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Frozen food store ship and dessert factory
"Ice cream barge" is the colloquial term for a BRL (Barge, Refrigerated, Large). BRLs were towed vessels employed by the United States Navy in the Pacific theater of World War II to store frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs. They were also able to produce ice cream in large quantities to be provisioned to sailors and US Marines. Three in total were produced: USS Hydrogen, USS Calcium, and USS Antimony.[1] The ships, concrete barges acquired from the US Army and worth one million dollars, stored 1,500 tons of frozen meat and 500 tons of refrigerated vegetables, eggs, and dairy products indefinitely at 15°F (−9 °C). To improve 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).[2][3][4] They were employed in the USN's Western Pacific area of operations, at one point anchored at Naval Base Ulithi.[5] The army built three concrete barges of its own.[6][disputed – discuss]
- USS Mizar (AF-12), a class of converted civilian refrigerated food carriers also used by the US Navy.
- ^ Frias, Lauren. "How the US Navy's ice cream ships boosted morale aboard warships during World War II". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
- ^ "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.
- 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.
- Matt Siegel (6 August 2017). "How Ice Cream Helped America at War: For decades, the military made sure soldiers had access to the treat—including spending $1 million on a floating ice-cream factory". The Atlantic.
- Military Times Staff (21 July 2021). "That time the Navy spent a million dollars on an ice cream barge". Military Times.