| Ship |
Type |
Designation | Covers | |
| Pacific (TF-130) | ||||
| USS Kearsarge | PRS - Carrier | CVS-33 | Y | |
| USS John A. Bole | SRS - Destroyer | DD-755 | Y | |
| USS Chipola | SRS - Oiler | AO-63 | N | |
| USS De Haven | SRS - Destroyer | DD-727 | Y | |
| USS Duncan | SRS - Radar Picket Destroyer | DDR-874 | Y | |
| USS Epperson | SRS - Destroyer | DDE-719 | Y | |
| USS Fletcher | SRS - Destroyer | DD-445 | Y | |
| USS Frank Knox | SRS - Radar Picket Destroyer | DDR-42 | Y | |
| USS Kawishiwi | SRS - Oiler | AO-146 | Xii | |
| USS Lofberg | SRS - Destroyer | DD-759 | Y | |
| USS Mansfield | SRS - Destroyer | DD-728 | Y | |
| USS Taussig | SRS - Destroyer | DD-746 | Y | |
| USS John W. Thomason | SRS - Destroyer | DD-760 | Y | |
| Atlantic (TF-140) | ||||
| USS Adroit | SRS - Ocean Minesweeper | MSO-509 | N | |
| USS Beatty | SRS - Destroyer | DD-756 | Y | |
| USS Compton | SRS - Destroyer | DD-705 | Y | |
| USS Davis | SRS - Destroyer | DD-937 | Y (Scarce) | |
| USS Gainard | SRS - Destroyer | DD-706 | Y | |
| USS Harwood | SRS - Destroyer | DD-861 | Y | |
| USS Hyman | SRS - Destroyer | DD-732 | Y | |
| USS Myles C. Foxi | SRS - Destroyer | DD-828 | Y | |
| USS Opportune | SRS - Salvage & Rescue Ship | ARS-41 | N | |
| USS Stalwart | SRS - Oceam Minesweeper | AM-493 (MSO-493) | N | |
| USS Wasp | SRS - Carrier | CVS-18 | Y | |
| Possibly/Probably Involved - More info to come | ||||
| USS Nantahala | Oiler - See Naval History and Heritage Command Site | AO-60 | Y | |
| USS Corry | Radar Picket Destroyer- Canary Island Recovery Ship - See USS Corry Website | DDR-817 | Y | |
| USS McCaffery | Destroyer | DDE-860 | Y | |
| USS Purdy | Destroyer | DD-734 | Y | |
| USS Charles R. Ware | Destroyer | DD-865 | Y | |
| Tracking & Communication Ships | ||||
| USAF Coastal Sentry | TS - 28°30'N. latitude and 130°00'E. longitude, south of Japan | T-AGM 15 | N | |
| USAF Rose Knot | TS - 25°00'S. latitude and 120°00' W. longitude, near Pitcairn Island in the Pacific | T-AGM 14 | Xiii | |
| USNS Range Tracker | TS - 31°30' N. latitude and 173°00' E. longitude stationed near the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific | T-AGM 1 | Y | |
| USNS Twin Falls | TS - 31°3' N. latitude and 75°00' W. longitude between Florida and Bermuda | T-AGM 11 | N | |
| Not Involved | ||||
| USS Charles F. Adams | Guided Missile Destroyer | DDG-2 | Y | |
| USS Bache5 | Destroyer | DD-470 | Y | |
| USS Barry2 | Destroyer | DD-933 | Y | |
| USS Beale5 | Destroyer | DD-471 | Y | |
| USS Bennington2 | Carrier | CVS-20 | Y | |
| USS Bordelon5 | Destroyer | DD-881 | Y | |
| USS Brownson5 | Destroyer | DD-868 | Y | |
| USS Constellation5 | Carrier | CVA-64 | Y | |
| USS Conway5 | Destroyer | DDE-507 | Y | |
| USS Cony2 | Destroyer | DD-508 | Y | |
| USS Corry | Radar Picket Destroyer | DDR-817 | Y | |
| USS Eaton | Destroyer | DD-510 | Y | |
| USS Essex2 | Carrier | CVS-9 | Y | |
| USS Forest Royal | Destroyer - was on tentative list to participate | DD-872 | Y | |
| USS Forrest Sherman4 | Destroyer | DD-931 | Y | |
| USS Forrestal5 | Carrier | CVA-59 | Y | |
| USS Furse5 | Destroyer | DD-882 | Y | |
| USS Gyatt9 | Destroyer | DD-712 | Y | |
| USS Hancock2 | Carrier | CVA-19 | Y | |
| USS Hornet5 | Carrier | CVS-12 | Y | |
| USS Independence2 | Carrier | CVA-62 | Y | |
| USS Intrepid11 | Carrier | CVS-11 | Y | |
| USS Joseph P Kennedy5 | Destroyer | DD-850 | Y | |
| USS John King5 | Guided Missile Destroyer | DDG-3 | Y | |
| USS Kitty Hawk2 | Carrier | CVA-63 | Y | |
| USS Lake Champlain | Carrier | CVS-39 | Y | |
| USS Lexington2 | Carrier | CVS-16 | Y | |
| USS Mahan | Destroyer | DLG-11 | Y | |
| USS Meredith5 | Destroyer | DD-890 | Y | |
| USS Midway (a different cover5) | Carrier | CVA-41 | Y | |
| USS Murray (a different cover2) | Destroyer | DD-576 | Y | |
| USS O'Brien5 | Destroyer | DD-725 | Y | |
| USS Oriskany2 | Carrier | CVA-34 | Y | |
| USS William V. Pratt5 | Destroyer | DLG-13 | Y | |
| USS Radford5 | Destroyer | DD-446 | Y | |
| USS Ranger5 | Carrier | CVA-61 | Y | |
| USS Rogers5 | Destroyer | DD-876 | Y | |
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt5 | Carrier | CVA-42 | Y | |
