repairs in Brisbane. By the war’s end patrols under Brisbane’s submarine command resulted in the sinking of 117 enemy ships, totalling 515,000 tons. This number included three heavy and two light Japanese cruisers. Seven of the Brisbane based submarines were lost. Vice Admiral Sir John Collins, KBE, CB, RAN acknowledged the contribution of the US submarine campaign to overall victory in the Pacific when he wrote “[A] big factor, at the time little known, was the US submarine campaign in the Pacific which practically annihilated the once flourishing Japanese merchant marine. Great credit is due to the American submariners for their success in a difficult task.” A heritage walk has been established in Brisbane commemorating the service of Australian and US submariners and more information concerning this may be found on the following web page. This summary has been distilled from US Subs Down Under: Brisbane 1942-1945. David Jones & Peter Nunan, Annapolis, MD, US Naval Institute Press, 2005. ISBN 1-59114-644-5.
Hearing from a vet who served on this sub in WW2 sounds like my experience with taking a WW2 Naval decommissioned ship tour/ scout overnight in Fall River, Ma. (Battleship Cove) My youngest son (almost 40) was a boy scout and many years they did a visit and an overnight stay. What was great was the USS Massachusetts had vets who served on her still alive and would do live talks (after tours were over) at night , just for the scouts. Like my Dad and Father in Law, there aren't many WW2 vets alive any longer. My father in law (Navy) made his last visit when he was in his young 80's, he still did great going up and down those stairwells, our last visit was with nephews (21 and 23 today) everyone always loved the experience. (Me, I am a Cold War/no combat vet 1976-1982 USAF)
Former Mess Management Specialist here, did my time in the EDF at NAS Whidbey Island and aboard USS Ranger. The bakery aboard Ranger was impressive. The room was dominated by a massive Hobart mixer. No, I don't know the model number.
The Hobart model number corresponding to the bowl capacity. Our #120 is a 12 quart. Big ships can have Model 400 or 600 mixers.... a small guy can bathe in the bowls.
@@paulfarace9595 I could have bathed in the bowl and I am 6'3". I worked in the bakery for a while...as I was air wing I got shoved wherever a body was needed when we deployed...and my biggest take away from that was that I seemed to be perpetually cleaning dough from my boondockers. But it was a fun place to work. Small army of cooks and mess cranks baking all the bready goodness for 5000 people daily.
Much love to the Mess Specialists from my time (1987-99 and 2001-05) - I was an HSL Aircrewman, so most of my time was flying off Frigates & Destroyers, with the last 6 years spent aboard carriers. The BEST chow was USS Rueben James in 1988-89 - an excellent team... with an honorable mention to the MS crew on USS Mobile Bay who gave the aircrew our own fridge and access to make our own box-lunches for flight.
Not sure how this showed up in my feed, but great video and channel! Was on the Cod in my youth and took my kids, but hadn't thought about it since. Thanks for keeping this vessel and it's history alive. And, thank you for your service!
This was great information! There is a wonderful bakery here in Waynesville, NC that was started by a Navy veteran who learned his craft as a baker in WWII.
thanks ... another terrific video ... i am not sure if this was the parlance in WWII, but today the cook that works the mid-watch is called the nightbaker ... and depending on the menu for the next day, he (now perhaps she) baked all the bread, the rolls, pastries, cakes and pies for meals the next day ... and a sharp baker could make enough donuts in the deepfat fryer for breakfast ... and the machinist mates should have packed the bearings, not the cooks ... and i love the pic of George catching a smoke in the galley ... a little cigarette ash never hurt anybody!
Yes things are more formalized now... with specific job titles and such. George should have called in the machinistsbut he was dreadfully afraid of getting reprimanded for the seized bearings so he kept quiet about the problem
@@paulfarace9595 as a former submarine cook (oberon class diesel boats that in the last 80's the galley was almost same as that), I am jealous they had the mixer (we didn't as they are noisy) but having used those mixers on skimmers, the noise is 10x worse when need bearings greased. Oh yeah, in the Canadian navy it would also have been a engineering type that would do the bearings. Easy enough job but is their wheelhouse. I suspect that george did when a civvie baker (because why call a service and pay more for a simple job) and the gang in his boat knew he knew how to do it, and so grateful they had a great baker just all let it slide
Am I the only one a bit freaked out by the deep fryer? Just the thought of a deep fryer sloshing around in a wallowing sub gives me the heebie jeebies.
