USS ''Echols'' (APB-37) is a ''Benewah''-class

barracks ship 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 of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Construction and career

The ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 11 August 1944, by the Boston Navy Yard and launched on 30 July 1945, sponsored by Miss Dorothy O'Brien. She was commissioned in January 1947. The ship was put into the inactive in commissioned status as ''Echols'' (APB-37) at Atlantic Reserve Fleet, 6th Naval District from January 1947 until 1961, where she was to

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. Echols was later towed to Groton to accommodate submarine crews at the

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lon ...

. In 1971, she was re-designated as IX-504. On 22 December 1955, ''Echols'' was struck from the

Naval Register A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

. The ship was sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, on 12 January 2003. Between April 2005 and August 2006, the ship was sold to Clean Waters of New York and has been in used since then as an indoor shop and floating office.Google Earth Pro

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Echols (APB-37) Benewah-class barracks ships Echols County, Georgia Ships built in Boston 1945 ships Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs Group