Forward crew’s berthing
Forward of the mess decks is the forward crew berthing compartment. This compartment contained bunks for the crew’s enlisted sailors. Sailors slept three high on top of spring or canvas bunk bottoms and mattresses. Each man got a small bunk locker below in which to stow all of his belongings. Petty officers got the stand up lockers.
Living in these spaces, men had to get along in an extremely crowded environment. In general, when the ship was underway at night, one third of the crew was on watch leaving two-thirds asleep in the compartment.
The watch changed at midnight and 4:00 AM, and crewmen became adept at changing clothes quietly in the dark so as not to wake their shipmates. In such an environment, consideration for one another was the most important feature in making such a living situation bearable. Red light provided the only illumination at night so as not to interfere with the sailor’s night vision.
The men forward had to contend with the pitching motion of the ship. There were three other berthing compartments aft. Those men felt less pounding but had to contend with the vibration of the ship’s screws.
Forward Berthing aboard USS FROST DE-144.
Historic
Forward Berthing before restoration.
Pre-restoration
Forward berthing after restoration.
Current
After Crew’s Berthing
The majority of the enlisted crew on a destroyer escort lived in three bunk rooms or berthing compartments in the after third of the ship. This space fell between the aft motor room and after steering compartments. Bunks were stacked three high and each sailor had a bunk locker under the bottom bunks for stowing their personal gear. The forward most of these bunk rooms was designated compartment C-201-L and below that compartment were fuel oil tanks. The second compartment was designated C-202-L was on top of the ammunition magazines for the 3” 50 caliber and 40mm guns. The third and after most compartment was designated C-203-L and below that compartment was the depth charge stowage and additional compartments for spare parts storage.
During peace time, the men in each compartment lived by department. Generally, members of the Engineering Department, Ordnance Department and Operations Department slept back aft. During war time, crews more often bunked by watch section. This avoided the possibility of all the specialists in one area being killed or injured in the event of battle damage. Furthermore, this allowed all the men of a particular watch station to be awakened simultaneously.
After Berthing aboard USS JACOB JONES DE-130.
Historic
After Berthing before restoration.
Pre-Restoration
After Berthing aboard SLATER
Current
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