The ice cream barge is the colloquial term for the BRL (Barge, Refrigerated, Large). This was a towed vessel employed by the United States Navy (USN) in the Pacific theater of World War II to store frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs. It was also able to produce ice cream in large quantities to be provisioned to sailors and US Marines. The craft, a concrete barge acquired from the US Army and worth one million dollars,[1][2] stored 1500 tons of frozen meat and 500 tons of refrigerated vegetables, eggs and dairy products, indefinitely at 15 °F (−9 °C). To raise the morale of overseas troops, an ice cream freezer facility was included, able to create 10 US gallons (38 L) of ice cream every seven minutes, or approximately 500 US gal (1,900 L) per shift (equivalent to five tons per day), and could store 2,000 US gal (7,600 L).[3][4][5] It was employed in the USN's Western Pacific area of operations, at one point anchored at Naval Base Ulithi.[6] The army built three concrete barges of their own.[7]
See also
edit- USS Quartz (IX-150), a contemporary of the ice cream barge, used as a "crockery" ship
- USS Mizar (AF-12), a class of converted civilian refrigerated food carriers also used by the USN.
References
edit- ^ Wingo 1994, p. 162.
- ^ Funderburg 1995, p. 143.
- ^ "Ice Cream Ship". Charleroi Mail. 5 February 1945.
- ^ Meister 2017, p. 78.
- ^ "Unique Ships of the U.S. Navy". Official website. United States Naval Institute. 30 January 2015.
- ^ Bovbjerg 2004, p. 13.
- ^ Keller, Jared (7 August 2017). "How The Navy's Ban On Booze Birthed A Million-Dollar Floating Ice Cream Parlor". taskandpurpose.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
Sources
edit- Bovbjerg, R. V. (2004). Steaming as Before. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Hamilton Books. ISBN 978-0-7618-2850-1.
- Wingo, J. D. (1994). Mother was a gunner's mate: World War II in the Waves. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-924-6.
- Meister, C. (2017). Totally Amazing Facts About Military Vehicles. Mind Benders. Capstone Press, an Capstone imprint. ISBN 978-1-5157-4542-6.
- Funderburg, A. C. (1995). Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla: A History of American Ice Cream. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. ISBN 978-0-87972-692-8. Retrieved 23 June 2018.