posted 10-29-2009 01:36 AM               

The splashdown and recovery of Apollo 11 on 24 July 1969 was a historic event, which fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s national goal of placing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth by the end of the 1960s. This book tells the dramatic story of the USS Hornet’s recovery of the astronauts after the splashdown of their command module. This detailed account draws not only on historical records but also on the memories of eighty men who served aboard the Hornet and participated in the recovery operation, including Navy UDT frogman John M. Wolfram, who was the first to reach the Apollo II astronauts. Their inside account offers deck-level perspectives of events and includes details never before documented for the public. Their stories reveal that although the recovery operation looked easy and uneventful, there were many problems to overcome. For example, a machinist’s mate had to repair a broken propeller shaft while the ship was underway so the Hornet could reach the point of splashdown on time; storms forced the ship to navigate by dead reckoning placing it miles away from its destination just minutes before Apollo came down; and a HS-4 helicopter narrowly avoided colliding with the command module due to heavy cloud cover. Yet, according to the author, the VIPs on the Hornet never suspected anything amiss.

In addition to these behind-the-scenes stories, the book includes a never before published photograph of the Apollo 11 command module as it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Previously known only to those associated with the Navy SEAL who took the photo, the author established its authenticity through interviews with those on the helicopter and those who processed the photograph on the Hornet. Other photographs not previously released to the public, including surface-level photos taken by UDT swimmers during the recovery procedure are also among the illustrations displayed in the book.

Scott W. Carmichael is the senior security and counterintelligence investigator for the Defense Intelligence Agency and also with the Department of Defense for nearly thirty years. He is the author of True Believer and lives in Crofton, MD.

• Hardcover: 256 pages
  
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (May 15, 2010)
  
• ISBN-10: 1591141109
  
• ISBN-13: 978-1591141105

posted 10-29-2009 04:32 AM               

On the other hand, I hope they use a different picture of Hornet on the finished cover. That's a mid-1950s view of Hornet, after her SCB-27A modernization but prior to her SCB-125 refit; notice she still has her axial flight deck and open bow.

posted 12-31-2009 11:51 AM            

In short, as soon as the emergency beacon began to broadcast, all HS-4 helos dropped altitude to gain speed and began to vector toward the CM. Don recalled that he was red-lining it. His SARAH technician provided direction in a very calm manner.

His technician later told Don that the signal strength from Columbia was apparently much weaker than the signal strength from beacons used for training, and that he therefore assumed that the CM was quite some distance away from the helo, so he provided no warning to Don that they were closing on the target. Don was flying in/out of clouds. He emerged from a cloud to find his windscreen filled with the CM suspended from its chutes.

He approximated that he was no more than 1,000 yards from the CM and closing at 160+ mph. He instantly banked to avoid the collision, and just made it. The astronauts never knew, as the side crew hatch happened to be facing the other direction.

Don recalled screaming 'Aw, ****!' when he emerged from that cloud, but on tape it sounds like someone swallowing a chicken.

LTJG John McLachlan's 3-man UDT-12 team was on board Don's helo. Mitch Bucklew, the UDT/SEAL swimmer who took the splashdown photo, had a vivid memory of the moment when Don banked around the CM, as he flew across the interior of the aircraft.

posted 07-07-2010 04:57 PM               

While the first chapters are somewhat difficult to read because of the detail, they do provide a valuable repository of important history: history of space flight, history of the United States Navy and the history of the USS Hornet.

posted 07-12-2010 06:21 PM               

Moon Men Return: USS Hornet and the Recovery of the Apollo 11 Astronauts

Tuesday, July 13th, 12:00 noon

Part of the Navy Memorial's Authors on Deck series of Navy-related book lectures, Scott W. Carmichael will present his new book Moon Men Return: USS Hornet and the Recovery of the Apollo 11 Astronauts, which tells the dramatic story of the USS Hornet's recovery of the astronauts after the splashdown of their command module. The presentation by the author will be followed by a book signing and Q&A period.

posted 09-22-2010 04:16 PM               

There's a *lot* of information and detail in this book, including many, many behind-the-scenes stories and some priceless anecdotes. I have the post-recovery reports and they're dry reading, but Carmichael gives them life, and that's no small accomplishment. You get a vivid story of a ship, squadrons, crewmembers, swim teams and NASA personnel performing a vital but often overlooked mission.