Thanks Paul, you brought back memories of being on board ship Sundays were usually special on board Destroyers Sweet rolls and Doughnuts hot out of oven. and the Chiefs breathing compartment was only 10 frames forward of the mess deck.👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
I served on a Submarine Tender (1969-1972) and our food was mostly very good, but when working on a submarine you tried to plan the work to last over a meal because the sub would have to feed you an their food was the best. I also spent sometime in New London, CT. Did they have a baker he made these large donuts almost the size of a dinner plate. I would have a couple with hot chocolate for breakfast. (it was winter and New London is a cool place)
On the subject of roaches. Our CO made an effort to reduce as much cardboard that entered the pressure hull as reasonable possible. Cases of cans would be removed from their boxes before they went down the hatch. His belief was that the roaches were hiding in the cardboard as well as their eggs. This was especially true when doing an outload overseas. Those Sub Tenders were alway infested. The amount of trash that had to go out the TDU was reduced as well.
Not to mention, being reduced to the minimum packaging, you could stow a noticeable greater amount of goods. Yes, we also stripped the packaging down - I think by the point I reached the fleet, that was SOP. In respect to the tenders, when I was aboard her, the USS Dixon (AS-37) was quite clear of pests. I don't know if it was the skipper when I came aboard, or his predecessor, but *someone* went nuclear on the pests.
Served several short tours in Dixon as well. 84-85 and 90-92. I think most of the problems occurred on overseas deployments like Rota (mid 70s). @@lairdcummings9092
Yes ago I picked up some galley lights for the crews’ mess from the USS Pampanito and arranged to have them shipped to the Cod. Was happy to do a little a wee bit for your wonderful boat. I am so happy that this project is flourishing. Best to all.
I live in Pensacola and have gone to tour the USS Alabama on the Mobile Bay Causeway- if you haven't been there- GO! Beside the Alabama at the park is the USS Drum- a Gato Class sub..make sure your trip includes the claustrophobic tour of the Drum too! I love that park❤ of all things the tiny kitchen area in the Drum fascinated me! It's difficult to imagine having to work to feed all those men in that tiny area- I'm sure that the men onboard would have happily smelled the cooking all day there- it was probably one of only good smells on board that boat during a cruise- I have plans now to see the USS Cod after watching this- Thank You for all the hard work and dedication that it takes to keep these submarine Icons alive and the honorable sacrifices of our sailors remembered and cherished
Thank you so much for the informative video. I had an uncle who was a cook on a submarine in World War II in the Pacific. I have never seen the work area the cooks had in a World War II submarine.
Loved the cooks on my ships. The worst one did his best. The majority just did a great job, every time. The best cooks were just amazing. Midrats is what separated the cooks from low paid chefs 😂 Seriously, they all did great and I appreciated them. From the heart of a Snipe.
I'd be nervous to use that deep frier in rough seas. Hopefully they either either dove down under the surface, or had a cover to go over it to keep the cooking oil from going everywhere.
Former Cold War destroyer sailor here and I'll second everything here on my old ship. Having good cooks and bakers made a huge difference in crew morale!
My father a submariner visited the uss pampanito in San fran back in 1990 and showed us around a sister ship to his ship clamagore, he was thrilled to walk the ship
Another great presentation! I love what you are doing aboard Cod. I had the opportunity to visit her in 1989 and need to make another visit to see the improvements.
Great informative and evocative video! I wonder how much cross-over there was between the designs of railroad dining car galleys and those used in the subs? Both feature small areas that serve a bunch of food.
According to the 30 September and 31 December 1944 muster reports, George J. Sacco was a Ship's Cook First Class (SC1c). Two other cooks were listed on both reports. They were SC2c Gerald J. Horan and SC2c George A. Werrbach, Jr. Sacco was advanced to SC1c on 1 September 1944, which makes him the leading ship's cook on Cod. I suspect that he did more than work the mid watch. All of the cooks worked very long hours in the galley.
That was awesome narration! Being an old Navy guy, I was on the USS Midway and during my month as a mess cook, I loved it. Staring cooking when I was 12, my mom and grandmother taught me how to cook simple dishes. Breakfast was my favorite meal. From the start, the senior cook, a CPO, has us use fresh eggs with powered. The crew didn't know knowntue difference useless it was eggs sunny side up. Boy, it was allot of eggs...lol. Didn't want to stop, but after a month, I went back to my Boatswiens job of haze Grey and shining brass!
Absolutely amazing piece. Keep up the good work! Truly an inspiration for my (much younger) generation. Sadly, many my age don’t share the same sentiments.
Are you guys ever planning on having movie nights on the cod? Weather it’s a movie about WWII or a movie they watched on the cod in WWII, I would be very interested in going!
@@BB12659 There are countless others too! Greyhound being my favorite, Down Periscope (free on UA-cam), as well as Dad Boot (I think it’s also free on UA-cam)
We've had plenty of movie nights on Cod, even while underway a few years ago to our Erie drydock. Down Periscope is a favorite (not just because I'm in two scenes). Greyhound is very accurate but Das Boot and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea have been in our mess deck.
