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.
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. To improve the morale of overseas troops, an ice cream freezer facility was included, able to create 10 gallons of ice cream every seven minutes.
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The Daily Omnivore 