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{{short description|Cargo ship of the United States Navy}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USSChara.jpg|300px|USS Chara (AKA-58)]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1970}}
|Ship name= USS ''Chara ''
|Ship namesake= The star [[Beta Canum Venaticorum|Chara]] in the constellation [[Canes Venatici]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= [[Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]], [[Kearny, New Jersey]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=15 March 1944
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=14 June 1944
|Ship decommissioned=21 April 1959
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=25 June 1966
|Ship decommissioned=March 1972
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified= AE-31, 25 June 1966
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=10 March 1972
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=*4 [[battle star]]s (World War II)
*7 battle stars (Korea)
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 12 November 1972
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Andromeda|attack cargo ship}}
|Ship type= [[Type C2 ship|Type C2-S-B1]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|6737|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length= {{convert|459|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|63|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|26|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed= {{convert|17|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=380
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=1 × [[5"/38 caliber gun]] mount
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''Chara'' (AKA-58)''' was an {{sclass|Andromeda|attack cargo ship}} named after [[Beta Canum Venaticorum|a star in the constellation ''Canes Venatici'']]. She was later converted to an [[ammunition ship]] and redesignated '''(AE-31)'''.

''Chara'' (AKA-58) was launched on 15 March 1944 by [[Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.]], [[Kearny, New Jersey]], under a [[Maritime Commission]] contract, sponsored by Mrs. E. P. McHugh, acquired by the Navy on 16 March 1944, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 14 June 1944.

==Service history==

===1944–1949===
''Chara'' cleared [[Naval Station Norfolk|Norfolk]] 22 July 1944 for [[Pearl Harbor]], arriving on 10 August for training. Her initial combat action came on 20 October when she [[hove to]] in [[Leyte Gulf]], with the Southern Attack Force, and swiftly landed troops and cargo in the momentous assault that was the first step in the [[Philippines Campaign, 1944-45|liberation of the Philippines]]. ''Chara'' withdrew on 24 October, while the decisive naval [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]] raged in the area. She returned to [[New Guinea]] to reload essential supplies which she delivered to support the continuing land [[Battle of Leyte]] on 18 November.

After rehearsal landings in New Guinea, and staging at [[Manus Island|Manus]], ''Chara'' cleared on 31 December 1944 for the [[Invasion of Lingayen Gulf|assault on Lingayen]]. As TF 97 penetrated [[Philippine]] waters, on 8 January 1945, a Japanese [[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 (island)|Leyte]] area, participating in the landings on [[San Antonio, Northern Samar|San Antonio]] on 26 January, until 26 March, when she steamed from [[San Pedro Bay (Philippines)|San Pedro Bay]] combat-loaded for the beaches of [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]].

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]] 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]], thus beginning a period of cargo operations in the Philippines and to Japan in support of the [[Occupation of Japan|occupation]].

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

===1950–1959===
[[File:USS Chara (AKA-58) replenishing USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) and USS Hollister (DD-788), circa 1950.jpg|thumb|300px|''Chara'' replenishing carrier {{USS|Philippine Sea|CV-47|3}} and destroyer {{USS|Hollister|DD-788|3}}, ''ca.'' 1950]]
With the outbreak of the [[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]] and [[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]] bomb-line triangle, and in emergency lifts of Korean POWs from [[Koje-do]] to [[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 [[First Taiwan Strait Crisis|evacuation of the Tachen Islands]]. Active through 1958, ''Chara'' was placed out of commission in reserve at [[Astoria, Oregon]], on 21 April 1959.

===1966–1972===
She was converted to an [[ammunition ship]] at [[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]] 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]], and eight for service in Vietnam.

==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/chara.html}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|10/02/02058|USS Chara (AKA-58/AE-31)}}
*[http://www.usschara.org/ USS ''Chara'' web site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822022239/http://usschara.org/ |date=2006-08-22 }}
*[http://unitpages.military.com/unitpages/unit.do?id=201421 Military.com: USS ''Chara'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060620071629/http://ussrankin.org/id352.htm 51 Years of AKAs]

{{Andromeda-class attack cargo ship}}
{{Type C2-S-B1 ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chara (AKA-58)}}
[[Category:Andromeda-class attack cargo ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Ammunition ships of the United States Navy]]

USS Chara - Revision history

imported>Parsecboy: rvt problematic edits, no consensus for this