USS ''Charger'' (CVE-30) was an

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

converted from a commercial C3-P&C cargo/passenger liner hull built as ''Rio de la Plata'' intended for the Moore-McCormack company's American Republics Line serving the east coast of South America.The others were ''Rio Hudson'', ''Rio Parana'' and ''Rio de Janeiro''. The ship was requisitioned for conversion to an escort carrier type intended for Royal Navy use and initially commissioned as HMS ''Charger'' (D27). Days later the transfer was rescinded with the ship returning to U.S. Navy control to become USS ''Charger'' which operated throughout the war as a training ship on the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

with two ferry missions to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and

Guantánamo Bay, Cuba Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditio ...

. After decommissioning in March 1946 the ship was sold in January 1947 to become the Italian ''Fairsea'' engaged largely in refugee and immigrant voyages from Europe to Australia. After a disabling engine room fire in January 1969 the ship was sold for scrap in Italy.

Construction

The

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The co ...

(MC) accepted Sun Shipbuilding's bid to build the four C3-P&C cargo/passenger liners on 29 November 1939 at a cost of $2,720,800 each. ''Rio de la Plata'' was planned as the third of four ships to be built by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.,

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

for the Moore-McCormack company. The modified C3 type was intended for Moore-McCormack's American Republics Line for serving the east coast of the United States to South America and the first large U.S. passenger ships to be fitted with diesel engines. Two six cylinder Sun Doxford diesels with over 9,000 shaft horsepower drove a single propeller through reduction gears for a design speed of . The ships were designed to carry 196 passengersKarsten-Kunibert Krueger-Kopiske has passenger capacity at 216. with all passenger spaces air conditioned, another first for passenger ships. The passenger design was not completed due to requisitioning for war service. The passenger-cargo design was to be a 17,500 ton displacement, vessel, length overall and

length between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ste ...

. Cargo capacity, with conditioned air to avoid moisture, was to be ( bale measure) with of refrigerated space. Passengers were to be quartered in 76 staterooms, 22 single cabins, 34 double cabins and 20 cabins with private verandahs. The keel for ''Rio de la Plata'', MC hull 61, yard hull 188, was laid 19 January 1940 with launch on 1 March 1941 and delivery on 2 October 1941. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Felipe A. Espil ( Courtney Letts de Espil). On 20 May 1941, the

requisitioned all four unfinished combiliners, for conversion to military use.

Career

United States Navy

On 1 August 1941 the four ships were delivered to the Navy for conversion before completion as commercial vessels. Conversion for naval duties was by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.,

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

. Intended for transfer to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

under

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

, the former ''Rio de la Plata'' was commissioned on 2 October 1941 as HMS ''Charger'' (D27). However, the transfer was rescinded and the ship returned to

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

control on 4 October 1941. The vessel was reclassified AVG-30 on 24 January 1942 and commissioned as USS ''Charger'' on 3 March 1942, Captain T. L. Sprague USN in command; and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.Listed by the

as the sole ship of the "''Charger'' Type of 1942 (Class)", she actually had several sister ships in , , and , all with similar building histories and transferred to the Royal Navy under

. ''Charger''s area of operations throughout the war was Chesapeake Bay, and her duty the basic task of training pilots and ships' crews in carrier operations. Men trained on her decks played an important role in the successful contest for the Atlantic with hostile submarines carried out by the escort carrier groups. Reclassified ACV-30 on 20 August 1942, and CVE-30 on 15 July 1943, ''Charger'' left Chesapeake Bay for two ferry voyages, one to Bermuda in October 1942, and one to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in September 1945. ''Charger'' was decommissioned at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

on 15 March 1946. File:USS Charger (AVG-30) in port, in June 1942 (80-G-13144).jpg , ''Charger'' stern view (AVG-30) File:Barrier crash of a Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless aboard USS Charger (ACV-30) on 16 March 1943 (80-G-38875).jpg , SBD-4 Dauntless crash on ''Charger'' (ACV-30) File:Ship's canteen aboard USS Charger (ACV-30) 1942 (28626729288).jpg , Canteen aboard ''Charger'' (ACV-30) File:USS Charger (ACV-30) preparing a perscription in the ship's dispensary, 1942 (28626728878).jpg , Ship’s dispensary on ''Charger'' (ACV-30) File:USS Charger (CVE-30) underway at sea, circa in 1945.jpg , Flight Deck of ''Charger'' (CVE-30) File:FM-2 aboard USS Charger (CVE-30), May 1944.jpg , FM-2 "Wildcat" aboard ''Charger'' File:USS Charger (AVG-30) underway in 1942 (80-G-13143).jpg , Aft view of ''Charger'' (AVG-30) underway

Post-war service

The ship was sold into merchant service on 30 January 1947 to the Vlasov group. After conversion the vessel became the

passenger liner A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

''Fairsea'', nominally for Vlasov's Italian managed Sitmar Line. Successive accommodation upgrades secured the vessel's long-term employment, mainly as a migrant carrier from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Among the immigrants arriving aboard ''Fairsea'' in 1958 was the Gibb family with future

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

Barry, Maurice and Robin; and their infant brother, solo singer Andy. Also aboard were

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

's parents and Skyhooks guitarist

Red Symons Redmond Symons (born 13 June 1949) is an Australian musician and television and radio personality. He was the lead guitarist in the band Skyhooks, the snide judge of 'Red Faces' (a segment of the long-running variety show '' Hey Hey It's Satur ...

. ''Fairsea'' was disabled by an engine-room fire between

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

on 29 January 1969. Primarily due to a lack of spare parts she was sold for scrap in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1969, the last of the four to cease operation. Her last surviving former sister ''Biter'' (later the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

's ''Dixmude''), had been returned to the

and sunk as a target in 1966.

Footnotes

References

External links

*
1944 Booklet Booklet of General PlansThe ''Fairsea'' en route to Australia (ship photo)The ''Fairsea'' en route to AustraliaThe migrant vessel ''Fairsea'' carries aid to Greek earthquake victims
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charger (CVE-30) 1941 ships Charger-class escort carriers Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company World War II escort aircraft carriers of the United States