| USS Shangrila2 | Carrier | CVA-38 | Y | |
| USS Charles S. Sperry5 | Destroyer | DD-897 | Y | |
| USNS Huntsville | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 7 | Y | |
| USNS Kingsport5 | Tracking Ship | T-AG 164 | Y | |
| USNS Longview | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 3 | Y | |
| USNS Range Recoverer See also this version | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 2 | Y | |
| USNS Richfield | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 4 | Y | |
| USNS Sunnyvale | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 5 | Y | |
| USNS Watertown | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 6 | Y | |
| Ship | Description of Postmark | Scarcity |
|---|---|---|
| USS Kearsarge | Machine Cancel | Medium Rarity |
| USS Kearsarge | Hand Cancel | Very Rare |
| USS Kearsarge5 | Both Machine & Hand cancels | Only 1 Seen |
| USS Kearsarge10 | Hand Cancel Variation | Only 1 Seen |
| USS Kearsarge10 | Hand Cancel Variation | Only 1 Seen |
| USS De Haven | De Haven at bottom of postmark | Common |
| USS De Haven | De Haven at top of postmark | Hard to find |
| USS Fletcher | Normal Black Postmark | Common |
| USS Fletcherxi | Dark Maroon Postmark | Only 1 Seen |
| USS John W. Thomason | Ship's name on bottom of postmark - AM time slug | Common |
| USS John W. Thomason12 | Ship's name on top of postmark - PM time slug | Only 1 Seen |
| USS John W. Thomason |
Ship's name on bottom of postmark - PM time slug. See also this one.13 |
U/K |
| USNS Range Tracker | Hand Cancel | Rare |
| USNS Range Tracker1 | Machine Cancel | Rare |
| USS Charles R Ware | 15 May A.M. | Common |
| USS Charles R Ware | 15 May P.M. | Common |
| USS Charles R Ware | 16 May A.M. - May Not Exist | Not Seen |
| USS Charles R Ware | 16 May P.M. | Common |
| USS Charles R Ware | 16 May No Time Slug | U/K |
| USS Wasp5 | A double circle USS Wasp New York postmark | Only 1 seen |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beck Cachet | Shows world map and Mercury capsule | Red-Black-Blue | Printed |
| Goldcraft Cachet | Shows Mercury Capsule & Recovery ship | Yellow1, Blue, Brown5, Possibly Others | Printed |
| Boerger Cachets (A.B. Covers) |
a) Other designs may exist |
Blue | Printed |
| Sokolsky Cachets | Other designs exist | Various | Printed |
| Schultz Cachet | Shows Mercury capsule with data on the mission. | Maroon, Redxii | Rubber Stamp |
| Fuerst Cachet 1 | Shows drawing Mercury capsule, ship & sunrise plus text | Bicolour - Various | Rubber Stamp |
| Fuerst Cachet 2 | Small circular multicolor cachet | Multicolour | Printed |
| Fuerst Cachet 3 | The 'Pacific Recovery Force MAJ. L. Gordon Cooper, Jr" appears on all the Fuerst 1 cachets, it also appears on other cachet makers covers such as Morris Beck. | Maroon, Green | Rubber Stamp |
| Fuerst Cachet 4 | As above but for Atlantic Recovery Force. See this Donald Schultz cover. | Green, Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Lorraine Carlson Cachet Atlantic | Shows Mercury capsule and Recovery Force 'Salute to U.S. Atlantic Fleet' |
Blue | Printed |
| Lorraine Carlson Cachet Pacific | Shows Mercury capsule and Recovery Force 'Salute to U.S. Pacific Fleet' |
Blue | Printed |
| Highway Stamp Club Cachet | Shows NASA Emblem | Blue | Rubber Stamp |
| Type 1 | Somewhat similar to Schultz - capsule is larger & text different | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Type 2 | Simple Drawing of Mercury capsule marked 'MA-9 Recovery Force' | Maroon, Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Type 3 | Shows a rocket, capsule under parachutes and the PRS - This cachet is hard to find | Black-Red | Printed |
| Type 4 | Text Cachet in large Ellipse | Red | Printed |
| Type 5 | Shows Cooper in Hawaii | Greyscale | Printed |
| Type 6 | Gordon's 22 Orbits Faith 7 Recovery Force | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Type 7 | Small General Destroyer Cachet shows a destroyer | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Type 8 | Small detailed capsule cachet + text. Incorrect capsule | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Type 9 | Similar to Type 8 but with a different capsule | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Type 10 | A different small capsule | Green | Rubber Stamp |
