| Ship |
Type |
Designation | Covers |
|
Atlantic |
|||
| USS Lake Champlain | PRS - Carrier | CVS-39 | Y (Rare) |
| USS Abbot | SRS - Destroyer | DD-629 | N |
| USS Ability | SRS - Oceanic Minesweeper | MSO-519 | N |
| USS Decatur | SRS - Guided Missile Destroyer | DDG-31 | N |
| USS Newman K. Perry2a | SRS - Destroyer | DD-883 | Xiv |
| USS Notable | SRS - Minesweeper | AM-460 (MSO-460) | N |
| USS Recovery | SRS - Salvage & Recovery Ship | ARS-43 | N |
| USS Rooks | SRS - Destroyer | DD-804 | Xiv |
| USS The Sullivans | SRS - Destroyer | DD-537 | N |
| USS Wadleigh | SRS - Destroyer | DD-687 | N |
| Tracking Ships | |||
| USAF Coastal Sentryi | TS - Atlantic Tracking Ship | T AGM-15 | N |
| Not Involved | |||
| USCGC Eastwindii | Coast Guard Cutter | WAGB-279 | Y |
| USS Capricornus2b | Attack Cargo Ship | AKA-57 | Y |
| USS Coral Sea2b | Carrier | CVA-43 | Y |
| USS Dahlgren2b | Destroyer | DLG-12 | Y |
| USS Midway2b | Carrier | CVA-41 | Y |
| USS Henry B Wilson2b | Guided Missile Destroyer | DDG-7 | Y |
|
Ship |
Description of Postmark |
Scarcity |
|---|---|---|
| USS Lake Champlain1 | no dots (no periods after USS) | Rare |
| USS Lake Champlain1 | with dots (periods after U. S. S.) | Slightly Rarer |
| USS Lake Champlain1 | Machine Cancel - Only two are known, one of which is a crew Cover (illustrated) | The Rarest |
|
Type of Cover |
Description |
Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Cover1 | Contains the standard USS Lake Champlain 4 lines of text (no dots pmk) | Sent by a Member of the Crew |
| Standard Cover1 | Contains the standard USS Lake Champlain 4 lines of text (dots pmk) | Sent by journalist Thomas Kelly to his friend Ed Gordon who will discuss Alan Shepard’s recovery on his radio program1 |
| Standard Cover | Contains the standard USS Lake Champlain 4 lines of text (no dots pmk) | A very nice example. The Shepard signature is not genuine. |
| Standard Cover2c | Contains the standard USS Lake Champlain 4 lines of text (no dots pmk) | Another very nice example. |
| Crew Cover2 | Contains the standard USS Lake Champlain 4 lines of text (dots pmk) | Sent by a Member of the Crew |
| Postcard1 | Nice item with photo of USS Lake Champlain on the other side (dots pmk) | Sent by a Member of the Crew |
| Crew Cover1 | Note the Printed Colour Cachet (no dots pmk) | This cover is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a Captain's Cover as it was available for purchase in the Ship’s Store by crew members1 |
| Crew Cover1 | Note the Printed Colour Cachet (dots pmk) | This cover is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a Captain's Cover as it was available for purchase in the Ship’s Store by crew members1 |
| Crew Cover | A wonderful cover from a crew member along with a photo and a brief letter describing the Recovery. | Was soal in a Regency Superior auction in May 2014 |
| Suspect Cover1 | This cover is thought to be a contrived cover and also appears to include a suspect autograph. The cover is thought to be a Riser suspect cover. | Note that it is on US Air Mail Stamped Envelopeiii |
|
Cachet |
Description of Cachet |
Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Lake Champlain2d | Postmark 3 May - Between initial launch date and actual launch date | Multicolour Emblem | Stick-on |
| USS Lake Champlain | Late postmark - 12th May - possible Return to Port with text announcing the recovery. | Black Text | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Lake Champlain2a | Late postmark - 23rd May with text announcing the recovery. | Black Text | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Lake Champlain3 | Very late postmark but also has the usual printed text announcing the recovery. | Black Text | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Lake Champlain | 1 year anniversary cover | Red Text | Rubber Stamp |
|
Postmark |
Description of Cover |
Postmark Date |
|---|---|---|
| USS Lake Champlain2a | A late postmarked cover signed by the Recovery helicopter co-pilot | 1 July 1961 |
Notes General:
i) The USNS Rose Knot was off the coast of Europe to support MA-3 and was not involved with MR-3
ii ) See the article 'Where was that Ship' by Dr Ross J Smith (Bottom of page 3)
iii ) Riser fakes were done on US Embossed Envelopes (Scott Numbers UC18 (6c air mail), UC26 (7c air mail) and UC33 (7c air mail))
iv) No covers postmark on the recovery day are known. One with an extremely late postmark is known.
Notes Other:
1) From Steve Durst's CD Book
2) Sold on eBay during 2010 a) 2013 b) 2014 c) 2015 d) 2021
3) From the collection of Timothy Preston
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