Recovery Force Ships

Ship	Type	Designation	Covers
Atlantic
USS Adroit	SRS - Minesweeper	MSO-509	Y
USS Alacrity	SRS - Ocean Minesweeper	MSO-520	Y
USS Assurance	SRS - Ocean Minesweeper	MSO-521	Y
USS Fidelity	SRS - Ocean Minesweeper	MSO-443	Y
USS Recovery	SRS - Salvage & Rescue Ship	ARS-43	N
USS Saginaw	SRS - Landing Ship Tank	LST-1188	Y
Pacific
USS Ticonderoga	PRS - Carrier	CVS-14	Y
USS Camden	SRS - Replenishment Ship	AOE-2	N
Tracking Ships
USS Vanguard	TS - Tracking Ship	T-AGM-19	Y
Recovery Control Centers
Norfolk VA	Atlantic Recovery Control Center	N/A	Y
Kunia HI	Pacific Recovery Control Center	N/A	Y
Not Involved
USNS Redstone	TS - Tracking Ship	T-AGM-20	Y

Postmark Variations

Ship	Description of Postmark	Scarcity
USS Ticonderoga	Hand Cancel1	Commom
USS Ticonderoga	Machine Cancel for 20th1 See also A Rare captain's Cover2	Rare
Norfolk Fleet Br. VA	Large Postmark	Common
Norfolk VA	Smaller Postmark	Common
Norfolk VA	Double Ring Postmark	Less Common
USNS Vanguard3	Cape Canaveral Hand Cancel	U/K
USS Assurance	US Postal Service SC 294?	U/K

Cachets

Cachet	Description of Cachet	Colours	Type
Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Atlantic	Designed by Morris Beck it shows a square general Recovery Force cachet with a parachute or NASA emblem in each of the four corners	Maroon, Black	Rubber Stamp
Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Pacific	Designed by Morris Beck it shows a square general Recovery Force cachet with a parachute or NASA emblem in each of the four corners	Maroon, Black	Rubber Stamp
Beck Cachet - Atlantic	Similar but larger version of the Navy Cachet	Atlantic:Black/Orange/Brown Pacific :Black/Red/Green	Printed
Beck Cachet - Pacific	Similar but larger version of the Navy Cachet	Atlantic:Black/Orange/Brown Pacific :Black/Red/Green	Printed
TF-130	TF-130 Manned Spacecraft Recovery Force Pacific shows Apollo capsule and Recovery Forces	Red	Rubber Stamp
TF-140	TF-140 Manned Spacecraft Recovery Force Atlantic shows Apollo capsule in sea with parachutes attached	Blue	Rubber Stamp
Goldcraft Cachet	Shows Apollo Capsule in the Water & a Helicopter	Black	Printed
Cachet Type 1	Apollo 17 NASA shows various items	Blue	Rubber Stamp

Navy Recovery Force Cachet Colours & Beck Cachet Numbers

Ship	Known Cachet Colours & Type	Beck Numbers
USS Ticonderoga	Maroon Navy	B884, B885
USS Adroit	Blue TF-140	None
USS Alacrity	Blue TF-140, Red TF-140 (scarce)	None
USS Assurance	Blue TF-140	None
USS Fidelity	Blue TF-140	None
USS Saginaw	Black Navy	None
Norfolk VA	Black Navy	B886, B887

Interesting Cachets & Covers

Cachet	Description of Cachet	Colours	Type
Western Samoa	Special Recovery Postmark	Black	Hand Cancel
USS Vanguard	Goddard Tracking Team USNS Vanguard Cachet - USPS postmark with cover marked Dec 19 1972	Black	Rubber Stamp
USS Vanguard3	Similar to above but with CC postmark and cover marked Dec 13 1972	Black	Rubber Stamp
USS Vanguard	Master USNS Vanguard corner card with CC Dec 7 postmark	Aqua	Rubber Stamp
Norfolk VA	TF 140 - Norfolk Fleet Br. Postmark	Black	Rubber Stamp
Norfolk VA	Navy Atlantic Cachet - Norfolk Double Ring Postmark	Black	Rubber Stamp
Kunia HI	Inner & Outer Space Mission Emblem Cachet - Splashdown - Dec 19	Multicolour	Printed
Kunia HI	Inner & Outer Space TF 130 Cachet - Dec 6	Blue & Gold	Printed
Kunia HI2	TF 130 Cachet - Dec 19	Maroon	Rubber Stamp

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

Postmark	Description of Cover	Postmark Date
USS Ticonderoga	Helicopter Recovery Cover signed by the pilot	20 December 1972
USS Ticonderoga	Cover signed by the Backup Helicopter Pilot & Co-pilot	11 December 1972
USS Ticonderoga3	Similar to above but with a clearer (late) postmark	22 December 1972
USS Ticonderoga4	A poscard and a PRS cover signed by various members of the recovery crew.	28 November 1972 & 27 December 1972
USS Ticonderoga4a	Cover signed by 8 frogman	20 December 1972