Interesting ... don't you think ?? Concrete barges also served in the Pacific during 1944 and 1945 From the Charleroi, Pennsylvania, Mail, February 5, 1945 - “ Largest unit of the Army's fleet is a BRL, (Barge, Refrigerated, Large) which is going to the South Pacific to serve fresh frozen foods – even ice cream – to troops weary of dry rations. The vessel can keep 64 carloads of frozen meats and 500 tons of fresh produce indefinitely at 12F. Equipment on board includes an ice machine of five-ton daily capacity and a freezer that turns out more than a gallon of ice cream a minute. Three of the floating warehouses, designed for tropical warfare, have been built of concrete at National City, Calif., and cost $1,120,000 each. In the crew of the 265-ft. barges are 23 Army men. ” One concrete barge under tow by Jicarilla (ATF-104) was lost off Saipan during a typhoon, and another knocked out a light house in Brisbane but the rest served admirably
