Hornet Plus Three: The Story of the Apollo 11 Recovery

Hornet Plus Three: The Story of the Apollo 11 Recovery by Fish, Bob. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780974961071.

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind....” For most Americans, that’s just about all they know of Apollo 11s historic mission—the fortieth anniversary of which is this July.What few realize is how much effort went into every phase of that mission and all the ones before it. Just the recovery aspect of Apollo 11 was a monumental task involving thousands of Navy, DoD and NASA personnel. Now, for the first time, that enterprise is explored in Hornet Plus Three: The Story of the Apollo 11 Recovery.“Bob Fish has created an accurately recorded and elegantly illustrated history of a not-so-well-known, but vitally important, component of the race to the Moon”—Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 Mission Commander, Naval Aviator.Hornet Plus Three follows the evolution of the DOD, Navy and NASA’s efforts to take up President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to “[land] a man on the Moon and [return] him safely to Earth.” [emphasis added] In order to recover spacecraft from the vast ocean, the Navy and DoD had to create very elaborate plans and backups. This book traces those plans, from Mercury Freedom 7 to Apollo 12. Each aspect is explored, from the many types of aircraft employed, the different ships and their crews, and the diving specialists whose mission was to protect the astronauts.Using many primary sources, such as DoD manuals and Navy directives, as well as first-hand accounts, author Bob Fish explores the details of spacecraft recovery. There is also an extensive examination of every moment that went into the USS Hornet’s successful recovery of the Apollo 11 capsule, the three astronauts and the precious cargo of Moon rocks