The forward battery compartment containes the wardroom, wardroom pantry, officer's staterooms and the ship's office.
The hatch in the deck outside the ship's office is the entry to the battery compartment below. In this lower space were 250 battery cells that weighed about 1000 pounds each. This, and a second battery located under the Crew's Mess, provided the energy for lights, heat, air conditioning, cooking, and was the power source for all shipboard equipment in addition to turning the main motors that drove the ship through the water when submerged. The batteries were charged by electricity generated by running the two diesel engines located aft in the Machinery space.