| Ship | Type | Designation | Covers |
| Atlantic | |||
| USS Austin | SRS - Amphibious Transport Dock | LPD-4 | Y |
| USS Escape | SRS - Salvage Ship | ARS-6 | Y |
| USS Hawkins | SRS - Destroyer | DD-873 | Y |
| Pacific | |||
| USS Hornet | PRS - Carrier | CVS-12 | Y |
| USS Joseph J Strauss | SRS - Guided Missile Destroyer | DDG-16 | Y |
| Tracking Ships | |||
| USNS Vanguard | TS - Tracking Ship | T-AGM-19 | Y |
| Other | |||
| USS Hassayampaiii Another exampleiii,4 | Oiler - replenishment operations | AO-145 | Y (Only 3 known) |
| Not Involved | |||
| USS Ingraham | Destroyer | DD-694 | Y |
| USS Talbot | Destroyer Escort | DEG-4 | Y |
| USNS Huntsville2 | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 7 | Y (Only 1 known) |
| Recovery Control Centers | |||
| Norfolk NAS VA | Atlantic Recovery Control Center | N/A | Y |
| Kunia HI | Pacific Recovery Control Center | N/A | Y |
| Ship | Description of Postmark | Scarcity |
|---|---|---|
| USS Hornet | Machine Cancel | Common |
| USS Hornet | Hand Cancel - AM below 1969 Pmk | Rare |
| USS Hornet1 | Hand Cancel - AM above 1969 Pmk | Rarer |
| USS Hornet | Hand Cancel - No Time Slug | Rarer |
| USS Hornet | Both Apollo 11 & Apollo 12 postmarks with an Apollo 12 cachet | Only 1 seen |
| USS Hornet3 | Both a Hand Cancel & a Machine Cancel (also signed). | Extremely Rare |
| USS Hornet4 | Another with both a Hand Cancel & a Machine Cancel. Also especially note the Hand Cancel. The NOV is significantly to the left of the normal position. | Extremely Rare |
| USS Hornet3e | Another with both a Hand Cancel & a Machine Cancel. This one is much clearer. | Extremely Rare |
| USS Austin | Hand Cancel - 'USS Austin' Bottom of Pmk - 'P.M.' Variety |
Common |
| USS Austin | Hand Cancel - 'USS Austin' Bottom of Pmk - 'P M' No Periods Variety |
Common |
| USS Hawkins | Hand Cancel - 'USS Hawkins' Top of Pmk | Common |
| USS Hawkins | Hand Cancel - 'USS Hawkins' Bottom of Pmk | Rare |
| Norfolk Naval Air Station | Large Postmark | Common |
| Norfolk Naval Air Station4 | Different Postmark | Scarce |
| Norfolk | Smaller Postmark | Common |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Atlantic |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows an Apollo Command Module with Lunar Lander attached above the Moon |
Maroon, Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Pacific |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows an Apollo Command Module with Lunar Lander attached above the Moon |
Maroon, Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Beck Cachet - Atlantic | Similar to Navy Cachet | Orange/Blue/Green | Printed |
| Beck Cachet - Pacific | Similar to Navy Cachet | Red/Blue/Green | Printed |
| Goldcraft Cachet | Shows Apollo Capsule in the Water & a Helicopter - also seen on a USS Hawkins cover | Black | Printed |
| Orbit Cachet | Printed cachet with Navy Cachet on top | Greyscale/Maroon | Printed/Rubber Stamp |
| Artopages Cachet 1 | Shows the USS Hornet plus text within a shield | Blue/Red | Printed |
| Artopages Cachet 2 | Just the usual frame with no contents | Orange | Printed |
| Boerger Cachet | Navy Recovery Ship Cachet | Dark Blue | Printed |
| Gordon Cachet | USS HORNET PICKS UP APOLLO 12 etc. | Black3d, Purple8 | Rubber Stamp |
|
Ship |
Known Cachet Colours |
Beck Numbers |
| USS Austin | Black | B823 |
| USS Hawkins | Black | B824 |
| USS Hornet | Maroon | B821 |
| USS Joseph J Strauss | Maroon | B822 |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Hornet | Cover has two Great Britain Postage Due stamps added | N/A | N/A |
| USS Hornet | USS Hornet cover with a Navy cachet & a Romanian stamp! (signatures are autopen) |
Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hornet | Cachet shows the USS Hornet and an Apollo Capsule attached to Parachutes | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hornet | USS Hornet postmark & Apollo 12 Navy cachet with a 2nd postmark; FDI First Man on the Moon stamp | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hornet | Postage Due Stamp | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hornet | Unusual cachet shows capsule in water & helicopters | Black-Red | Printed |
| USS Hornet | Cachet shows Lunar Lander on Moon | Blue | Printed |
| USS Hornet | Beautiful set of 7 hand drawn covers with recovery scenes on both sides. | Black | Hand Drawn |
| USS Hornet | Scarce NASA Recovery Team cover. Here is another signed by the three astronauts.3a | Black | Printed |
| USS Hornet | Interesting Apollo 12 Recovery Team cover. Here is a second with an additional Navy cachet.3a | Blue | Printed |
| USS Hornet | USS Hornet Apollo 12 stationary | Aqua | Printed |
| USS Hornet | Cachet shows the USS Hornet | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hornet2 | Cachet shows astronauts being recovered from capsule | Greyscale | Printed |
| USS Hornet3a | Beautiful Hand painted van Waay Cachet | Multicolour | Hand Painted |
| USS Hornet3a | US Navy emblem cachet | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Hornet3a | Unusual Apollo 12 cover with a machine cancel for Apollo 11 and a hand cancel for Apollo 12. | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hornet3c | Greyscale photo of capsule in the Ocean | Greyscale | Printed |
| USS Hornet6 | Interesting cover from member of Associated Press Photo Pool | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hornet4 | Mission Emblem cover with the rare no time slug postmark | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Hornet | A rare contractor cover of North American Rockwell. Another example8. | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Hornet / USS Joseph J Strauss2 |
