How to Use the Head (Toilet) on a WWII Submarine

Watching this while on the toilet. Toilet inception.

Thanks, Paul. Good presentation. The reason there are officer and enlisted heads is because enlisted s**t stinks and the ossifers wouldn't appreciate walking into a stinky head. During my first cruise, my day job was swabbing the decks and cleaning the head in an officer's area. One time, I had to go, so, rather than take all the time to go to my berthing and then come back, I used one of the officer's commodes. One of them came in, saw my dungarees below the door, and had me write my name, service number and division on a piece of paper. He wrote me up. Fortunately, when it got to my Division, LT(jg) Bob Bergeron, he tore it up. We met a few years ago during a ship's reunion in SF. It was the highlight of my reunion. Bob was then in mid-stage Alzheimer's. He passed away about 4 years ago.

Nothing like being in Patrol Quiet and someone slams the stainless steel shitter door. Next thing you hear on the 1MC, " The next time I hear that shitter door slam, I will have all the doors removed." Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

One of ‘The Best’ reasons to become an officer on any Navy vessel.

At least you had a door giving you some privacy. Us Army guys had open bay latrines with five or ten thrones that could be used all at once. It was handy if you ran out of TP. All you had to do was ask the guy next to you to pass over his roll when he was done. Let's not even talk about field sanitation, cat holes and slit trenches and waste burning detail. Ah the fond memories of military service, how I wouldn't give anything to live them again. LOL!...

I got to tour USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) circa 1998 or 1999 when I was first in the Army and on exercises on Oahu. They told a bunch of us from Wyoming that if you were from the state or town that a Navy ship/boat was named for you had preference for a tour if it was in port, so we all went! We pointedly DIDN'T get to use the head (nor enter the reactor compartment). 😄

never seen the detail procedure. But did see the movie when the Niuses were informed how to use the head. Operation Petticoat as I recall.

I couldn't make heads or tails out of that, but thank you for sharing your throne room with us. Many years ago pleasure boats had a similar rig (before the laws against direct discharge), using the same kind of manual rocker arm pump but no air tank pressure. Its 3 valves had to be manipulated in sequence and it was a nightmare. Also, the through-hulls were a common fail point that could lead to sinking. All in all pumping out at a honey barge is much safer and better for the environment.

I spend the night on the Silversides in 1978 or 1979, with my son, when it was in Chicago.

I'm sure I missed our host mentioning it, but I recall that one of the U-Boats sunk due to a poorly executed flush.

Hey the COD invented the Squatty Potty 😂

The USS Monitor turret and guns and other artifacts are located at the Mariners Museum In Newport News Virginia.

Knowing about the Head is a pretty smart thing!You sure know your business when in comes to the use of a Head down under. 👍

Thank you for fulfilling my request for a video on this topic. I must say my head is full of interesting facts.

Monitor turret is at the Mariners Museum in Newport News Virginia.

Very informative. Never served aboard a boat with an air expulsion head. Even so, there were from time to time "accidents" with the gravity flush heads.

Always wondered about this... Worthy of watching on the Throne😂

It was a true mark of saltiness to spend time on the crapper wearing an EAB at test depth. Many stories of blowing sanitary tanks and some NUB getting sprayed with the contents when someone forgot to hang the chains in the head. Interesting that the stainless steel bowls look the same as what we had. Rather than a flapper there was a ball valve that dropped your deposit in a San tank below which, when full, was pressurized with air to discharge overboard. If you used the toilet when the tank was pressurized the results were pretty ugly.

Those very important little things that you don't think about.

Thanks for the "Heads up" Paul. Good info buddy.