USS APL-31
Class overview
NameAPL-17 class
Builders
Operators
Preceded byAPL-2 class
Succeeded byAPL-41 class
Built1944-1946
In commission1944-1946
Planned24
Completed18
Cancelled6
Active3
Laid up1
Retired15
General characteristics
TypeBarracks ship
Displacement
  • 1,300 t (1,279 long tons) (standard)
  • 2,660 t (2,618 long tons) (full load)
Length260 ft 0 in (79.25 m)
Beam49 ft 2 in (14.99 m)
Draft8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Installed power100kW 450 AC
Propulsion3 × Diesel generators
Capacity
  • 0 officers
  • 583 enlisted
  • 1,000 Bbls (Diesel)
Complement
  • 6 officers
  • 66 enlisted
Armament4 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons

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.[1]

Development

Eighteen ships were built during World War II with 6 cancelled, later built as Benewah-class.[2] Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the construction of tenders and repair ships in May 1943, it was then recommended by the Auxiliary Vessels Board on 11 June later that year, the construction of barracks ships.[1]

The class consists of barges with a two-story barracks built on top instead of a warehouse design, and they had an auxiliary vessel designation of "A". Moreover, on their top deck, 4 Oerlikon 20 mm cannons were placed together with 2 guns and their platforms located on each side of the ship.[1] The guns were later removed after being put into the reserve fleet in 1946.

During the Vietnam War, 4 ships (APL-21, 26, 27 and 30) were dispatched to South Vietnam, with APL-26 and 27 later transferred to South Vietnam. The two ships were captured by North Vietnam in April 1975.[2][3]

Since 2011, only 3 ships have been in service at Naval Station San Diego, Mayport and Norfolk.[1] Notably, APL-24 served as a headquarter for the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet for the Maritime Administration, since 23 May 1962.[4] On 7 June 1946, APL-33 became the only ship of the class to be intentionally sunk because after grounding in Okinawa, caused by a typhoon.

Ships of class

APL-17-class barracks ship[2]
Name Builders Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
APL-17 Tampa Shipbuilding Co. 15 May 1944 2 July 1944 20 September 1944 - Scrapped on 14 January 1971
APL-18 15 May 1944 2 July 1944 29 September 1944 - CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at San Diego
APL-19 21 June 1944 6 August 1944 14 October 1944 - Sunk as target on 13 June 2002
APL-20 20 July 1944 3 September 1944 2 November 1944 - Sold to commercial service as merchant barge Northern Shell (ON 571572), 1974[5]
APL-21 29 July 1944 3 September 1944 16 February 1945 - Scrapped in 1972[1]
APL-22 5 August 1944 12 February 1945 24 March 1945 - Sold to commercial service as merchant barge FOSS 251., 1961[6][5]
APL-23 Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Co. 24 July 1944 26 September 1944 7 June 1945 - Disposed in 1971
APL-24 24 July 1944 26 September 1944 24 July 1945 - Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet Headquarters for the Maritime Administration[4]
APL-25 24 July 1944 24 December 1944 28 September 1945 - Sold to commercial service as merchant barge MLC-262 (ON 563795), 1973[5]
APL-26 24 July 1944 29 December 1944 18 January 1946 - Transferred to South Vietnam and redesignated HQ-9050, March 1971[3]
APL-27 Tampa Shipbuilding Co. 10 August 1944 15 October 1944 9 April 1945 - Transferred to South Vietnam and redesignated HQ-9051, March 1971[3]
APL-28 30 October 1944 10 December 1944 30 April 1945 - Sold to commercial service, 1960
APL-29 30 October 1944 10 October 1944 14 May 1945 - CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at Norfolk
APL-30 Everett Pacific Shipbuilding Co. 1 June 1944 6 September 1944 11 April 1945 - Scrapped on 1 February 1975
APL-31 1 June 1944 30 September 1944 14 June 1945 - Sunk as artificial reef on 23 July 2001
APL-32 Boston Navy Yard 5 September 1944 12 October 1944 17 January 1945 - CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at Mayport
APL-33 18 November 1944 1 January 1945 5 April 1945 12 April 1946 Destroyed on 7 June 1946
APL-34 18 November 1944 1 January 1945 16 May 1945 - Sold to Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, 7 May 2004
APL-35 Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Benewah (APB-35)
APL-36 Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Colleton (APB-36)
APL-37 Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Echols (APB-37)
APL-38 Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Marlboro (APB-38)
APL-39 Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Mercer (APB-39)
APL-40 Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Nueces (APB-40)

See also

  • Photo gallery of Barracks ships of the US Navy at NavSource Naval History no nationality or prefix;

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "APL-2 Class". www.shipscribe.com. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Barracks Ships and Barges (APB, APL)". shipbuildinghistory. 5 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "HQ 9050 & HQ 9051 - ShipSpotting.com - Ship Photos and Ship Tracker". www.shipspotting.com. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 Snell, Jack (15 September 2007), Ex-USS APL-24 - MARAD barge FB-62 1, retrieved 19 January 2022
  5. 1 2 3 Merchant Vessels of the United States. Vol. 2. U.S. Coast Guard. 1976. p. 2013.
  6. ↑ Federal Register, Issues 158-163. Vol. 36. Office of the Federal Register. 14 August 1971. p. 15680.
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