# USS Chara

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/USS_Chara
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/USS_Chara.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Chara
> Source revision: 1326818678
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Chara (AKA-58) History United States Name USS Chara Namesake The star Chara in the constellation Canes Venatici Builder Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey Launched 15 March 1944 Commissioned 14 June 1944 Decommissioned 21 April 1959 Recommissioned 25 June 1966 Decommissioned March 1972 Reclassified AE-31, 25 June 1966 Stricken 10 March 1972 Honours and awards 4 battle stars (World War II) 7 battle stars (Korea) Fate Sold for scrap, 12 November 1972 General characteristics Class & type Andromeda-class attack cargo ship Type Type C2-S-B1 Displacement 6,737 long tons (6,845 t) Length 459 ft 3 in (139.98 m) Beam 63 ft (19 m) Draft 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m) Speed 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) Complement 380 Armament 1 × 5"/38 caliber gun mount

**USS *Chara* (AKA-58)** was an [*Andromeda*-class](/source/Andromeda-class_attack_cargo_ship) [attack cargo ship](/source/Attack_cargo_ship) named after [a star in the constellation *Canes Venatici*](/source/Beta_Canum_Venaticorum). She was later converted to an [ammunition ship](/source/Ammunition_ship) and redesignated **(AE-31)**.

*Chara* (AKA-58) was launched on 15 March 1944 by [Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.](/source/Federal_Shipbuilding_and_Drydock_Co.), [Kearny, New Jersey](/source/Kearny%2C_New_Jersey), under a [Maritime Commission](/source/Maritime_Commission) contract, sponsored by Mrs. E. P. McHugh, acquired by the Navy on 16 March 1944, and [commissioned](/source/Ship_commissioning) on 14 June 1944.

## Service history

### 1944–1949

*Chara* cleared [Norfolk](/source/Naval_Station_Norfolk) 22 July 1944 for [Pearl Harbor](/source/Pearl_Harbor), arriving on 10 August for training. Her initial combat action came on 20 October when she [hove to](/source/Hove_to) in [Leyte Gulf](/source/Leyte_Gulf), with the Southern Attack Force, and swiftly landed troops and cargo in the momentous assault that was the first step in the [liberation of the Philippines](/source/Philippines_Campaign%2C_1944-45). *Chara* withdrew on 24 October, while the decisive naval [Battle of Leyte Gulf](/source/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf) raged in the area. She returned to [New Guinea](/source/New_Guinea) to reload essential supplies which she delivered to support the continuing land [Battle of Leyte](/source/Battle_of_Leyte) on 18 November.

After rehearsal landings in New Guinea, and staging at [Manus](/source/Manus_Island), *Chara* cleared on 31 December 1944 for the [assault on Lingayen](/source/Invasion_of_Lingayen_Gulf). As TF 97 penetrated [Philippine](/source/Philippine) waters, on 8 January 1945, a Japanese [kamikaze](/source/Kamikaze) attack was hurled at them and succeeded in damaging one escort carrier of the group. On board *Chara*, three men were wounded, one fatally, as a result of the heavy anti-aircraft fire thrown up by the task force. The assaults were made on 9 January and 10 January, *Chara's* men landing their troops and cargo successfully despite heavy surf conditions and a beach so difficult that the Japanese never anticipated an amphibious assault in the location. *Chara* remained in the [Leyte](/source/Leyte_(island)) area, participating in the landings on [San Antonio](/source/San_Antonio%2C_Northern_Samar) on 26 January, until 26 March, when she steamed from [San Pedro Bay](/source/San_Pedro_Bay_(Philippines)) combat-loaded for the beaches of [Okinawa](/source/Okinawa_Island).

Once again at Okinawa, her men worked skillfully in an amphibious assault, as *Chara* landed troops and heavy equipment on 1 April 1945. She remained off Okinawa in this invasion, famous for the Japanese desperation [kamikaze](/source/Kamikaze) attacks, to unload reinforcements and additional equipment until 6 April. After overhaul in the States and a return to Okinawa with cargo on 5 July, *Chara* returned to San Francisco where she loaded supplies for the Philippines, calling en route for additional supplies at [Pearl Harbor](/source/Pearl_Harbor), thus beginning a period of cargo operations in the Philippines and to Japan in support of the [occupation](/source/Occupation_of_Japan).

She returned to the States in December 1945, then continued to support forces in the [Far East](/source/Far_East) until 1950, carrying men and cargo for the [Naval Transportation Service](/source/Naval_Transportation_Service), and after 1 October 1949, for the [Military Sea Transportation Service](/source/Military_Sea_Transportation_Service).

