| A torpedo room on board a submarine is a compartment used for the storage, handling and firing of torpedoes. Since a torpedo typically measures several meters in length and weighs over a ton, these spaces are some of the largest 'open' spaces in a submarine. They contain all manner of machinery for moving the beasts as well as racks for holding them - as well as racks for holding people. Since there has to be open space to work on and move the weapons around, the torpedo room is usually also where some of the crew is housed. Crew members sleep on, under and around the weapons; if one can't get used to the notion of resting one's head on several hundred kilos of high explosive, it's time to find a different career.
The torpedo room is also heavily reinforced, since the torpedo tubes open into it. These weak points, coupled with the size of the compartment, mean that the boat is most likely suffer a dramatic buoyancy loss here in the event of damage. That, coupled with the presence of so many dangerous items (not only the warheads, but the torpedo motors, sometimes along with toxic fuel and oxidizer) make the torpedo rooms perhaps one of the most lethal areas on a submarine, and one of the most frequent causes of their loss. They are usually (but not always) at the ends of the pressure hull. | 
