TSES V - USNS Barrett

The Barrett, Geiger and Upshur were identical ships (P2-S1-DN1) built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, New Jersey. Originally laid down for the American President Lines [APL], they were taken over by the Navy's Military Sea Transportation Service [MSTS], renamed for Marine Corps generals - USNS Barrett, Geiger, and Upshur - and completed as troop transports due to the Korean Conflict.

The ships had two large holds forward and aft, and staterooms for 400 officers and bunks for 1,500 troops amidships. The most revolutionary feature on the ships was the installation of air-conditioning. Included in its original civilian specifications, this feature made the ships a favorite of troops and crews alike. The design is single screw with geared turbine propelling machinery located in the machinery space amidships. The steam cycle employed uses a high-efficiency, cross-compound turbine, four stages of regenerative feed heating, and high-efficiency boilers fitted with rotary regenerative air heaters. This basic cycle arrangement is one which has demonstrated satisfactory performance and reliability.

The best-konwn ships of the MSTS were the AP type troopships, which operated for three deacdes - from 1943, when the General and Admiral P-2 and General C-4 class transports began service to the end in 1973 when the Barrett class (USNS Barrett and USNS Upshur) returned from the far east to the United States for good. The last actual transportation of troops took place about 1968 during the Vietnam War. The retirement of the USNS Upshur and USNS Barrett in 1973 it also marked the end of the troopship era for the Navy.