@@paulfarace9595 Wait, you can't just casually drop "I was in a documentary about life at sea" like that without more details @paulfarace9595 . What scenes? Love that movie, and any excuse to watch it again is great.
Hobart mixers must be stopped before shifting gears. I see you are in gear #2. If you shift under power, you will destroy the gear train. Hobart was the parent company of Kitchenaid. Hobart became the commercial line while Kitchenaid was sold to Whirlpool.
I served on submarines during the Cold War period 1978-2000. We enjoyed great cooks and the night baker. Our watches were 6 on 12 off. Officer stood 6 on 18 off. Sometimes the enlisted sailors also stood 6 on 18 off but most didn’t like it made the time drag on while 6/12 went faster. We had steak and lobster. Pizza made by the officers to feed the crew. Liberty in Scotland and Rota Spain. On SSBN’s on fast boats SSN’s we had long times at sea months and months. Those were good time I am in my 60’s now and missing my boat days. I retired from the Navy and still miss it
Thank you fro your service.
Thank you! My cousin served on subs during that time. He also retired from the navy.
I’m ex Royal Air Force but a few years ago I was on a training course with an ex USN submariner, he had fond memories of Liberty in Scotland. It might have been cold and raining at times however the atmosphere in the pubs and bars made up for the climate.
🍻
@@jonnieunix I have been in a British pub just twice but they were really cosy, so no surprise that they say there are a lot of alcoholics over there - considering the weather I have no problem with that ...
My Dad was on the USS Pollack 1944 45 and he was a cook and a baker. Im glad to have seen this and wish I could have shared it with him.. Thanks
what rank do you have there?
I salute the cooks and bakers who keep the force fed... they work hard; REAL hard! I found that out during an exercise I was "killed" on the flightline and was sent to the dining facility to assist the food specialist and I was educated on how difficult their jobs are.
It took being on a COP in Iraq to really see the work that the Army cooks put in. Those couple of guys really took the food that the Army gave them and did their own thing with it to make chow time something to look forward to.
One of the things we had to do in Army Basic was at least once pull "KP duty." If you ever thought the cooks had it easy, one shift of that taught you how much work they put in.
My dad served on Finback's last patrol in 1945. He said that "Johnson the Crazy Baker from Nova Scotia" smoked cigars while baking. He set a cigar right about in the place where Mr. Farace put the pack of Chesterfields. Later he couldn't find the cigar. He found it when he sliced a loaf of bread open.
OMG! What a great anecdote! Thanks for sharing!😂
That seems to be the anecdote about the boys from Canada. Apparently, we're all a little crazy.
Yeah, that tracks. 😁
(including the bit about crazy Canadians - We had a Quebecois photographer's mate who was an absolute hoot.)
@@BlackEpyonComes from having to shoo away polar bears from the garbage cans.
@@kingleech16 Yeah, those boys in Churchill know what they're about.
Brings back memories! I was a submarine sailor during the cold war in the 1970’s. There was a lot that STUNK on board, including sanitary tanks, diesel fuel and amine (used for atmosphere control,) but you could always look forward to the smell of bread and stickybuns during the midwatch.
Roger that. Hated blowing sanitaries. Always had best food.
Was the same in the early 2000s for the 6 years I did, our night baker was the soul of the boat for first 3 years. So funny!
Blowing Sans always blew - very nearly blew chunks, most times.
But fresh bread? Yeah, that was a morale booster.
Blowing sanitaries and the golden flapper award a
I visited the COD as a kid. I'd like to go through her now, but as a 70 year old who probably couldn't get my bulk through the hatch, these videos are a great substitute.
US Submariner (Ret) here.
The night baker is a (small) God. We had one guy, Mark H., who was insanely good. He would - conditions permitting - get permission to realign the ventilation to take a suction on the galley, and redistribute through the entire boat. Let me tell you, waking up to the morning watch, the scent of fresh baked bread in the air? Wonderful!
Then there was Ray A. and his infamous "Slant Cake" - we were in harbor, alongside the pier, and the harbor was *shallow* - when the tide went out, we'd ground, and roll just a bit. Well, Ray was going to bake a sheet cake, and we had about a five degree list on. Ray forgot to chock up the pan to compensate for the list. The result? One side was a quarter inch thick and baked as hard as a cracker. The other side was about three inches thick and soggy. 😨 He then made up the variation with a reciprocal layer of icing. 😨😨 We still bust his chops about that, to this day.
Cooks are kings, but a good baker? *That* is a treasure beyond price!
Thanks for sharing your great stories!😅
Fresh bread was one of the things that we all loved on a super carrier, and I imagine every ship in the Navy. Our bakery could turn out an awful lot of really great treats that were greatly welcomed. Yes, we all know that the submarine force provided the best food. Those of us in the surface forces did not envy them. They deserved it.