Extremely Unusual - Postmarks from Two Recovery Ships | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hawkins | Very nice illustrated cover | Black | Drawn |
| USS Hawkins | Text cachet Apollo 12 Souvenir Cover etc. Also for the USS Austin7 | Black | Printed |
| USS Hawkins3a | Austrian Postcard | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ingraham | Although not involved an interesting cover to the Commanding Officer | N/A | None |
| USS Joseph J Strauss | Swiss Postcard with Navy Cachet | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Joseph J Strauss | Navy Recovery Force - Shows the USS Hornet | Black | Printed |
| USS Joseph J Strauss | Extra US Navy Recovery ForceText cachet | Black | Printed? |
| Honolulu | Apollo 12 Navy Pacific with a 29 November Honolulu postmark. Also one for 24 November. | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Norfolk | Apollo 12 Atlantic Fleet Destroyer & Rocket Cachet - Black Navy cachet on back | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Norfolk Naval Air Station | Long envelope with Astronaut on the Moon cachet plus TF-140 cachet | Purple / Black | Printed / Rubber Stamp |
| Norfolk NAS8 | Cachet shows the 3 Astronaut heads, 2 on the Moon and sailing ship | Blue | Printed |
| Pago Pago | Boerger Navy Recovery Ship cachet | Dark Blue | Printed |
| Western Samoa | Special Recovery Postmark - FDC | Black | Hand Cancel |
| Western Samoa | Special Recovery Postmark - Different cachet | Black | Hand Cancel |
| Postmark | Description of Cover | Postmark Date |
|---|---|---|
| USS Hornet | Signed by the ship's Commanding Officer - Captain C. J. Seiberlich - Hand Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Signed by the ship's Commanding Officer - Captain C. J. Seiberlich - Machine Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Signed by the pilot of helicopter Swim 1ii - Lieutenant Bill Sherrod - Machine Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Helicopter recovery cover signed D. S. Jones, who appears not to be involved with Apollo 12. A real mystery cover! | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Signed by members of the Photo Helicopter | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Signed by the pilot of helicopter Recovery 1 i - Commander Warren Aut - Machine Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Another cover signed by the pilot of helicopter Recovery 1 i - Commander Warren Aut - Hand Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Signed by the co-pilot of helicopter Recovery 1 - Lieutenant Junior Grade Glenn Casey - Machine Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Signed by a crew member of helicopter Recovery 1 - Chief Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Operator, Ken Cunningham - Machine Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Signed by members of the Recovery Team - Hand cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet | Cover from Helicopter Recovery Team member includes a hand written letter | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet3b | Helicopter recovery cover signed by the pilot of the main Recovery helicopter - Hand Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet2 | Signed by entire crew of helicopter Recovery 1 (Helo 66) - Hand Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet2 | Signed by the pilot of helicopter Recovery 1i - Commander Warren Aut - Hand Cancel | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet3 | Signed by Capt. Charles G. Colvin, In charge of moving Mobile Quarantine Facility, Maj. Steve Lytle, Wing Space Recovery Officer, and Capt. George H. Ufer USAF Representative aboard the U.S.S. Hornet for Apollo 12 | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet3 | Signed by members of Swin One Recovery Team, Lt. William Sherrod, Pilot, Lt. Jg. Larry Lybarger, Co-Pilot, AWH-2 Gregg Wilscam 1st Crewman, and AWH-1 Harold M. Faurot 2nd Crewman | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet2 | Signed by the Frogmen, Lt. Jg. Ernest Lee Jahncke, Decontamination Swimmer, Lt. Jr. William C. Robertson, Swimmer, St-1 Arles L. Nash, Swimmer, and PH-3 William R. Pozzi, Sea Anchor man, and first swimmer in the water | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet3a | Morris Beck printed cover signed by the ship's Commanding Officer and the main Recovery helicopter pilot | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet5 | Cover Signed by the ship's Commanding Officer - Captain C. J. Seiberlich | 24 November 1969 |
| USS Hornet8 | Great cover with Gordon text cachet and signed by the Apollo 12 crew. |
Notes General:
i ) The main recovery helicopter piloted by Commander W. Aut was a SH3D Sea King and carried the decontamination swimmer.
ii ) Swim 1 piloted by Lieutenant Bill Sherrod was the Helicopter 10 nautical miles uprange from the carrier and carried 3 swimmers.
iii ) The USS Hassayampa was there facilitating with Underway Replenishment Operations as needed (http://www.angelwind.com/hassayampa/history.html). Covers are rare.
iv) Four operational helicopters (Recovery, Photo, Swim 1 and Swim 2) were used plus one was held as a reserve.
Notes Other:
1) Scan provided by Steve Durst
2) From the collection of Tom Steiner
3) Sold on eBay during 2010 a) 2013 b) 2014 c) 2017 d) 2018 e) 2024
4) From the collection of Gerard Zonneveld
5) Scan provided by Robert Fish of the USS Hornet Museum
6) From the collection of Joseph Volutza
7) From the collection of Anthony O'Brien
8) From the collection of Timothy Preston
This page © Dr Ross J Smith
This page is maintained by the Webmaster
Last modified on 4 September 2024
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