A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

of a type suitable for use as a temporary

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

for sailors or other military personnel. A barracks ship, a military form of a

dormitory ship A dormitory ship is a vessel which provides as its primary function floating living quarters. Such craft serve as conventional land-based dormitories in all respects except that the living quarters are aboard a floating vessel, most often moored i ...

, may also be used as a receiving unit for sailors who need temporary residence prior to being assigned to their ship. The United States Navy used to call them Yard Repair Berthing and Messing with designations YRBM and YRBM(L) and now classes them as either Auxiliary Personnel Barracks (APB) or Auxiliary Personnel Lighter (aka barge) (APL).

Early use

Barrack ships were common during the era of sailing ships when shore facilities were scarce or non-existent. Barrack ships were usually

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

s. At times, barrack ships were also used as prison ships for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees.

Use in World War II

''Barracks ships'' in the combat area provided necessary residence for sailors and merchantmen whose ship had been sunk, or whose ship had been so damaged that on-board berthing was no longer possible. They were also used at advanced bases, and as mobile barracks for units such as construction battalions. Occasionally, they would be used for other roles such as providing office space. APL were non-self-propelled barracks ships were used by the United States Navy in forward areas during World War II, especially in the Pacific Ocean, and were designated APL, such as APL-18 which was commissioned in 1944 and had the following specifications for APL-1 to APL-58: *Displacement 1,300 t.(lt), 2,580 t.(fl) *Length *Beam *Draft *Complement unknown *Accommodations 5 Officers, 358 Enlisted The

APL-17-class barracks ship The ''APL-17''-class barracks ship was a class of barracks ships of the United States Navy after the start of the Second World War, in the 1940s. Development Eighteen ships were built during World War II with 6 cancelled, later built as ''Ben ...

covered APL-17 to APL-40 with APL-35 to APL-40 converted to become Benewah-class barracks ships. Transport ships were also used as barracks by other war-time navies, such as the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

's . One of the two abortive Jade class auxiliary aircraft carriers (''Elbe'') was also converted into a barracks ship.

Subsequent use

The United Kingdom used barracks ships to help garrison the Falkland Islands after it ousted the Argentinian occupation force in the 1982

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. The former car ferries and were deployed to Port Stanley in 1982, and ''Rangatira'' stayed until September 1983. ''Rangatira'' is also an example of a civilian accommodation ship. She and another former ferry, MV ''Odysseus'', housed workers who built an

oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...

in Loch Kishorn in Scotland in 1977–1978, and ''Rangatira'' housed workers who built Sullom Voe Terminal in the

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

in 1978–1981.

Post World War II USN use

A large number of United States Navy barges survived World War II and continued to act in a support role. Some were used by the " Brown Water Navy" of the United States during the Vietnam War as bases for specialized river boats. The barge YRBM-18 (later renamed to APL-55) received the Presidential Unit Citation for service during the Vietnam War from 6 December 1968 to 31 March 1969. The following Yard Repair types have been created: * Floating Workshops are YR, 96 built, 24 built before ww2 * Repair and Berthing Barges are YRB, 36 built * Repair, Berthing and Messing Barges were YRBM, 56 built * Dry-Dock Workshops – Hull are YRDH, 8 built * Dry-Dock Workshops – Machinery are YRDM, 8 built * Radiological Repair Barges are YRR, 14 built. Used to support nuclear plant overhauls of nuclear ships and submarines, also refueling and decontamination of used equipment. The YRB and YRBM barges were renames as Auxiliary Personnel Lighters (APL) and are available to temporarily house personnel off ships. The 70 ships are assigned to the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to bases around the world (Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia; San Diego; Bremerton, Washington ; Mayport, Florida; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Yokosuka and Sasebo in Japan; and Guam).

APL 65 class

The United States Navy placed a contract for two APL 65 berthing barges in August 1998 which were delivered to the Navy in November and December 2000. The APL 65 berthing barges include post office, barber shop, bank, classrooms, laundry, medical facilities and fitness services.

APL 67 class

The older berthing barges are being replaced by five newer ships of the APL 67 class which are being purpose built by VT Halter Marine. The first contract was awarded in September 2018 with APL 67 launched in June 2020 and delivered to the USN in August 2021 followed by APL 68 which was delivered in November 2021. *Displacement: 2,744 t *Length: *Beam *Draft *Accommodations: 600 (5 Officers, 358 Enlisted) The APL67 fleet is planned to be 14 in total. 26 'medium' APLs are also planned. On 21 November 2022, the Navy accepted APL68, saying it would support the impending

USS Harry S. Truman USS ''Harry S. Truman'' (CVN-75) is the eighth of the United States Navy, named after the 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. She is currently homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. ''Harry S. Truman'' was launched ...

carrier repair cycle.New Temporary Home for USS Truman Sailors Features More Privacy, Better Computer Access, Navy Says
Military.com, 20222-11-22

References

External links

NavSource Photo Archives – Barracks Craft (APL)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barracks Ship Ship types Naval ships Auxiliary ship classes