USS ''Charger'' (CVE-30) was an escort carrier of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 Days later the transfer was rescinded with the ship returning to U.S. Navy control to become USS ''Charger'' which operated throughout the war as a training ship on the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 the parts: the ...

with two ferry missions to

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

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 tradit ...

. 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 (MARCOM) 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, 195 ...

(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. Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company (1917–1989) was a major shipbuilding company in Chester, Pennsylvania on the Delaware River. Its primary product was tankers, but the company built many types of ships over its 70-year history. During World W ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester ...

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 stern ...

. 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 in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the U ...

. Intended for transfer to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

under

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

, the former ''Rio de la Plata'' was commissioned on 2 October 1941 as HMS ''Charger'' (D27), Captain George Abel-Smith RN in command. However, the transfer was rescinded and the ship returned to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

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 City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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 Sitmar Cruises and its predecessor Sitmar Line were company names derived from the acronym for the Società Italiana Trasporti Marittimi ( en, Italian Maritime Transport Company). SITMAR originally was an Italian shipping line founded by Russian ...

. Successive accommodation upgrades secured the vessel's long-term employment, mainly as a migrant carrier from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

to Australia. 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, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era i ...

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

, Maurice and

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

. Also aboard was

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

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

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

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

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

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

'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