| Ship | Type | Designation | Covers |
| Atlantic | |||
| USS Austin | SRS - Amphibious Transport | LPD-4 | Y |
| USS Chikaskia | SRS - Oiler | AO-54 | Y |
| USS York County | SRS - Tank Landing Ship | LST-1175 | Y |
| USS Dupont | SRS - Destroyer | DD-941 | Y |
| USS Opportune* | SRS - Salvage Ship | ARS-41 | N |
| Pacific | |||
| USS Okinawa | PRS - Carrier | LPH-3 | Y |
| USS Carpenter | SRS - Destroyer | DD-825 | Y |
| Recovery Control Centers | |||
| Honolulu | Pacific Recovery Center | N/A | Y |
| Norfolk and a clearer example3 | Atlantic Recovery Center | N/A | Y |
| Tracking & Communication Ships | |||
| USNS Range Trackeri | TS - Unknown | T AGM-1 | Y |
| USNS Redstone1 | TS - Atlantic | T AGM-20 | Y (only 1 known) |
| USNS Watertown | TS - Pacific | T AGM-6 | Y |
| Uncertain | |||
| USNS Twin Fallsii | Tracking Ship | T AGM-11 | U/K |
| Not Involved | |||
| USS Suffolk County | SRS - Tank Landing Ship | LST-173 | Y |
| Ship | Description of Postmark | Scarcity |
|---|---|---|
| USS Austin | Standard Postmark - A M. | Common |
| USS Austin | Missing Dot - A M | Only 1 Seen |
| Honolulu | Standard Postmark - P M | Common |
| Honolulu Navy Terminal Station | Larger Postmark | U/K |
| Larger Postmark | Common | |
| Smaller Postmark | Common |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Atlantic |
Designed by Morris Beck - Used on all the Atlantic Ships |
Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Pacific |
Designed by Morris Beck - Only used on the USS Okinawa |
Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Atlantic & Pacific | Designed by Morris Beck - Used on all the Atlantic Ships. See also the USS Austin. | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Beck Cachet - Atlantic | Similar to Navy Cachet | Blue-Gold-Black | Printed |
| Beck Cachet - Pacific | Similar to Navy Cachet | Green-Gold-Black | Printed |
| Orbit Cachet | Complex Printed Cachet showing Goddard, Astronaut and Rocket etc - Ship's Cachet usually on Back | Dark Green | Printed |
| Carlos Altgelt Cachet | A Sokolsky design | Green, Blue, Purple | Rubber Stamp? |
|
Ship |
Known Cachet Colours |
Beck Numbers |
| USS Austin | Maroon, Black | 750 |
| USS Chikaskia | Maroon, Black | 752 |
| USS York County | Maroon, Black | 751 |
| USS Dupont | Maroon, Black | 749 |
| USS Okinawa | Maroon | 747, 748 |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Okinawa | Ship's Cachet | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Okinawa | A Beck B747 cover with an extra Boston postmark. | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Okinawa | A companion cover to the above. This time a Beck B748 cover. Note the same addressee. | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Okinawa | A Carlos Altgelt Cachet using a Sokolsky design | Blue | Rubber Stamp? |
| USS Okinawa6 | Ship's Cachet plus Captain's corner card - only one seen | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Okinawa5 | An unusual cachet | Red | Printed |
| Dinslaken, Germany | Cover has a Navy cachet with US and United Stamps and a German postmark | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS York County | Navy Cachet - Airmail - Interesting Postage Due Stamp | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS York County | As above but with a 4c to Canada instead of 2c domestic Postage Due stamp | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Carpenter3 | A different cachet plus a signed corner card | Blue | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Carpenter | Unusual Capsule Orbiting the Earth cachet | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USNS Watertown3 | A different cachet plus a signed corner card | Red | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Redstone3 | Postmark of US Navy 10958 BR. (Bermuda) probably on the way to Apollo 6 station | Black | Corner Card |
Notes General:
i ) The USNS Range Tracker is mentioned by several sources but does not appear in the NASA Mission Report
ii) Mentioned by Donald Schultz in 'Project Apollo ... three steps and the moon' and in NASA's Press Kit. However there is no mention of the ship in the Mission Report. There is the slight possibility that it was on standby for the mission.
iii ) Note that all the Altantic ships used two different Navy cachets. One, using maroon ink, was marked Altantic. The second, using black ink, was marked both Atlantic & Pacific.
Notes Other:
1) From the collection of Toni Rigo
3) From the collection of Tom Steiner
4) From the collection of Steve Durst
5) Sold on eBay during 2011
6) From the collection of Anthony B O'Brien
This page © Dr Ross J Smith
This page is maintained by the Webmaster
Last modified on 10 December 2022
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