| Ship | Type | Designation | Covers |
| Atlantic | |||
| USS Wasp | PRS - Carrier | CVS-18 | Y |
| USS Blandy | SRS - Destroyer | DD-943 | Y |
| USS Chukawan | SRS - Oiler | AO-100 | Y |
| USS Furse | SRS - Destroyer | DD-882 | Y |
| USS Hawkins | SRS - Destroyer | DD-873 | Y |
| USS Hoist | SRS - Salvage Ship | ARS-40 | N |
| USS Nimble1 | SRS - Minesweeper | MSO-459 | Y (Only 1 seen) |
| USS Robert A Owens | SRS - Destroyer | DD-827 | Y |
| USS Rich | SRS - Destroyer | DD-820 | Y |
| USS Skill (See also this one1) | SRS - Ocean Minesweeper | MSO-471 | Y |
| May Have Participatediv | |||
| USS Barry | SRS - Destroyer | DD-993 | Y |
| USS Charles S Sperry | SRS - Destroyer | DD-697 | Y |
| Pacific | |||
| USS Goldsborough | SRS - Guided Missile Destroyer | DDG-20 | Y |
| USS Higbee | SRS - Destroyer | DD-806 | Y |
| USS Leonard F Mason | SRS - Destroyer | DD-852 | Y |
| USS Orleck | SRS - Destroyer | DD-886 | Y |
| USS Ponchatoula | SRS - Oiler | AO-148 | Y |
| USS Rupertus | SRS - Destroyer | DD-851 | Y |
| Tracking & Communications Ships | |||
| USNS Rose Knot | TS - Atlantic | T-AGM 14 | Y |
| USNS Range Tracker | TS - Pacific or Indian Ocean | T-AGM 1 | Y |
| USNS Wheeling | TS - Pacific or Indian Ocean | T-AGM 8 | Y |
| USNS Kingsport | Communications Relay Ship - Pacific or Indian Ocean | T-AG 164 | Y |
| Others | |||
| USNS Coastal Sentry | TS - Ship was on Standby | T-AGM 15 | N |
| Not Involved | |||
| USS Everglades | Destroyer Tender | AD-24 | Y |
| USS Vesole1 | Destroyer | DD-878 | Y |
| USNS Huntsville | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 7 | Y |
| USNS Gen. H. H. Arnold | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 9 | Y |
| USNS Longview | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 3 | Y |
| USNS Richfield | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 4 | Y |
| USNS Sunnyvale | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 5 | Y |
| USNS Twin Falls | Tracking Ship | T-AGM 11 | Y |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet Atlantic |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows a Gemini capsule with parachute |
Maroon, Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet Pacific |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows a Gemini capsule with parachute |
Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Beck Cachet - Gemini 3 | See Beck Cachet for Gemini 3 | Yellow-Blue | Printed |
| Beck Cachet - Gemini 4 Atlantic |
Same as Navy Cachet for Gemini 4 | Light Green-Red-Black | Printed |
| Beck Cachet - Gemini 4 Pacific |
Same as Navy Cachet for Gemini 4 | Light Blue-Red-Blue | Printed |
| GT-4 Cachet | A small circular text cachet usually appears as an extra cachet. Produced by Morris Beck | Black, Red, Blue | Rubber Stamp |
| Orbit Cachet | Complex Printed Cachet showing Astronauts and Rocket etc - Navy Cachet usually on Back | Green | Printed |
| Gordon Type 1 | US NAVY SHIPS ON STATION FOR GEMINI ASTRONAUTS | Maroon1, Black1, Aqua | Rubber Stamp |
| Gordon Type 2 | Gemini 4 Space Flight with McDivitt and White | Maroon1, Black1, Aqua1 | Rubber Stamp |
| Gordon Type 31 | Small Gemini Capsule Photo S/H | Greyscale | Picture |
| Ship | Description of Postmark | Scarcity |
|---|---|---|
| USS Wasp | Machine Cancel | Common |
| USS Wasp | Hand Cancel - A.M. | Extremely Rareiii,3 |
| USS Wasp | Hand Cancel - P.M. | Extremely Rarevi,5 |
| USS Rupertus | Ship's name bottom of postmark | Common |
| USS Rupertus | Ship's name top of postmark | Common |
| USNS Arnold | Kwajalein postmark - Jun 3 | U/K |
| USNS Arnold | Honolulu Kwajalein M. I. BR. postmark - Jun 9 | U/K |
| USNS Rose Knot | Rodman, Canal Zone Postmark | Scarce |
| USNS Rose Knot | Balboa Postmark | Scarce |
|
Ship |
Known Cachet Colours |
Beck Numbers |
| USS Wasp | Black, Bluev,5 | 522i, 540 |
| USS Barry | Maroon | 544 |
| USS Blandy | Maroon | 545 |
| USS Chukawan | Black | 548 |
| USS Furse | Black, Maroon | 542 |
| USS Hawkins | Black | 543 |
| USS Robert A Owens | Maroon | 521i,ii, 522i,ii, 541 |