We knew it when the fresh foods ran out. Eggs, milk, bacon, etc. When we went to sea we had about 7 days of fresh food. We all loved doing a work party when we unrepped from an AFS (refrigerated stores ship for those who don't know the designation) because we knew we were going to have fresh food the next morning. (Unreps usually occurred about 0100 when we were on the line.)
When Ranger returned from her 1968-'69 deployment, all of us who got liberty went to the commissary and totally cleaned out the produce and pretty much all of the dairy. I was eating a head of ice berg lettuce like an apple, as were others. Some were guzzling milk by the quart. (No cardboard containers in those days.) This was totally normal when ships returned from those long deployments.
Oh my, I was on Ranger then. VA-56 AQF2.
@@georgeburns7251 Hello, shipmate. That cruise I was in 1st Division. The next I went to S-7. I left the ship as a DP3.
Fair Winds & Following Seas
Something about fresh bread unlocks something in your brain. My mom used to do it 3-4 times a year but my fondest memories was going to school in the 90’s and smelling it from the cafeteria. Would make your mouth water and stomach grumble.
@@southcoastdub My mother would always make an extra loaf because she knew that all of us would slice extra thick slices, slather a lot of butter on them and eat them still hot.
She taught me to make bread from scratch. I haven't made any in a while. I think it's time I did so. ❤❤🍞🍞
Baker on the ship I was on was the best cook of the bunch. Captain wanted him as persona; cook, but they kept him as baker for ships morale.
My Uncle Ted always said he was the second important person on the ship next to the captain. He was the cook.
Submarine galleys and today's food truck kitchens, amazing accomplishments.
“A little hair in your bread you knew George made it” lol
Served in the Bake shop for awhile onboard LSD-36 1970-74... My dad was a WWII submariner
and told a story about his Mac & Cheese crawling off his plate. Yum
My dad was a cook aboard the USS Steelhead in WW2! He was on the breakfast shift.
Great description of the galley operation and watch rotation. Will never forget the smell of bread baking at 02:00 wafting through the boat. In four more hours the midwatch will be relieved, and then its down to the galley for breakfast a cup of coffee and hit the rack for 6 hours. That was during 1981 to 1985. Similar galley, just larger and more electrical power available.
Kudos to George and all of the Mess Specialists ( Culinary Specialists now) who have served on boats. Cool to hear stories of this important job working in the galley. Our MS crew all had distinct personalities and worked their butts off to keep us fed. Excellent video. Thanks!
The World War II rating was ship's cook. It became commissaryman in 1948. Mess management specialist existed from 1975 to 2003, when the rating was re-titled culinary specialist.
I was a EO Seabee and was assigned as the USS Taigrones Captain when they pulled into Bermuda in the 70's. I had some of my best meals on that WW2 Diesel Boat. My salute to the Cooks. They were great!
Thanks for sharing your story ! USS Tigrone
I used to work with the Hobart A120 mixer. It looks just like the one you have and was manufactured in 1952. It works as good today as it did back then and will probably out live me! If you know how to use a screwdriver, and a grease gun it will outlive all of us.
Looks like somebody took the speed selector switch off this one and just replaced it with a common house light switch. Tracking down an original part might be a bit of a tough cookie, but that's the life of vintage collectors and museums.
I love hearing all the little differences between the Electric Boat and Government yard boats, it’s interesting how placing the range one side or the other made differences in crew life to a degree.
Neato. Somewhere I have a recipe for chili con carne from a ww2 sub. ("Slaveship Chili". Submariner humor.) Truly astonishingly dense. You can really tell it was meant to feed a few dozen working young men. A single cup is a pretty solid serving. A whole bowl and I need a nap. A lot of meat, a ton of bacon, and a block of cheese in the recipe. Not cheese as a garnish, a ton of cheese actually in the chilli. A real belly bomb. Bloody delicious too.
Imagine the smells emanating from the heads after chili night on a submarine. Uffdah.
@@jeremyperala839 omg
FYI...The bowl on the mixer is backward. The little nipple locks into the machine to hold the bowl stable.
Good catch... somebody's been playing around in the galley!
My dad would have loved to have watched this. He was a baker on a surface ship in WWII.
Amazing how the cooks could produce so many meals from such a tiny space.....
I have been watching Cod videos for a couple months now. Never commented until now and just wanted to say all these videos are entertaining and informative. Thank you for these videos.
Growing up in California in the 60's there were many Army/Navy surplus stores. I remember thousands of the 4 loaf bread pans and navy coffee cups. Every surplus store had a ton of them
The work it too to keep morale high is incredible! We so often glamorize the warrior and forget the warrior
men/women that feed their spirit!
I remember my dad always referring to square eggs from his time spent in the Army. It wasn't until he was long retired and I was doing my own stint in the Navy of course that I realised why they were called square eggs was because powdered eggs came in a box!
