USS Chara (AKA-58) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship named after 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 commissioned on 14 June 1944, Commander C. B. Hamblett, USNR, in command.