Recovery Force Ships
| Ship | Type | Designation | Covers |
|
Atlantic |
|||
|
SRS - Rescue & Salvage Ship |
ARS-41 |
Y |
|
|
USCGC Point Charles |
SRS - Coast Guard Cutter |
WPB-82361 |
N |
|
Pacific |
|||
|
PRS - Carrier |
LPH-11 |
Y |
|
|
SRS - Rescue & Salvage Ship |
ATS-2 |
Y |
|
|
SRS - Rescue & Salvage Ship |
ARS-38 |
Y |
|
|
SRS - Rescue & Salvage Ship |
ARS-53 |
Y |
|
|
SRS - Fleet Ocean Tug |
AFT-114 |
Y |
|
|
Tracking Ships |
|||
|
TS - Tracking Ship |
T-AGM-19 |
Y |
|
|
TS - Tracking Ship |
T-AGM-20 |
Y |
|
|
Recovery Control Center |
|||
|
Atlantic Recovery Control Center |
N/A |
Y |
|
|
Pacific Recovery Control Center |
N/A |
Y |
|
|
Not Involved |
|||
|
Tracking Ship |
T-AGM-22 |
Y |
|
|
Ship |
Description of Postmark |
Scarcity |
|---|---|---|
| USS New Orleans | Hand Cancel - Wavy Killer Bars Used in Hawaii |
Common |
| USS New Orleans | Hand Cancel - Solid Killer Bars4 | Less Common |
| USS New Orleans | Hand Cancel - Day after Recovery Used aboard PRS |
Rare |
| USNS Vanguard | Mar Del Plata - 16th Nov - nearest port to tracking area | U/K |
| USNS Vanguard | Cape Canaveral - 16th Nov - MC | U/K |
| USNS Vanguard | Cape Canaveral - 16th Nov - MC - Diff Cachet | U/K |
| USNS Vanguard | Mar Del Plata - 26 Nov - different postmark - red | U/K |
| USNS Vanguard3 | Unusual cancel Naval Ship Vanguard Skylab Mission without a date and without any other postmark | U/K |
| USNS Vanguard | Mar Del Plata - 9th Feb | U/K |
| USNS Vanguard3 | Cape Canaveral - 8th Feb | U/K |
| USNS Redstone | Cape Canaveral - 16th Nov - MC | U/K |
| USNS Redstone | Patrick AFB - 8th Feb - MC | U/K |
| USNS Redstone3 | Cape Canaveral - 8th Feb - MC | U/K |
| Kunia3 | Launch 16 Nov 1973 - Blue TF 130 cachet | Common |
| Kunia | Splashdown 8 Feb 1974 - Maroon TF 130 cachet | Common |
| Kunia | Launch 16 Nov 1973 plus Splashdown 8 Feb 1974 - Purple TF 130 cachet |
Less Common |
| Kunia9 | Launch 16 Nov 1973 - possibly an Inner & Outer Space Printed Cachet | Uncommon |
| Norfolk | Large Postmark - No Time Slug | Uncommon |
| Norfolk | Small Postmark | U/K |
| Norfolk | Both Large & Small Postmarks - Large Postmark has a Time Slug | Common |
|
Cachet |
Description of Cachet |
Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Atlantic |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows TF-140 emblem |
Black | Rubber Stamp |
| Navy Recovery Force Cachet - Pacific |
Designed by Morris Beck it shows TF-130 emblem |
Maroon | Rubber Stamp |
| Beck Cachet - Atlantic | Similar to but larger than Navy Cachet | Black-Green-Orange | Printed |
| Beck Cachet - Pacific | Similar to but larger than Navy Cachet | Black-Green-Red | Printed |
| TF-130 | Manned Spacecraft Recovery Force - Pacific Shows a capsule & various Recovery Craft |
Maroon, Blue, Purple | Rubber Stamp |
| TF-140 | Manned Spacecraft Recovery Force - Atlantic Shows A capsule under parachutes |
Green | Rubber Stamp |
| Artopages Cachet Type 13 | General Skylab cachet | Black-Red | Printed |
| Artopages Cachet Type 2 | Skylab Cachet shows a Saturn Rocket | Brown-Green | Printed |
| Artopages Cachet Type 3 | Combined Skylab & Boy Scouts Cachet | Red-Blue | Printed |
|
Ship |
Known Cachet Colours |
Beck Numbers |
| USS New Orleans | Maroon | B896, B897 |
| Norfolk | Black | B898, B899 |
|
Cachet |
Description of Cachet |
Colours | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Tawakoni | Ship's Corner Card on envelope with embosed 'Department of the Navy seal - Navy Term? Sta. postmark | none | Rubber Stamp |
| USS New Orleans | Picture of the USS New Orleans & TF-130 emblem - Honolulu postmark |
Black | Printed |
| Other Ships | Covers identical (except for the ship pictured) to the above USS New Orleans cover exist for the USS Beaufort, USS Bolster, USS Grapple and the USS Tawakoni | Black | Printed |
| USS New Orleans/USS Grapple | An interesting cover from Tom Steiner with a USS Grapple Corner Card and ship's cachet plus a USS New Orleans Postmark. The cover was probably transferred from the USS Grapple which didn't have a post office to the USS New Orleans which did. | See Scan | Rubber Stamp |
| USS New Orleans3 | An unusual Bob Boudwin 'Return to Port' cover postmarked 20 Feb 1974 | Aqua | Rubber Stamp |
| USS New Orleans | Similar to above but with a different cachet | Aqua | Rubber Stamp |
| Beck B8963 | With a previously unknown US Postal Service Hi 967 postmark! | Black-Green-Red | Printed |
| A purple Skylab cachet plus an aqua text cachet | Purple / Aqua | Rubber Stamp | |
| USS Opportune3 | An unusual USS Opportune cachet | Blue | Rubber Stamp |