My grandad was a navy baker aboard ships in the pacific but also for the seabee units once they went ashore. He, like George, was a commercial baker for Stop and Shop in Cambridge Mass before and after the war. He did say his skills would get him out of trouble more than once. The person who baked all the bread and cookies was a prized crew member...
Fascinating! I am a retired Flight Attendant and I learned to work in galleys from the MD-80, 737 to the 767. I actually loved working in a galley but one thing I learned is you have to be organized for things to run smoothly. I actually have five galley carts in my house/kitchen and all the service China . Those guys that served in subs were and are very specialized men as that’s a tuff training to pass …. God Bless them all
An army cannot move without food, and the fact that the submariners were given some of the best food in the military (Except that case of "mis-marked" fry cut/stew beef that Tang got) showed just how the crew's dangers and trials were understood and respected by the brass, and especially by an old submariner like Adm. Lockwood.
With nuclear power came ceaseless time underwater and the food and crew care became more than just a luxury; It became essential for mental survival.
Well, it's not ceaseless is it? There's a limited amount of food...
We didn't get "the best" food - We drew from the exact same supply stream as anyone else. What we had were cooks who learned to get the absolute *best* from what they had. Cooks in the submarine fleet have a towering tradition to live up to, and they did. Nothing like a challenge and a charge to motivate maximum skill growth.
My maternal Grandfather Elmer Gerdeman was USN enlisted in WW2. I remember him talking about how whenever his LST pulled into Pearl Harbor he would see which submarines were in port. If he had a friend onboard of one of them, he would meet up with them so he could eat on their sub, as enlisted men could eat there. "They had, by far, the best chow in the Navy!" he always said! He's a big reason I was commissioned in the USN 50 years later!
Thanks to the crew of the Cod from Brisbane, Australia. Cod arrived in Brisbane, Australia, on 2 October 1943 to prepare for her first war patrol.
That's sick I'm just a random Brisbane Aussie who came across this comment small world 🌎
@@wolfrickthedesigner4748 The decision to establish United States Navy (USN) submarine bases and support facilities in Australia during World War II followed a series of victories by the Imperial Japanese forces that resulted in domination of South East Asia and much of the South-West Pacific. Consequently, the American Asiatic Fleet submarines were forced to evacuate their base at Cavite in the Philippines, and were successively ordered to withdraw to Bataan, Java, Hawaii and Australia.
The ports of Fremantle, Western Australia, and Brisbane, Queensland, were selected by the USN as suitable ports to support a major submarine offensive, and facilities were quickly established at both to provide the necessary infrastructure.
Brisbane proved highly suitable, with well established port facilities and a dry dock capable of handling most US submarines then in service. It was also out of range of Japanese aircraft based in New Guinea.
The first of eleven S Class submarines arrived at New Farm, on the Brisbane River, in company with the tender USS Griffin, on 15 April 1942 under the command of Captain RW Christie, USN. By the end of the month four were on active war patrols.
The S boats were soon involved in the Solomon Islands campaign, and one of them, S44 (Lieutenant Commander JR ‘Dinty’ Moore, USN), became the first US submarine to sink a major enemy warship when it torpedoed the Japanese cruiser Kako off Kavieng on 10 August 1942. Moore was subsequently awarded the Navy Cross for this action. In Brisbane a warm rapport was quickly established between its citizens and the visiting US sailors, many of whom were invited into Australian homes. Brisbane was also transformed into a major submarine maintenance facility at which a total of 89 submarines were dry docked for repairs over a three year period.
As the war progressed the ageing S Class boats were replaced with the Gato Class submarines, which were equipped with radar, had a greater radius of action, higher speeds and larger payloads of torpedos. In addition to interrupting Japanese sea lines of communication, the US submarines supported Australian coast watchers and Special Forces operating deep behind enemy lines throughout the Pacific. They also rescued numerous Allied airmen who had been shot down, or who had ditched, over the sea. Several famous US submarines were based in Brisbane, including USS Wahoo (Lieutenant Commander DW ‘Mush’ Morton, USN) and USS Growler (Commander HW Gilmore, USN). Gilmore was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honour in recognition of his self-sacrifice during Growler’s fourth wartime patrol, mounted from Brisbane on 1 January 1943. During that patrol Growler was on the surface in the early hours of 7 February when a ship’s shadow was sighted through the darkness in poor visibility. As Growler was preparing to attack what transpired to be the enemy store ship Hayasaki, the ship altered course with the intent of ramming Growler. Although evasive action was taken, Growler struck the Japanese ship head on at 17 knots. Following the impact the enemy opened fire on Growler’s conning tower at point-blank range with heavy machine guns. Two of the submarine’s crew were killed and three wounded, including Lieutenant Commander Gilmore. Two wounded lookouts were helped below but Gilmore remained at his post ordering his Executive Officer to ‘take her down’. Growler was severely damaged, and following a brief depth charge attack she surfaced to find the sea empty with no sign of the enemy or Lieutenant Commander Gilmore. Eighteen feet of Growler’s bow was bent at right angles to port, and her conning tower was full of holes from machine gun fire. In spite of this damage the crew made temporary repairs, and after a slow ten day transit back to Australia she entered Morton Bay to undergo extensive repairs in Brisbane.