### 1950–1959

*Chara* replenishing carrier [*Philippine Sea* (CV-47)](/source/USS_Philippine_Sea_(CV-47)) and destroyer [*Hollister* (DD-788)](/source/USS_Hollister), *ca.* 1950

With the outbreak of the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War), *Chara* was transferred to Service Force, Pacific Fleet, for duty as an ammunition ship, transporting and transferring all types of ammunition at sea to fleet units. She cleared San Francisco on 16 September 1950 to replenish TF 77 and support the evacuations of [Hungnam](/source/Hungnam) and [Wonsan](/source/Wonsan) before returning to San Francisco for overhaul on 26 March 1951. In her second Korean tour, 19 July 1951 to 18 May 1952, she joined the Mobile Logistics Support Force in operations in the Wonsan-[Songjin](/source/Songjin) bomb-line triangle, and in emergency lifts of Korean POWs from [Koje-do](/source/Koje-do) to [Ulsan](/source/Ulsan). Another tour of providing at-sea replenishment of ammunition preceded the end of hostilities.

*Chara* later alternated duty in the western Pacific with training and upkeep on the west coast. In December 1954 and January 1955, she took part in the [evacuation of the Tachen Islands](/source/First_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis). Active through 1958, *Chara* was placed out of commission in reserve at [Astoria, Oregon](/source/Astoria%2C_Oregon), on 21 April 1959.

### 1966–1972

She was converted to an [ammunition ship](/source/Ammunition_ship) at [Willamette Iron and Steel Works](/source/Willamette_Iron_and_Steel_Works) in Portland, Oregon, and recommissioned as **AE-31** on 25 June 1966. After sea trials in July 1966, she supported Operation Rolling Thunder in Westpac and Vietnam. This included underway replenishment of aircraft carriers (such as USS Ranger) both off Vietnam and off the United States Coast. During an underway replenishment, her decks would be loaded with palettes of bombs six feet high, and in her cargo hold were 3,000-pound bombs used for airstrikes. During this time her US operational bases were in Vallejo, San Francisco Bay and Indian Island, Puget Sound. *Chara* was finally decommissioned in March 1972, and struck from the [Naval Vessel Register](/source/Naval_Vessel_Register) on 10 March 1972. She was sold for scrap on 12 November 1972.

## Awards

*Chara* received four battle stars for service during World War II, seven for service during the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War), and eight for service in Vietnam.

## References

- *This article incorporates text from the [public domain](/source/Public_domain)*[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships](/source/Dictionary_of_American_Naval_Fighting_Ships)*. The entry can be found [here](http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/chara.html).*

## External links

- [Photo gallery](http://www.navsource.net/archives/10/02/02058.htm) of USS *Chara* (AKA-58/AE-31) at NavSource Naval History

- [USS *Chara* web site](http://www.usschara.org/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20060822022239/http://usschara.org/) 2006-08-22 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

- [Military.com: USS *Chara*](http://unitpages.military.com/unitpages/unit.do?id=201421)

- [51 Years of AKAs](https://web.archive.org/web/20060620071629/http://ussrankin.org/id352.htm)

v t e Andromeda-class attack cargo ships United States Navy Completed Achernar Algol Alshain Andromeda Aquarius Arneb Capricornus Centaurus Cepheus Chara Diphda Leo Marquette Mathews Merrick Montague Muliphen Oglethorpe Rolette Sheliak Theenim Thuban Uvalde Virgo Warrick Whiteside Whitley Winston Wyandot Yancey Cancelled Sedgwick Whitfield Marina Militare Etna (ex-Whitley) Spanish Navy Castilla (ex-Achernar) Preceded by: Arcturus class Followed by: Artemis class List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships

v t e Type C2-S-B1 ships C2-S-B1 Achernar African Dawn African Star African Sun Alshain Andromeda Ann McKim Appalachian Aquarius Archer Argonaut Asterion Belle of the West Black Prince Blue Ridge Carrier Dove Carrier Pigeon Celestial Centaurus Cepheus Chara Comet Coringa Crest of the Wave Dashing Wave Defiance Diphda Eagle Wing Expounder Flyaway Flying Arrow Flying Cloud Flying Mist Flying Yankee Gauntlet Golden City SS Golden Gate Golden Light Golden Racer Golden West Herald of the Morning Highflier Hotspur Hurricane James Baines John Land Leo Lookout Mandarin Marquette Mary Whitridge Mathews Merrick Messenger (1942) Messenger (1946) Meteor Mischief Monarch of the Seas Montague Morning Light Mountain Wave Muliphen National Eagle Neptune's Car Nonpareil Northern Light Ocean Rover Ocean Telegraph Oglethorpe Oriental Pampero Queen of the Seas Rainbow Red Rover Ringleader Robin Hood Rocky Mount Rolette Santa Barbara Santa Catalina Santa Cecilia Santa Margarita Santa Maria Sheliak Sovereign of the Seas Sparkling Wave Spitfire (1943) Spitfire (1946) Theenim Thuban Titan Twilight (1942) Twilight (1946) Typhoon Virgo War Hawk Water Witch West Wind Westward Ho Whirlwind White Swallow Whitley Wideawake Wild Pigeon Wild Ranger Wild Rover Wild Wave Winged Arrow Wings of the Morning Winston Wyandot Yancey Young America C2-S-B1-R Bald Eagle Blue Jacket Flying Scud Golden Eagle Great Republic Trade Wind

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [USS Chara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Chara) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Chara?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.