| Karcher Kover Type 1 |
Beautiful Multicolour cachet shows half-earth and rocket in flight. Produced by Frederick L. Karcher of Karcher Kover - Condition .... Go, Go, Go! Also see this one. | Various | Printed |
| Karcher Kover Type 2 |
Beautiful Multicolour cachet shows half-earth and rocket in flight. Produced by Frederick L. Karcher of Karcher Kover - Its Gordo all the Way | Various | Printed |
| Gordon Cachet Type 1 | ON STATION FOR ASTRONAUT COOPER | Purple | Rubber Stamp |
| Gordon Cachet Type 2 | MAJOR L. GORDON COOPER 4TH AMERICAN IN ORBIT etc. | Purple | Rubber Stamp |
| Joe Frasketi Cachet Type 1 | Text cachet 'L. GORDON COOPER JR. 22 ORBIT SPACE FLIGHT etc. | Red, Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Joe Frasketi Cachet Type 26 | Cachet shows a Mercury capsule. Usually with above text. The cachet also exists with a smaller version of the capsule. | Various but mainly Red-Black or Black-Red | Rubber Stamp |
| United States Destroyer Mail | Cachet shows an emblem including mermaids and ships | Black | Printed |
| Mike Brock Cachet | Cachet of an amusing Man in the Moon | Black | Printed |
| Charsabatano Sbatano Cachet xiii | Cachet shows waving Cooper, spacecraft & earth | Red | Rubber Stamp |
|
Ship |
Beck Numbers |
Ship |
Beck Numbers |
| USS Kearsarge | 323 | USS Beatty | 333 |
| USS John A. Bole | 318 | USS Compton | 335 |
| USS De Haven | 322 | USS Gainard | 331 |
| USS Duncan | 321 | USS Harwood | 339 |
| USS Epperson | 326 | USS Hyman | 338 |
| USS Fletcherviii | 317 | USS Myles C. Fox | 332 |
| USS Frank Knox | 320 | USS Wasp | 341 |
| USS Lofberg | 325 | Possibly Involved | |
| USS Mansfield | 319 | USS Corry | 342 |
| USS Taussig | 324 | USS McCaffery | 337 |
| USS John W. Thomason | 327 | USS Nantahala | 334 |
| USS Purdy | 340 | ||
| USS Charles R. Ware | 336 |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Kearsarge | Ship's cachet | Maroon, Blackv | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Kearsarge | Ship's cachet with a Cape Canaveral postmark | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Kearsarge | USS Kearsarge cover with a Type 3 cachet and a hand cancel | Maroon & Black | Rubber Stamp & Printed |
| USS Kearsarge | A different text cancel | Maroon & Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Kearsarge | Interesting Project Mercury Team stick-on | Multicolour | Stick-on |
| USS Kearsarge | Aerogram with a Hand cancel | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Kearsarge | Very late use of cachet on Official Business cover | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Kearsarge4f | Great cover with Type 3 & ship's cachets plus a hand cancel & signed by Cooper | Black & Red / Maroon | Printed & Rubber Stamp |
| USS Kearsarge / USNS Range Tracker | A USS Kearsarge cover with a USNS Range Tracker corner card and a MSTS cachet. | Maroon & Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Epperson | Ship's cachet | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Fletcher | Ship's cachet | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hyman | Ship's cachet | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Versatile Spearhead of Seapower | Shows the Earth and an orbital path | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Epperson | Interesting cover has three cachets; a Type 5 plus the ship's cachet on the front and a Schultz cachet on the back - first seen | Maroon & Black, Black plus Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Mansfield | A very interesting cover with a Desron 9 cachet in addition to a KK cachet and signed by the Commanding Officer | Various | Printed & Rubber Stamp |
| USS Frank Knox | On a general US Project Mercury cover | B/W | Printed |
| USS Frank Knox | Michael Herbert Cachet (1 of 1) shows the Destroyer. Similar cachets are available for other ships | Greyscale | Printed |