By the war’s end patrols under Brisbane’s submarine command resulted in the sinking of 117 enemy ships, totalling 515,000 tons. This number included three heavy and two light Japanese cruisers. Seven of the Brisbane based submarines were lost.
Vice Admiral Sir John Collins, KBE, CB, RAN acknowledged the contribution of the US submarine campaign to overall victory in the Pacific when he wrote “[A] big factor, at the time little known, was the US submarine campaign in the Pacific which practically annihilated the once flourishing Japanese merchant marine. Great credit is due to the American submariners for their success in a difficult task.”
A heritage walk has been established in Brisbane commemorating the service of Australian and US submariners and more information concerning this may be found on the following web page.
This summary has been distilled from US Subs Down Under: Brisbane 1942-1945. David Jones & Peter Nunan, Annapolis, MD, US Naval Institute Press, 2005. ISBN 1-59114-644-5.
In America we love the Aussies❤
@@user-nf6zs4sw7y bloody oath Australia and the USA been fighting together for 50+ years
Hearing from a vet who served on this sub in WW2 sounds like my experience with taking a WW2 Naval decommissioned ship tour/ scout overnight in Fall River, Ma. (Battleship Cove) My youngest son (almost 40) was a boy scout and many years they did a visit and an overnight stay. What was great was the USS Massachusetts had vets who served on her still alive and would do live talks (after tours were over) at night , just for the scouts. Like my Dad and Father in Law, there aren't many WW2 vets alive any longer. My father in law (Navy) made his last visit when he was in his young 80's, he still did great going up and down those stairwells, our last visit was with nephews (21 and 23 today) everyone always loved the experience. (Me, I am a Cold War/no combat vet 1976-1982 USAF)
Former Mess Management Specialist here, did my time in the EDF at NAS Whidbey Island and aboard USS Ranger. The bakery aboard Ranger was impressive. The room was dominated by a massive Hobart mixer. No, I don't know the model number.
The Hobart model number corresponding to the bowl capacity. Our #120 is a 12 quart. Big ships can have Model 400 or 600 mixers.... a small guy can bathe in the bowls.
@@paulfarace9595 I could have bathed in the bowl and I am 6'3". I worked in the bakery for a while...as I was air wing I got shoved wherever a body was needed when we deployed...and my biggest take away from that was that I seemed to be perpetually cleaning dough from my boondockers. But it was a fun place to work. Small army of cooks and mess cranks baking all the bready goodness for 5000 people daily.
Thanks for your service! So few realize the role of the gallery crew.
Any plans of going down in the cooler and freezer for a future video?
That's an area that I've never seen on any of the subs I've visited.
We kept the COB in the freezer when he kicked the bucket one one patrol
Much love to the Mess Specialists from my time (1987-99 and 2001-05) - I was an HSL Aircrewman, so most of my time was flying off Frigates & Destroyers, with the last 6 years spent aboard carriers. The BEST chow was USS Rueben James in 1988-89 - an excellent team... with an honorable mention to the MS crew on USS Mobile Bay who gave the aircrew our own fridge and access to make our own box-lunches for flight.
Not sure how this showed up in my feed, but great video and channel! Was on the Cod in my youth and took my kids, but hadn't thought about it since. Thanks for keeping this vessel and it's history alive. And, thank you for your service!
This was great information! There is a wonderful bakery here in Waynesville, NC that was started by a Navy veteran who learned his craft as a baker in WWII.
thanks ... another terrific video ... i am not sure if this was the parlance in WWII, but today the cook that works the mid-watch is called the nightbaker ... and depending on the menu for the next day, he (now perhaps she) baked all the bread, the rolls, pastries, cakes and pies for meals the next day ... and a sharp baker could make enough donuts in the deepfat fryer for breakfast ... and the machinist mates should have packed the bearings, not the cooks ... and i love the pic of George catching a smoke in the galley ... a little cigarette ash never hurt anybody!
Yes things are more formalized now... with specific job titles and such. George should have called in the machinistsbut he was dreadfully afraid of getting reprimanded for the seized bearings so he kept quiet about the problem
@@paulfarace9595 as a former submarine cook (oberon class diesel boats that in the last 80's the galley was almost same as that), I am jealous they had the mixer (we didn't as they are noisy) but having used those mixers on skimmers, the noise is 10x worse when need bearings greased. Oh yeah, in the Canadian navy it would also have been a engineering type that would do the bearings. Easy enough job but is their wheelhouse.
