[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by cj95

Interesting.

Was it ONLY the aft torpedo room thus sacrificed?

pretty much.
have to keep in mind that there is not a lot of extra room on a sub.
when they shove off on patrol or special mission, they are packing food, ammo, etc for 50 days.
now...over and above that, they have to make room for the whatever "cargo" they are transporting. something has to stay home (guns vs butter) and it will not be food, nor fuel. so it ends up being some bullets.
if you read the operational history of the WWII boats, you will read that stern shots were tough to set up and execute, with all of the zig-zagging and shallow shorelines and reefs and escorts.