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NavSource Online: Escort Carrier Photo Archive

(BAVG-4) / HMS CHARGER (D27) /
USS CHARGER (AVG-30)
(later ACV-30 and CVE-30)

Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign: November - Whiskey - Uniform - Sierra

Unit Awards, Campaign and Service Medals and Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal / World War II Victory Medal

Ordered	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Stricken
*Charger Class Escort Carrier*
(see below)	19 Jan 1940	1 Mar 1941	3 Mar 1942 (USN)	15 Mar 1946	29 Mar 1946
Builder: Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pa.

Name: BAVG-4 was named Charger by the Royal Navy and retained her British name in US service.
Built under a Maritime Commission contract (hull number 61) as the civilian passenger/cargo ship Rio de la Plata.
Acquired by the Navy on 20 May 1941.
Converted to an aircraft carrier by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, Va. Initially designated BAVG-4, her conversion took 77 days to complete and she was then commissioned as HMS Charger.
Returned to the US, 4 October 1941, to be used as a training carrier (principally for the use of the British trainees).
Reclassified as an "Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier" and redesignated ACV-30, 20 August 1942.
Reclassified as an "Escort Carrier" and redesignated CVE-30, 15 July 1943.
Fate: sold 30 January 1947. Converted for merchant service as Fairsea (1949). Disabled by an engine room fire, 29 January 1969, in the Pacific; because of a lack of spare parts for her diesel engines, she was sold to Italian shipbreakers. Scrapped at La Spezia (1969).

Specifications
(As commissioned, 1942)
Displacement: 8,000 tons standard; 15,000+ tons full load
Dimensions (wl): 465' x 69.5' x 26.25' / 141.7 x 21.2 x 8 meters
Dimensions (max.): 492' x 111.25' / 150 x 33.9 meters
Armor: None
Power plant: 2 Doxford diesels (6-cylinder); 1 shaft; 8,500 bhp
Speed: 16 knots
Endurance:
Armament: 1 single 5"/51 gun mount; 2 single 3"/50-cal gun mounts; 10 single 20-mm/70-cal machine guns
Aircraft: 30+
Aviation facilities: 1 elevator; 1 hydraulic catapult
Crew: 856

Click on Thumbnail for Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
NS030100304	53k	Rio Hudson, Rio Parana and *Rio de la Plata* just prior to conversion.	Hazegray & Underway
NS0303001	66k	Good overhead, port side view.	USN
NS0303002	60k	Port side, late war image.	USN
NS0303003	137k	Good overhead, starboard side view.	USN
NS0303010	56k	USS *Charger* (CVE-30) underway circa 1942, location unknown.	Robert Hurst
NS0303011	96k	USS *Charger* (CVE-30) at anchor circa 1942, location unknown.	Robert Hurst
NS0303004	112k	USS *Charger* underway in 1943. For most of her career she was camouflaged in Measure 22, the graded system. Measure 22, introduced in June 1942, was intended for use in areas where bright weather and fair visibility predominated. Hull, from boot-topping to the lowest point of the main deck edge, was painted navy blue; the upper edge of this band was parallel to the horizon. Vertical surfaces above this blue band were painted haze gray. Flight deck was stained deck blue. Photo by Edward L. Walger PH2 USN, 1942-1945.	Barbara Walger
NS0303004a	117k	Official USN photo, taken in January 1944 but otherwise very similar to NS0303004, above.	David Buell
NS0303007	96k	A Grumman F6F Hellcat that came in too low... 1943. Photo by Edward L. Walger PH2 USN, 1942-1945.	Barbara Walger
NS0303012	78k	USS *Charger* (CVE-30) underway in January 1944, showing a very basic radar fit: SC-2 air search and the smaller SG surface search antenna below it; at the masthead is the YE aircraft homing beacon.	Robert Hurst
NS0303005	125k	USS *Charger* anchored in Hampton Roads, 1944. The island was built out over the side of the ship, to entirely clear the flight deck, and was not supported by the hull or the hangar side, thus requiring dedicated supports (one of them clearly visible under the island structure). *Charger* was armed with a single 5"/51 gun, aft, and two single 3"/50s forward (visible here); a light battery of .50-cal machine guns was initially planned, but, as shown, 20-mm machine cannon were mounted instead. The "X" superimposed on the ship's hull number, aft, indicated that the flight deck was not usable for landings. Photo by Edward L. Walger PH2 USN, 1942-1945.	Barbara Walger
NS0303006	93k	A Grumman F4F Wildcat landing aboard *Charger*. Taken from a Coast Guard cutter in October 1944. Photo by Edward L. Walger PH2 USN, 1942-1945.	Barbara Walger
NS0303008	114k	Two performances by the ship's band.	Steven C. Irwin
NS0303009	94k	Two performances by the ship's band.	Steven C. Irwin
For more photos and information about this ship, see: Special Feature — The Edward L. Walger Photo Collection

View the HMS Charger (D27)/USS Charger (AVG-30 / ACV-30 / CVE-30)
DANFS History entry located on the Hazegray & Underway Web Site.

Crew Contact and Reunion Information Web Sites

U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Related Links

Hazegray & Underway World Aircraft Carrier Pages By Andrew Toppan.
Official U.S. Navy Carrier Website
Escort Carrier Sailors & Airmen Association

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Last update: 20 January 2008

NavSource Online: Escort Carrier Photo Archive

(BAVG-4) / HMS CHARGER (D27) /USS CHARGER (AVG-30) (later ACV-30 and CVE-30)

(BAVG-4) / HMS CHARGER (D27) /
USS CHARGER (AVG-30)
(later ACV-30 and CVE-30)