I suspect that george did when a civvie baker (because why call a service and pay more for a simple job) and the gang in his boat knew he knew how to do it, and so grateful they had a great baker just all let it slide
Am I the only one a bit freaked out by the deep fryer? Just the thought of a deep fryer sloshing around in a wallowing sub gives me the heebie jeebies.
It’s better than thinking of a deep fryer on the international space station!
Thanks Paul, you brought back memories of being on board ship Sundays were usually special on board Destroyers Sweet rolls and Doughnuts hot out of oven. and the Chiefs breathing compartment was only 10 frames forward of the mess deck.👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
berthing
I served on a Submarine Tender (1969-1972) and our food was mostly very good, but when working on a submarine you tried to plan the work to last over a meal because the sub would have to feed you an their food was the best. I also spent sometime in New London, CT. Did they have a baker he made these large donuts almost the size of a dinner plate. I would have a couple with hot chocolate for breakfast. (it was winter and New London is a cool place)
I love that Amazon delivers to a submarine.
In any service, the mess section is a key member of the team.
Good food goes a long ways towards good moral.
Give us this day our daily bread… even when ten thousand leagues under the sea.
On the subject of roaches. Our CO made an effort to reduce as much cardboard that entered the pressure hull as reasonable possible. Cases of cans would be removed from their boxes before they went down the hatch. His belief was that the roaches were hiding in the cardboard as well as their eggs. This was especially true when doing an outload overseas. Those Sub Tenders were alway infested. The amount of trash that had to go out the TDU was reduced as well.
Yes the navy learned the hard way about corrugated cardboard and bugs!
Not to mention, being reduced to the minimum packaging, you could stow a noticeable greater amount of goods. Yes, we also stripped the packaging down - I think by the point I reached the fleet, that was SOP.
In respect to the tenders, when I was aboard her, the USS Dixon (AS-37) was quite clear of pests. I don't know if it was the skipper when I came aboard, or his predecessor, but *someone* went nuclear on the pests.
Served several short tours in Dixon as well. 84-85 and 90-92. I think most of the problems occurred on overseas deployments like Rota (mid 70s). @@lairdcummings9092
Thanks, Paul, another award winning clip from the galley of the COD.
Yes ago I picked up some galley lights for the crews’ mess from the USS Pampanito and arranged to have them shipped to the Cod. Was happy to do a little a wee bit for your wonderful boat. I am so happy that this project is flourishing. Best to all.
I really loved hearing George, I am hoping you got many more tapes of the crew.
Sadly not really.
As always Paul a very interesting story!
I live in Pensacola and have gone to tour the USS Alabama on the Mobile Bay Causeway- if you haven't been there- GO! Beside the Alabama at the park is the USS Drum- a Gato Class sub..make sure your trip includes the claustrophobic tour of the Drum too! I love that park❤ of all things the tiny kitchen area in the Drum fascinated me! It's difficult to imagine having to work to feed all those men in that tiny area- I'm sure that the men onboard would have happily smelled the cooking all day there- it was probably one of only good smells on board that boat during a cruise- I have plans now to see the USS Cod after watching this- Thank You for all the hard work and dedication that it takes to keep these submarine Icons alive and the honorable sacrifices of our sailors remembered and cherished
I remain impressed with the amount of attention to detail in the design of everything aboard
Thank you for getting George on tape, it's wonderful hearing about history from the people who lived it!!
He sent it to me without me asking!
@@paulfarace9595 wow what a guy! Thank you for putting it in the right context and sharing it with us!
A big thankyou to everyone involved. Very interesting and very impressive
Nice to see recognition of the regular sailor 👌
Thank you so much for the informative video. I had an uncle who was a cook on a submarine in World War II in the Pacific. I have never seen the work area the cooks had in a World War II submarine.
Loved the cooks on my ships. The worst one did his best. The majority just did a great job, every time. The best cooks were just amazing. Midrats is what separated the cooks from low paid chefs 😂
Seriously, they all did great and I appreciated them.
From the heart of a Snipe.
Great video, sir!
I'd be nervous to use that deep frier in rough seas. Hopefully they either either dove down under the surface, or had a cover to go over it to keep the cooking oil from going everywhere.
Former Cold War destroyer sailor here and I'll second everything here on my old ship. Having good cooks and bakers made a huge difference in crew morale!
Unique presentation of a topic that is an important part of operating a sub. Thank you!
It was great to hear George talk about the way things were in WWII…also that Amazon bread looks great🤓
Smells great too 😮
Very cool vid, thanks for this! Gramps was AAF, so opposite altitude of these guys😅
My father a submariner visited the uss pampanito in San fran back in 1990 and showed us around a sister ship to his ship clamagore, he was thrilled to walk the ship
Another great presentation! I love what you are doing aboard Cod. I had the opportunity to visit her in 1989 and need to make another visit to see the improvements.
