“Molly Brown” and Mayport with Gemini III

The USS intrepid ( CV-11) had visited Mayport on several occasions in the 1950’s and 1960s.  It was a “renowned Essex-class aircraft carried commissioned in 1964”.  It served in WWII, the Cold War and the Vietnam War.The ship was chosen to gather up “Mollie Brown”, the Gemini space craft capsule and did so with a successful recovery on March 25, 1965. 

The ship was used to recover the capsule flown by Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John W. Young.  It was the first mission where the crew would maneuvre the space craft and considered a “human spaceflight”.  The mission lasted just short of fiver hours. The capsule landed in the Atlantic Ocean on March 3, 1965.  It was brought to Mayport.  The astronauts both became seasick and were picked up by helicopter and taken to the Intrepid for a complete physical check.  They were found in “good condition”. 

The ship was decommissioned  in 1974 and since 1982 has been berthed in New York City as an air and space museum.  In 1986 it was designated as a National Historic Landmark.  As one of the headings on the museum website, if you visit you can “Let your imagination soar”.  On the flight deck are propeller planes used in WWII, fighter jets used in Vietnam, and helicopters “that recovered NASA astronauts in 1964 right here on Jacksonville’s coast at Mayport. 

To commemorate this important mission, the United States Mint designed gold-plated, sterling silver 1-inch medallions of which the crew carried into space to later give friends and family members. 

At the museum there are educational resources, exhibitions, collections, a space shuttle pavilion, and many other historic preservations of importance.

The Gemini III capsule is now at the Grissom Memorial State Park near Mitchell, Indiana which is Grissom’s hometown.   

See you tomorrow,

Sources:  Google AI Overview, U. S. Carriers . Net, Intrepid Museum, U. S Naval Institute, NASA.gov, Wikipedia, USCG, Vaughan Publishing, Nannette V. Ramey.