| USS Rich | Maroon | 546 |
| USS Charles S Sperry | Maroon | 547 |
| USS Goldsborough | Maroon | 534 |
| USS Higbee | Maroon | 536 |
| USS Leonard F Mason | Maroon | 538 |
| USS Orleck | Maroon | 539 |
| USS Ponchatoula | Maroon | 535 |
| USS Rupertus | Maroon | 537 |
| Cachet | Description of Cachet | Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Wasp | Very Unusual Captain's cover on back of an Orbit cover | Green/Blue | Printed |
| USS Wasp | Interesting double machine postmark | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Wasp | Interesting cover mailed from the UN with UN stamps, then marked in Norfolk on 5th and finally postmarked aboard the USS Wasp on 7th June. | None | N/A |
| USS Chukawan Ship's Cachet |
Small circular cachet shows a ship |
Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Chukawan | Navy cachet, Ship's cachet plus Beck's small circular cachet | Black | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Blandy | Late postmark 14 Jun 1965 | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Newport | Navy cachet with an unusual postmark | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| US Navy 13766 | Navy cachet with a Marine post Yokosuka Japan postmark | Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Hawkins | Beck B543 cover signed by the Commanding Officer | Light Green-Red-Black | Printed |
| USS Kingsport | Cover includes a corner card plus extra Syncom cachet | black - maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| USS Blandy4 | A Morris Beck printed cover with both an extra Morris Beck small circular text cachet in blue (seems to be the hardest colour to find) and a George Goldey JFK cachet. An ususual combination. | Light Green-Red-Black, Blue, Brown | Printed & Rubber Stamps |
| USNS Rose Knot2 | A different USNS Rose Knot cover | Black | Rubber Stamp and Typed |
| USS Everglades1 | Created by space cover servicer George Goldey who printed his Goldcraft Cachet on the cover describing it for Gemini 4 | Black | Printed |
| Postmark | Description of Cover | Postmark Date |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Canaveral | While not a PRS cover and postmarked 11 years later, it is signed by the Pilot and Co-Pilot of the Recovery Helicopter | 7/6/1976 |
| Jackson | While not a PRS cover it is signed by the Pilot of the Recovery Helicopter | 28/6/1965 |
| USS Wasp | Lovely Captain's cover signed by the Commander of the Atlantic Recovery Group and the Recovery helicopter pilot | 7/6/1965 |
| USS Wasp | Unusual cover signed by the main Recovery helicopter pilot | 7/6/1965 |
| USS Wasp5 | Great cover signed by 7 members of the recovery team. And with a P.M. hand cancel. | 7/6/1965 |
Notes General:
i) GT-3 Beck cachets postmarked for GT-4
ii) Beck cacheted covers were sent to the wrong ship and later used for GT-4. See the note that was returned with the covers.
iii) Only one (excluding Captain's covers) cover with a A.M. hand cancel has been reported. It may be unique. Steve Durst has a Captain's cover with a hand cancel.
iv) There are discrepencies between different reports as to the number of recovery ships in the Atlantic. NASA's Mission Report puts the number at 10, while a DOD letter puts it at 12. In addition, the Wilhelm Katalog lists the names of only 10 ships while Schultz's 'Project Gemini ... two ships into space' lists the names of 12 ships. The two ships in question are the USS Barry and the USS Charles S Sperry.
v) Only three of this very unusual blue cachet are known. Note that the signatures are autopens.
vi) Only one cover with a P.M. hand cancel has been reported. It may be unique.
Notes Other:
1) From the collection of Tom Steiner
2) From the collection of Steve Durst
3) From the collection of Eddie Bizub.
4) From the collection of Luc Jallot
5) From the collection of Lee Kok How
This page © Dr Ross J Smith
This page is maintained by the Webmaster
Last modified on 11 November 2022
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