| Ship | Type | Designation | Covers |
| Atlantic | |||
| USS Wasp | PRS - Amphibious Assault Shipiii | CVS-18 | Y |
| USS Canisteo | SRS - Oiler | AO-99 | Y |
| USS Kankakee | SRS - Oiler | AO-39 | N |
| USS Joseph P Kennedy | SRS - Destroyer | DD-850 | Y |
| USS Preserver | SRS - Salvage Ship | ARS-8 | N |
| USS Charles H Roan | SRS - Destroyer | DD-853 | Y |
| USS Lloyd Thomas | SRS - Destroyer | DD-764 | N |
| Pacific | |||
| USS Hollister | SRS - Destroyer | DD-788 | Y |
| USS Kawishiwi | SRS - Oiler | AO-146 | Y |
| USS Ozbourn | SRS - Destroyer | DD-846 | Y |
| USS Joseph Strauss | SRS - Guided Missile Destroyer | DDG-16 | Y |
| Tracking & Communications Ships | |||
| USNS Rose Knot | TS - Pacific - Off the West Coast of South America | T-AGM 14 | Y |
| USNS Coastal Sentry | TS - Pacific - NE of the Philippines | T-AGM 15 | Y |
| USNS Wheeling | TS - Pacific - Hawaii Area | T-AGM 8 | Y |
| Not Involved | |||
| USNS Kingsport | Communications Relay Ship | T-AG 164 | N |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet GT-11 |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows several ships and Gemini cachet on parachutei |
Maroon, Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet GT-12 - Atlantic |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows small Gemini capsule and |
Maroon, Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet GT-12 - Pacific |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows small Gemini capsule and |
Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Beck Cachet GT-11 | Same as Navy Cacheti | Atlantic : Blue-Red | Printed |
| Beck Cachet GT-12 - Atlantic | Same as Navy Cachet | Yellow-Blue-Green | Printed |
| Beck Cachet GT-12 - Pacific | Same as Navy Cachet | Pink-Maroon-Green | Printed |
| GT-12 Cachet | A small circular text cachet usually appears as an extra cachet. Produced by Morris Beck. | Black, Red, and this one, Blue | Rubber Stamp |
| Goldcraft cachet1 | Is a copy of an earlier Project Mercury cachet by Donald Schultz. Shows a Mercury capsule inside a circle of rope plus text | Aqua | Printed |
| Goldcraft cachet 2 | 15 NOVEMBER 1966 GEMINI XII etc. | Green3e, Purple3e | Rubber Stamp |
| Orbit Cachet Gemini 12 |
Complex Printed Cachet showing Astronauts and Rocket etc - Navy Cachet usually on Back | Green | Printed |
| Orbit Cachet Project Gemini |
Complex Printed Cachet showing Astronauts and Rocket etc - Navy Cachet usually on Back | Green | Printed |
| Harry Gordon cachet | 15 NOVEMBER 1966 GEMINI XII etc. | Green, Purple, Red | Rubber Stamp |
| Ship | Description of Postmark | Scarcity |
|---|---|---|
| USS Wasp | Machine Cancel | Common |
| USS Wasp | Hand Cancel | Less Common |
| USS Wasp3g | Both a Machine and a Hand Cancel | Rare |
| USNS Coastal Sentry2 | Marked 16 Nov 1966 | Difficult to Find |
| USNS Coastal Sentry | Marked 16 Oct 1966 and corrected to 16 Nov 1966 | Difficult to Find |
| USNS Coastal Sentry | Marked 16 Nov 1966 with a US Navy hand cancel | Scarce |
| USNS Wheeling | US Navy 17005 BR Postmark (Midway Is) | Difficult to Find |
| USNS Wheeling2 | San Francisco Postmark | Difficult to Find |
|
Ship |
Known Cachet Colours |
Beck Numbers |
| USS Wasp | GT-11 - Maroon, Black and this one (Extremely rare) GT-12 - Maroon, Black |
684, 685, 686, 687, 706, 707, 708, 709, 710, 711 |
| USS Canisteo | Maroon, Black | 709 |
| USS Joseph P Kennedy | Maroon, Black | 707 |
| USS Charles H Roan | Maroon, Black | 708 |
| USS Hollister | Maroon | 703 |
| USS Kawishiwi | Maroon | 705 |
| USS Ozbourn | Maroon | 704 |
| USS Joseph Strauss | Maroon | 702 |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Wasp | Both a ship's cachet and a Navy cachet - note the late postmark | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp | Interesting cover with a mission emblem addressed to Robert Boudwin | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Wasp | Great cover with both a machine and a hand cancel plus a rare black Gemini 11 Navy cachet | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp | Cover has a printed USS Wasp corner card | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp | Centennial like cachet + a small Beck circular cachet | Maroon | Printed |
| USS Wasp3d | Wonderful Martin Marietta cover with M.M. cachet, Mission emblem and Navy cachet | Various | Printed and Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp2 | A first of its kind dark bluish Navy cachet. May be a combination of maroon & balck ink. Two are known. | Dark Bluish | Rubber Stamp |
| Variousii | Splashdown and Recovery Operation cachet shows capsule on parachute & rescue ships | Black | Printed |
| Variousii | Gemini Recovery Operation cachet shows two small ships | Black | Printed |
| USS Joseph P. Kennedy | Very unusual cover postmarked for Gemini 12 but with a Gemini 9 cachet (Black Gemini 12 cachet on back) | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Joseph P. Kennedy | Navy cachet on top of Ship's Stationary | Maroon on Aqua | Rubber Stamp on Printed |
| USS Canisteo | An interesting Captain's Cover Type 2 | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ozbourn2 | Standard Navy cachet with a USS Ozbourn postmark but a USS Kishwaukee corner card? | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Wasp | Both the cachet & postmark are fakes. Believed to be done by a prisioner | Purple | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp3a | Another example of the fake. Believed to be done by a prisioner | Purple | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp3b | A particularly interesting example on top of a valid Gemini 12 cover with a Gemini 11 cachet | Purple | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp3f | The first example seen with non USA stamps | Purple | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp4 | The second example seen with non USA stamps | Purple | Rubber Stamp |
| Postmark | Description of Cover | Postmark Date |
|---|---|---|
| USS Wasp3 | Signed by the Swim Team Leader | 15 November 1966 |
| USS Wasp3 | Beck printed cover with a hand cancel signed by the Commanding Officer, Melvin R. Etheridge | 15 November 1966 |
| USS Wasp | Navy cachet - signed by Commanding Officer Captain Melvin R. Etheridge | 15 November 1966 |
| USS Wasp | Project Gemini cachet plus Beck GTA-12 cachet and a Navy cachet on the back- signed by Manager of the Gemini program, Charles W. Mathews | 15 November 1966 |
| USS Wasp | Signed by 3 members of the Search Two helicopter | 15 November 1966 |
| USS Wasp | Signed by the manager of the Gemini Program, Charles Mathews | 15 November 1966 |
| USS Wasp3c | Flown Recovery Helicopter cover | 15 November 1966 |
Notes General:
i) GT-11 cachet was only used on the USS Wasp
ii) Used on a number of ship covers. It is unknown which ship covers these cachets were used on.
iii) Often described as a Helicopter Carrier
Notes Other:
1) From Steve Durst's CD Book
2) From Tom Steiner's collection
3) Sold on eBay during 2010 a) 2011 b) 2012 c) 2013 d) 2017 e) 2019 f) 2020 g) 2024
4) From the collection of David Ball via collectSPACE
This page © Dr Ross J Smith
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Last modified on 18 September 2024
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