| Ship | Type | Designation | Covers |
| Atlantic | |||
| USS Alacrity | SRS - Ocean Minesweeper | MSO-520 | Y |
| USS Opportune | SRS - Salvage Ship | ARS-41 | Y |
| USS Exploit | SRS - Ocean Minesweeper | MSO-440 | Y |
| Pacific | |||
| USS Ticonderogai | PRS - Carrier | CVS-14 | Y |
| USS Goldsborough | SRS - Guided Missile Destroyer | DDG-20 | Y |
| USS Ponchatoulaiii,1 | SRS - Oiler | AO-148 | Y (only one known)) |
| Tracking Ships | |||
| USNS Vanguard | TS - Tracking Ship | T-AGM-19 | Y |
| Recovery Control Center | |||
| Norfolk VA | Atlantic Recovery Control Center | N/A | Y |
| Kunia HI | Pacific Recovery Control Center | N/A | Y |
| Not Involved | |||
| USNS Redstone - See also this unusual example | TS - Tracking Ship | T-AGM-20 | Y |
| USS Constellation | Carrier | CVA-64 | Y |
| Ship | Description of Postmark | Scarity |
|---|---|---|
| USS Ticonderoga | Hand Cancel | Common |
| USS Ticonderoga4b | Machine Canceli (Crew covers only) Also this one7. And this one11. | Rare (Only 3 known) |
| USNS Vanguard | Cape Canaveral - 16 April 1972 - Apollo Cachet | Common |
| USNS Vanguard | Cape Canaveral - 22 April 1972 - Marked 16 April - USNS Vanguard-Apollo Cachet | Common |
| USNS Vanguard | Cape Canaveral - 27 April 1972 Machine Cancel - Marked 26 April -USNS Vanguard-Apollo Cachet | U/K |
| USNS Vanguard | Cape Canaveral - 27 April 1972 Hand Cancel - Marked 26 April -USNS Vanguard-Apollo Cachet | U/K |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Atlantic |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows a square general Recovery Force cachet with the number 16 in each of the four corners |
Blue | Rubber Stamp |
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Pacific |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows a square general Recovery Force cachet with the number 16 in each of the four corners |
Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Beck Cachet - Atlantic | Larger version of the Navy cachet | Light/Dark Green & Black | Printed |
| Beck Cachet - Pacific | Larger version of the Navy cachet | Light/Dark Blue & Black | Printed |
| Artopages Recovery Ship | General Artopages Recovery Ship cachet | Orange & Blue | Printed |
| Artopages Apollo 164a | Colourful cachet shows recovery ship, rocket, capsule under parachutes. Another example4c | Multicolour | Printed |
|
Ship |
Known Cachet Colours |
Beck Numbers |
| USS Ticonderoga | Maroon | B880, B881 |
| USS Goldsborough | U/K | None |
| Norfolk VA | Black | B880, B881, B882, B883 |
| Honolulu HI | U/K | B880 |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Ticonderoga | Cachet shows the an Apollo capsule decending on parachutes | Red/Blue | Printed |
| USS Ticonderoga | Interesting Multicolour Printed Cachet | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Ticonderoga | Greyscale mission emblem plus Navy cachet on a long envelope | Greyscale + Maroon | Printed / Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ticonderoga | Multicolour mission emblem | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Ticonderoga | USS Ticonderoga Postcard with Navy Cachet. Another example. | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ticonderoga | Nice Multicolour cachet | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Ticorderoga | Interesting Drawing on Back | B/W | Hand Drawn |
| USS Ticonderoga | Amusing Hand Drawing | Multicolour | Hand Drawn |
| USS Ticonderoga5 | Unusual 'Depart for Recovery Area' cover - postmarked 8 April 1972 | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ticonderoga5 | Unusual 'Return to Port' cover - postmarked 29 April 1972 | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ticonderoga6 | Interesting double postmark - USS Ticonderoga on top of a US Postal Service postmark | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ticonderoga1 | Has a Commander in Chief Pacific corner card | Black/Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ticonderoga7 | Another Commander in Chief Pacific corner card cover with an enclosed card | Black/Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ticonderoga9 | Shows the Lunar Lander and Lunar buggy | Aqua & Blue | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Ticonderoga | Cover includes Romp mission emblem cachet | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Goldsborough | Ship's Cachet | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Constellation | USS Ticonderoga postcard with a USS Constellation postmark | Multicolour | Printed |