| USS Gainard | Black Mercury capsule cachet | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Lake Champlain2 | A general MA-9 cachet | Brown | Printed |
| USS Wasp | Houston Philatelic Society cachet | Blue & Red | Printed |
| USS Wasp | Covers shows the ship's emblem and is signed by the Commander Captain Lee Wilson Mather | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Wasp4c | Wonderful cover and letter from a member of the U.S. Navy Carrier Anti-Submarine Air Group 52 on the USS Wasp. Probably printed aboard the Carrier. First one seen. | Red & Black | Printed |
| USS Wasp4e | Shows sketch of the USS Wasp | Black | Printed |
| Postmark | Description of Cover | Postmark Date |
|---|---|---|
| USS Kearsarge | An interesting PRS Cover postmarked at Cape Canaveral and signed by the Commanding Officer Captain E. P. Rankin. Here is the equivalent Crew Cover . | 15 May 1963 |
| USS Kearsarge | PRS cover signed by the Commanding Officer Captain E. P. Rankin. | 16 May 1963 |
| USS Kearsarge | Both a Lorraine Carlson and a ship's cachet and signed by the Commanding Officer | 16 May 1963 |
| USS Kearsarge | Beck B323 cover signed by a future Commanding Officer, Capt. Merle Murray Hershey | 16 May 1963 |
| USS Kearsarge7 | A very rare Beck Crew cover with the ship's cachet on the front and signed by the Commanding Officer Captain E. P. Rankin. Another was sold on eBay during 2013. | 16 May 1963 |
| USS Kearsarge8 | Great Helicopter Recovery Cover signed by the Pilot Mead Massa and co-pilot! First one seen. And with an associated letter from Massa. | 16 May 1963 |
| USS Fletcher4a | Signed by the Supply Officer | 15 May 1963 |
Notes General:
i) A letter from the US Navy suggests that the USS Myles C. Fox was not involved in Mercury 9. However, other sources state that it was involved.
ii ) A single standard cover has been reported from the USS Kawishiwi. In addition two inter-ship covers from the USS Kawishiwi to the USS Thomason exist. One such cover is illustrated.
iii ) Steve Durst has a Rose Knot cover postmarked in Tahiti on 22 April 1963, just prior to Astronaut Gordon Cooper's flight
iv ) The Mediterranean Sea Recovery Force (TF 109), consisting of two Destroyers, was on Standby
v ) The black cachet is extremely scarce. Most are signed by the Commanding Officer such as this one. A second example.
vi ) Liftoff was posponed from 14 May due to problems with the launch vehicle gantry and a computer problem at the Bermuda tracking station after being originally delayed from February.
viii ) A small number of Beck B317 covers have been found with different postmarks including the PRS USS Kearsarge. Morris Beck sent a second batch of 42 B317 covers to the Navy (the first batch consisted of 311 covers plus 25 crew covers). Since the ship's name is not printed on the cover, the covers may have been distributed in any manner by the Navy. See Owen Murray's website http://beck.ormurray.com/ .
ix ) See article 'A Study of MA-9 Postmarks' for a full list of variations in dates
x ) These covers mark the launch scrub of 14 May
xi) Postmark is a very dark maroon (much darker than appears in the scan) which actually appears black under compact fluorescent light. Only one copy has been seen.
xii) Only one red cachet has been seen on the back of a USS Kearsarge
xiii) See this note11 for a list of the ship's that were cacheted.
Notes Other:
1) From the collection of Steve Durst
2) From the collection of Eddie Bizub
3) From Owen Murray's website http://beck.ormurray.com/
4) Sold on eBay in 2009 a) 2015 b) 2018 c) 2021 d) 2022 e) 2023 f) 2024
5) From the collection of Tom Steiner
6) From the collection of Joe Frasketi
7) Thanks to Owen Murray's website with a cover from the collection of Martin Schwebs Rasmussen.
8) From the collection of Timothy Preston
9) From the collection of Roland Mantovani
10) From the collection of Lee Kok How
11) From the collection of Anthony O'Brien
12) From the collection of Andre Gutmann
13) From the collection of Eugenio Vespiano
This page © Dr Ross J Smith
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Last modified on 16 November 2024
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