Yes lot's of improvements since 1989!
Thank you for an exceptional vid. My best regards to all the service members. My son and daughter in-law both serve in the Navy.
Excellent video. God bless George for taking the time to record his recollections while at sea. Thank you.
My Brother and myself served aboard together on the USS Preble DLG-15 he was the night baker and he always gave me a little extra on the mid watch.
A lovely addition to the growing library of submarine galley - and submarine - videos on YT!
Aloha 😊🤙🏼👏🏼
USS Clamagore had two cooks and awesome food. DBF
Another great video! Thank you for sharing. My grandfather always spoke VERY highly of the cooks and the food they made.
Such a great video, god bless the men who served aboard the Cod and thank you for keeping it alive!
Great stories! Thanks! Very interesting and well presented. You impress me as a really good guy too! Cheers.
I've seen a few of the Cod's videos come up, and every time I've been very impressed with how you've told its stories
Great informative and evocative video! I wonder how much cross-over there was between the designs of railroad dining car galleys and those used in the subs? Both feature small areas that serve a bunch of food.
Good point! My gut tells me there was considerable cross-over between Pullman car and sub design.
That's a good question! Very similar issues- I think anway
What a fascinating, well produced video:) Thanks for making this-and thanks to the ordinary guys like George:)
My dad was a cook on the USS FRANKLIN CV-13
Had to look up mid rats, we just called it midnight chow in the modern army when we were in kuwait. Loved the tour of the venerable Cod submarine.
Juggling baking and cooking during combat operations must have been difficult
Great history!
According to the 30 September and 31 December 1944 muster reports, George J. Sacco was a Ship's Cook First Class (SC1c). Two other cooks were listed on both reports. They were SC2c Gerald J. Horan and SC2c George A. Werrbach, Jr. Sacco was advanced to SC1c on 1 September 1944, which makes him the leading ship's cook on Cod. I suspect that he did more than work the mid watch. All of the cooks worked very long hours in the galley.
Thank you for a great video.
That was awesome narration! Being an old Navy guy, I was on the USS Midway and during my month as a mess cook, I loved it. Staring cooking when I was 12, my mom and grandmother taught me how to cook simple dishes. Breakfast was my favorite meal.
From the start, the senior cook, a CPO, has us use fresh eggs with powered. The crew didn't know knowntue difference useless it was eggs sunny side up. Boy, it was allot of eggs...lol. Didn't want to stop, but after a month, I went back to my Boatswiens job of haze Grey and shining brass!
My uncle Jack Bannister was the baker on the USS Seawolf in WW2.
Lost in October 1944.
Baking on eternal patrol!
Rest in peace.
This was a very interesting and informative video. A Happy and Healthy New Year to Paul and the Cod Crew.
And to you as well!🎉
The roches could have been brought aboard in the dry stores or from a tender.
Been through the Cod many times... Great boat! DBF!!!
The plate of eggshells likely soon became the unintended signal to the crew that fresh eggs were out.
This was one of your most enjoyable videos. Learning about the history specific to the men on the Cod was great!
Rest in Peace George. I hope the bread in Heaven is as delicious as you used to make.
Absolutely amazing piece. Keep up the good work! Truly an inspiration for my (much younger) generation. Sadly, many my age don’t share the same sentiments.
Paul has a great personality
Are you guys ever planning on having movie nights on the cod? Weather it’s a movie about WWII or a movie they watched on the cod in WWII, I would be very interested in going!
"Run Silent Run Deep," just saying.
@@BB12659 There are countless others too! Greyhound being my favorite, Down Periscope (free on UA-cam), as well as Dad Boot (I think it’s also free on UA-cam)
Same!
We've had plenty of movie nights on Cod, even while underway a few years ago to our Erie drydock. Down Periscope is a favorite (not just because I'm in two scenes). Greyhound is very accurate but Das Boot and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea have been in our mess deck.
@@paulfarace9595
Wait, you can't just casually drop "I was in a documentary about life at sea" like that without more details @paulfarace9595 . What scenes? Love that movie, and any excuse to watch it again is great.
Damn i woulda thought one of those mixers would sink the boat 😂
Hobart mixers must be stopped before shifting gears. I see you are in gear #2. If you shift under power, you will destroy the gear train.
Hobart was the parent company of Kitchenaid. Hobart became the commercial line while Kitchenaid was sold to Whirlpool.
Thank you for these videos! Very insightful!!
The size of the loaf that you are indicating seems to be what is called a Pullman loaf and originated in RR Pullman cars.
As a Navy cook from 1974 this brought some memories
Did you have any particular meals you enjoyed making?
@@USSCod Yes , Lasagna