| USS Opportune | Cape Canaveral postmark with earlier date - Extra cachet shows the Lunar Rover | Multicolour/Black | Printed |
| USS Opportune6 | Kennedy Space Center postmark - Mission Emblem cachet | Blue | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Opportune6 | Kennedy Space Center postmark - Larger Mission Emblem cachet plus an embossed seal | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Alacrity6 | Red Corner Card On a BECK B881 Cover!! | Light/Dark Blue | Printed |
| USNS Vanguard6 | Goddard SFC Apollo Tracking Team Vanguard Tracking Ship Cachet - postmark CC 16 April 1972 hand cancel | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USNS Vanguard | A USNS Vanguard cachet on a Beck B883 cover - very rare | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Western Samoa | Special Recovery Postmark of Western Samoa cover with Space stamp | Red | Hand Cancel |
| Western Samoa | Special Recovery Postmark - This cover shows a slight variation on the previous Western Samoa cover | Red | Hand Cancel |
| Western Samoa | Special Recovery Postmark - Colorano Silk Cover | Red | Hand Cancel |
| Western Samoa | Special Recovery Postmark - cura della FDC. Also see this copy12. | Red | Hand Cancel |
| Western Samoa | Special Recovery Postmark on cover with unusual stick-on | Red | Hand Cancel |
| Cook Islands | Card with a special text cachet for Splashdown | Black | Rubber stamp |
| Kunia HI | Inner & Outer Space Cachet - April 16 | Red & Blue | Printed |
| Kunia HI2 | Navy cachet - April 16 | Maroon | Rubber stamp |
| Norfolk VA | Navy Cachet - April 27 | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Norfolk VA | Inner & Outer Space Cachet - April 16 | Orange & Blue | Printed |
| Norfolk VA | Navy Cachet - Naval Arctic Research Lab corner card | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Norfolk VA4a | Unusual Apollo 16 Recovery Force Cachet + Navy Cachet | Red & Blue, Black | Printed / Rubber Stamp |
| Norfolk VA8 | Canadian stamp on envelope to East Germany | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Honolulu HI10 | Honolulu hand cancel with Navy cachet | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Postmark | Description of Cover | Postmark Date |
|---|---|---|
| USS Ticonderoga | PRS Recovery Cover signed by the Recovery helicopter pilot, CDR Arnie Fieser of Recovery 1 | 27 April 1972 |
| USS Ticonderoga | PRS Recovery Cover signed by the Recovery helicopter co-pilot, Jon S. Gregory of Recovery 1 | 27 April 1972 |
| USS Ticonderoga | Cover signed by the leader of the UDT-12 Recovery Team | 27 April 1972 |
| USS Ticonderoga | Wonderful 1 year anniversary cover signed by 12 frogmen! | 27 April 1973 |
| USS Ticonderoga4 | Helicopter Recovery Cover signed by the pilot Commander Arnie Fieser who was the prime recovery pilot of the SH-3G helicopter which made the pickup | 27 April 19723 |
| USS Ticonderoga7 | Great Recovery Helicoper cover with a 27 April machine cancel! And a second one9 probably from the same source. | 27 April 1973 |
General Notes:
i) From Apollo 16 onwards, all Hand cancellations for the PRS on the date of recovery were postmarked in Hawaii and not aboard the PRS. However, mail from the crew or recovery teams could and was cancelled on board, on the recovery date.
ii) See a News Release from the Manned Spacecraft Recovery Force to collectors regarding arrangements for covers to be cacheted for this mission.
iii) A cover with an early postmark is also known. Also one with a late postmark is known.
Other Notes:
1) From Steve Durst's CD Book (From Tom Steiner's collection)
2) From the collection of Tom Steiner
3) It appears that this cover was on board the PRS during recovery but was taken ashore for postmarking
4) Sold on eBay 2009 a) 2011 b) 2013 c) 2018
5) From the collection of Robert Mcleod
6) From the collection of Luc Jallot
7) From the collection of Antoni Rigo
8) From the collection of Andre Gutmann
9) From the collection of Lee Kok How
10) From the collection of Joseph Volutza
11) From the collection of Ray Cartier
12) From the collection of Eugenio Vespiano
This page © Dr Ross J Smith
This page is maintained by the Webmaster
Last modified on 18 September 2023
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