Eighteen ships were built during World War II with 6 cancelled, later built as Benewah-class.[2] Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the construction of tenders and repair ships in May 1943, it was then recommended by the Auxiliary Vessels Board on 11 June later that year, the construction of barracks ships.
The class consists of barges with a two-story barracks built on top instead of a warehouse design, and they had an auxiliary vessel designation of "A". Moreover, on their top deck, 4 Oerlikon 20 mm cannons were placed together with 2 guns and their platforms located on each side of the ship. The guns were later removed after being put into the reserve fleet in 1946.
During the Vietnam War, 4 ships (APL-21, 26, 27 and 30) were dispatched to South Vietnam, with APL-26 and 27 later transferred to South Vietnam. The two ships were captured by North Vietnam in April 1975.
Since 2011, only 3 ships have been in service at Naval Station San Diego, Mayport and Norfolk. Notably, APL-24 served as a headquarter for the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet for the Maritime Administration, since 23 May 1962. On 7 June 1946, APL-33 became the only ship of the class to be intentionally sunk because after grounding in Okinawa, caused by a typhoon.
| APL-17-class barracks ship | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Builders | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | |
| APL-17 | Tampa Shipbuilding Co. | 15 May 1944 | 2 July 1944 | 20 September 1944 | - | Scrapped on 14 January 1971 | |
| APL-18 | 15 May 1944 | 2 July 1944 | 29 September 1944 | - | CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at San Diego | ||
| APL-19 | 21 June 1944 | 6 August 1944 | 14 October 1944 | - | Sunk as target on 13 June 2002 | ||
| APL-20 | 20 July 1944 | 3 September 1944 | 2 November 1944 | - | Sold to commercial service as merchant barge Northern Shell (ON 571572), 1974[3] | ||
| APL-21 | 29 July 1944 | 3 September 1944 | 16 February 1945 | - | Scrapped in 1972 | ||
| APL-22 | 5 August 1944 | 12 February 1945 | 24 March 1945 | - | Sold to commercial service as merchant barge FOSS 251., 1961[4] | ||
| APL-23 | Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Co. | 24 July 1944 | 26 September 1944 | 7 June 1945 | - | Disposed in 1971 | |
| APL-24 | 24 July 1944 | 26 September 1944 | 24 July 1945 | - | Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet Headquarters for the Maritime Administration | ||
| APL-25 | 24 July 1944 | 24 December 1944 | 28 September 1945 | - | Sold to commercial service as merchant barge MLC-262 (ON 563795), 1973 | ||
| APL-26 | 24 July 1944 | 29 December 1944 | 18 January 1946 | - | Transferred to South Vietnam and redesignated HQ-9050, March 1971[5] | ||
| APL-27 | Tampa Shipbuilding Co. | 10 August 1944 | 15 October 1944 | 9 April 1945 | - | Transferred to South Vietnam and redesignated HQ-9051, March 1971 | |
| APL-28 | 30 October 1944 | 10 December 1944 | 30 April 1945 | - | Sold to commercial service, 1960 | ||
| APL-29 | 30 October 1944 | 10 October 1944 | 14 May 1945 | - | CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at Norfolk | ||
| APL-30 | Everett Pacific Shipbuilding Co. | 1 June 1944 | 6 September 1944 | 11 April 1945 | - | Scrapped on 1 February 1975 | |
| APL-31 | 1 June 1944 | 30 September 1944 | 14 June 1945 | - | Sunk as artificial reef on 23 July 2001 | ||
| APL-32 | Boston Navy Yard | 5 September 1944 | 12 October 1944 | 17 January 1945 | - | CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at Mayport | |
| APL-33 | 18 November 1944 | 1 January 1945 | 5 April 1945 | 12 April 1946 | Destroyed on 7 June 1946 | ||
| APL-34 | 18 November 1944 | 1 January 1945 | 16 May 1945 | - | Sold to Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, 7 May 2004 | ||
| APL-35 | Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Benewah (APB-35) | ||||||
| APL-36 | Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Colleton (APB-36) | ||||||
| APL-37 | Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Echols (APB-37) | ||||||
| APL-38 | Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Marlboro (APB-38) | ||||||
| APL-39 | Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Mercer (APB-39) | ||||||
| APL-40 | Converted to Benewah-class barracks ship as USS Nueces (APB-40) | ||||||