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Author
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Topic: Space Cover 186: Wally!
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micropooz
Member Posts: 1584
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 11-04-2012 06:30 AM
   
Space Cover of the Week, Week 186 (November 4, 2012) Space Cover #186: Wally!In my last Space Cover of the Week in early October, I was on a streak to write up Edwards rocketplane cachets (that week was the HL-10), and I overlooked the fact that that week was the 50th anniversary of Wally Schirra's "Textbook" Mercury flight - Sigma 7 on October 3, 1962. So let's do a belated celebration of Wally's 50th! The cover above is the "Captain's Cover" for Wally's Sigma 7 prime recovery ship, the USS Kearsarge. While many other prime recovery ships produced specific cover designs for their Captain's Covers, the Captain of the Kearsarge, E. P. Rankin just used his corner card (printed return address in the upper left) stationery. Since this was considered official Navy mail, no postage or postmark was required (see the typed "Postage and Fees Paid Navy Department" in the upper right). The cover did receive the Beck-designed Navy red rubber stamped cachet for the recovery on its lower left. It was addressed to a foreign official in the U. S. State Department. I had Wally autograph it at the New Jersey autograph show in 2005.  Captain Rankin had a special filler card put inside the cover. The printed front of the filler card is shown above.  And the typed body of the filler card is shown above here. Who else has some neat Wally/Sigma 7 covers? Let's post 'em! Just Wally's Mercury flight - let's save his Gemini 6 and Apollo 7 covers for future SCOTW's. And if you need someone to host your Wally cover image for posting, please send it to me in an email. Glad to do it! Happy belated 50th Wally, wherever you are now...  |
Bob M
Member Posts: 1788
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 11-04-2012 03:47 PM
Here's an "Orbit" cacheted cover canceled at Cape Canaveral for the launch of Mercury-Atlas 8 and nicely autographed by Schirra, with him adding "Sigma 7" and the Sigma 7 symbol - oops, Mercury 7 symbol   |
stevedd841
Member Posts: 298
From: Millersville, Maryland
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 11-04-2012 04:00 PM
Well, I cranked up the Wayback machine and came up with this one for Navy LT. W. M. Schirra writing to his wife during combat operations in northwest Korea, October 17, 1951. And 11 years later, as one of the first seven NASA astronauts, Wally would set a record as America's third astronaut to orbit the Earth, October 3, 1962, with 6 orbits of the Earth, in what was called at the time "a textbook flight." 
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micropooz
Member Posts: 1584
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 11-04-2012 06:34 PM
Cool covers guys!!!And Bob, the symbol Wally drew on your cover was the Mercury 7 symbol, not Sigma 7 (even better!). |
spaceman1953
Member Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 11-04-2012 09:58 PM
No better hobby than to have honored our heroes and heroines with space "stuff" and especially covers! God, we are so very blessed to have lived thorough these times! |
Ross
Member Posts: 500
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 11-06-2012 07:06 AM
Here is another USS Kearsarge cover from MA-8. The status of this cover is uncertain. They were produced in reasonable quantity, are consistent and are signed by the Captain. However, it is unknown who ordered their creation and how they were distributed. As I have an identical cover, except it is signed by the Postal Clerk, it seems likely that they should be classified as a Crew Cover Type 1. It could also be argued that it was a Captain's cover Type 2.  |
Ross
Member Posts: 500
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 11-06-2012 07:15 AM
This was also the first mission for which Morris Beck produced Recovery Ship covers that were available to the public. Three covers were produced (for the USS John Paul Jones, USS Norris and USS Charles S. Sperry), one of which is shown below. |
micropooz
Member Posts: 1584
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 11-06-2012 06:59 PM
Wow Ross! Great point that this was the first flight for the Beck Printed Cachets!And with respect to your Kearsarge cover signed by the postal clerk, I met the addressee (Charles Simpson) back when I lived in Houston. Charlie was famous for getting covers carried on deep sea submersibles, etc., so there may be a bigger story on the Kearsarge cover. Unfortunately Charlie died about 20 years ago, so we'll probably never know the story behind your cover... | |
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