| USNS Vanguard3 | An unusual pictorial cachet | Black | Printed |
Signed PRS Covers including Helicopter Recovery Covers - covers postmarked on 9th were actually aboard the PRS during recovery
|
Postmark |
Description of Cover |
Postmark Date |
|---|---|---|
| USS New Orleans | PRS Cover signed by the Commanding Officer, Captain Neiger | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & crew of the main Recovery helicopter 001 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans6 | A similar Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & crew of the recovery helicopter 001 but also signed by other frogmen from the UDT-12 recovery team plus their destinctive UDT-12 Cachet | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | A different Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & crew of the recovery helicopter 001 Recovery Helicopter | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | A different Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & crew of the recovery helicopter 002 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | Another Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot, co-pilot & crew of the Swim recovery helicopter | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | A different Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & crew of the Photo recovery helicopter 004 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | Similar Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot, co-pilot & crew of the ELS recovery helicopter 006 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans9 | A different Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & crew of the Relay recovery helicopter 005 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans3 | A Recovery Cover signed by four divers from UDT#12 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans8 | This cover was signed by the three Skylab 4 Astronauts. It was probably not aboard the PRS during recovery. It has a solid killer bars postmark. | 8 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | This cover was signed by the three Skylab 4 Astronauts. It was probably not aboard the PRS during recovery. It has a wavy killer bars postmark. See companion covers for Skylab 2 & 3. | 8 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | A different Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & co-pilot of the ELS recovery helicopter 006 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans3 | Another Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & crew of the ELS recovery helicopter 006 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| Houston | Although not a PRS cover it is signed by 8 members of the UDT-12 team on a FDI Skylab stamp cover | 14 May 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | Another Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot & crew of the recovery helicopter 001 | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | Another Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot, co-pilot & crew of the ELS recovery helicopter. | 9 Feb 1974 |
| USS New Orleans | Another Helicopter Recovery Cover marked 8 Feb 1974 and signed by pilot, co-pilot, crew & swimmers of the Swim recovery helicopter. Late postmark is US Postal Service | 12 Feb 1974 |
| US Postal Service ??7 (possibly 967) |
Late postmark signed by 3 swimmers from UDT 12 | 17 Mar 1974? |
| USS New Orleans | A great cover signed by the three Skylab 4 (III) astronauts, the Commanding Officer Capt. Ralph E. Neiger, the TF-130 Commander and the Recovery helicopter pilot. | 8 Feb 1974 |
Note:
1) The USS Opportune was the launch site recovery ship for the launch on Nov. 16. The other ships, except of the
USCGC Point Charles, were recovery ships for the splashdown on February 8. The role of the USCGC Point Charles
is unknown but is likely to be as a launch site recovery ship.
2) The USNS Redstone was stationed in port on standby
3) From the collection of Tom Steiner
4) The solid bar cancel was normally used only on parcels but the Postal Officer was pursuaded to also use it on
envelopes for this mission.
5) Other dates for the USNS Vanguard are also known
6) From the collection of Luc Jallot
7) These three ships were rotated with one on active duty at all times. The exact description of their duties is
'Duty salvage ship providing secondary landing area support until primary recovery ship active.'
8) From the collection of Steve Durst
9) Sold on eBay during 2011
This page © Dr Ross J Smith
This page is maintained by the Webmaster
Last modified on 17 December 2011
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