Recovery Force Ships

Ship	Type	Designation	Covers
Atlantic
USS Chilton	SRS - Amphibious Transport	LPA-38	Y
USS Ozark	SRS - Mine Countermeasures Support Ship	MCS-2	Y
USS Rich	SRS - Destroyer	DD-820	Y
USS Salinan	SRS - Fleet Ocean Tug	AFT-161	Y
USNS Vanguard1	SRS - Tracking Ship (Dual Role)	T-AGM-19	U/K
Pacific
USS Princeton	PRS - Carrier	LPH-5	Y
USS Arlington	SRS - Communications Relay Ship	AGMR-2	Y
USS Carpenter	SRS - Destroyer	DD-825	Y
USS Chipola	SRS - Oiler	AO-63	Y
Tracking & Communication Ships
USNS Redstone	TS - Pacific (approx. 15S and 155E)	T-AGM 20	Y
USNS Huntsville	TS - Pacific (approx. 15S and 75W)	T-AGM 7	Y
USNS Vanguard1	TS - Atlantic (approx. 25N and 45W)	T-AGM 19	Y
USNS Mercury2	TS - Pacific (approx. 35N and 135E)	T-AGM 21	Y
Not Involved
USNS Range Tracker	Tracking Ship	T-AGM 1	Y
USNS Sunnyvale	Tracking Ship	T-AGM 5	Y
USNS Wheeling6	Tracking Ship	T-AGM 8	Y
Recovery Control Centers
Norfolk VA	Atlantic Recovery Control Center	N/A	Y
Kunia HI5	Pacific Recovery Control Center	N/A	Y (scarce)

Postmark Variations

Ship	Description of Postmark	Scarcity
USS Princeton	Machine Cancel	Common
USS Princeton4	Hand Cancel - Another with a clean Hand cancel9	Extremely Rare3
USNS Mercury2	Postmarked in San Francisco	Common
USNS Mercury2	Postmarked in Honolulu	Common
USNS Mercury6	Postmarked 26 May in NSW Australia probably Sydney - marked 18 May	-
USNS Mercury	Postmarked 26 May in Sydney NSW Australia- marked 24 May	-
USNS Redstone	Cover forwarded to ship whilst in Australian waters and postmarked at Glenelg, Australia 20 Sept 69 - text exists both in black and purple	-
USNS Redstone	Postmarked in Honolulu with machjine cancel	Common
USNS Redstone6	Postmarked in Honolulu with both hand cancel and machine cancel	Uncommon

Cachets

Cachet	Description of Cachet	Colours	Type
Navy Recovery Force Cachet Atlantic	Designed by Morris Beck it shows an Apollo Command Module with Lunar Lander attached	Maroon, Black	Rubber Stamp
Navy Recovery Force Cachet Pacific	Designed by Morris Beck it shows an Apollo Command Module with Lunar Lander attached	Maroon, Black	Rubber Stamp
Beck Cachet - Atlantic	Similar to Navy Cachet	Dark/Light Orange	Printed
Beck Cachet - Pacific	Similar to Navy Cachet	Dark/Light Green	Printed
TF-140	Manned Spacecraft Recovery Force TF-140 Emblem	Black	Rubber Stamp

Navy Recovery Force Cachet Colours & Beck Cachet Numbers

Ship	Known Cachet Colours	Beck Numbers
USS Chilton	Maroon	B792, B797, B798
USS Ozark	Black	B791
USS Rich	Maroon, Black	B793
USS Princeton	Maroon, Black9	B787
USS Arlington	Maroon	B790
USS Carpenter	Maroon	B796
USS Chipola	Maroon	B788, B789

Interesting Cachets & Covers

Cachet	Description of Cachet	Colours	Type
USS Princeton7	Unusual cachet shows the moon plus description	Black	Printed
USS Princeton7	Incorrect US Navy Atlantic cachet	Maroon	Rubber Stamp
USS Princeton7	Commander's Corner Card	Black	Rubber Stamp
USS Princeton	USS Princeton postmark on an Apollo 8 FDC	Multicolour	Printed
USS Princeton9	A very special cover which not only has a clean hand cancel but also includes a black cachet - the only one seen	Black	Rubber Stamp
USS Arlington	Ship's Cachet	Maroon	Rubber Stamp
USS Carpenter	Ship's Cachet	Maroon	Rubber Stamp
USS Chilton/USNS Range Recoverer	USNS Range Recoverer cachet with a USS Chilton postmark and a Navy cachet on the back	Black/Maroon	Rubber Stamp
USS Rich	TF-140 Cachet	Black	Rubber Stamp
Space Unit Cachet	Found with various SRS postmarks including the USS Chilton, USS Ozark and the USS Rich	Blue	Printed

Signed PRS Covers including Helicopter Recovery Covers - these covers were actually aboard the PRS during recovery

Postmark	Description of Cover	Postmark Date
USS Princeton	PRS Cover signed by the recovery heli pilot Charles Smiley	26 May 1969
USS Princeton	PRS Cover signed by the Commander Carl M Cruse	26 May 1969
USS Princeton8	Wonderful PRS Cover signed by recovery and photo heli crew members	26 May 1969
USS Princeton8	PRS Cover signed by various recovery heli crew members	26 May 1969