Barracks ship or barracks barge are terms used to indicate a ship or a non-self-propelled barge

Barge

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...

 containing a superstructure

Superstructure

A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...

 of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks

Barracks

Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...

 for sailors

Sailors

Sailors is the plural form of Sailor, or mariner.Sailors may also refer to:*Sailors , a 1964 Swedish film*Ken Sailors , American basketball playerSports teams*Erie Sailors, baseball teams in Pennsylvania, USA...

. A barracks ship may also be used as a "Receiving Unit" for sailors who need temporary residence prior to being assigned to their ship. In civilian use the terms accommodation vessel or accommodation ship are used.

Use in World War II

Barracks ships in the combat area provided necessary residence for sailors and merchantmen whose ship had been sunk, or whose ship had been so damaged that on-board berthing was no longer possible.

Non-self-propelled barracks ships were used by the U.S. Navy in forward areas during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, especially in the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, and were designated APL, such as APL-18 which was commissioned in 1944 and had the following specifications:

• Displacement 1,300 t.(lt), 2,580 t.(fl)
• Length 261 ft (79.6 m)
• Beam 49 ft (14.9 m)
• Draft 11 ft (3.4 m)
• Complement unknown
• Accommodations 5 Officers, 358 Enlisted

Transport ships were also used as barracks by other war-time navies, such as the Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

's SS General San Martin.

See

• NavSource Photo Archives - Barracks Craft (APL)

Earlier use

Barrack ships were common during the era of sailing ships when shore facilities were scarce or non-existent. Barrack ships were usually hulk

Hulk (ship)

A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...

s. At times, barracks ships were also used as prison ships.