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Apollo 11 recovery swimmers

The Navy swimmers who reached the Apollo capsule before anyone else did, steadied it in open sea, and handled the first minutes of the crew's return to Earth.

  • Revision: 1
  • Dates: 1969-07-24 to 1969-07-24 (day precision)
  • Last reviewed: 2026-08-14
  • Status: Task complete; the role continues in modern crew recovery teams
  • Also known as UDT swimmers
  • Also known as Navy frogmen

Orientation

Role: Capsule stabilisation, flotation collar, crew egress and decontamination

Operator or programme: United States Navy, supporting NASA recovery operations

Geography: Pacific Ocean, recovery area of USS Hornet

Chronology

  1. day precisionApollo 11 recovery swimmers enters the record.

Related records

  • explained by

    Who reached the returning crew first, and what were they carrying?

    Confidence: high · 1969-07-24 (day precision)

  • relates to

    The people at each end of the same flight.

    Confidence: high · 1969-07-16 (day precision)

Inspect the record1 assertion, each with its source

  • John M. Wolfram attached a sea anchor to stabilise the spacecraft; Wesley T. Chesser and Michael G. Mallory joined him to attach a flotation collar; Clarence J. Hatleberg served as decontamination officer, and all swimmers wore scuba gear to limit exposure to possible lunar microorganisms.

    Source class: space agency recordNASA — 50 Years Ago: Hornet + 3, The Recovery of Apollo 11View the source

CorrectionsNone recorded

No corrections recordedThis record has not been corrected since it was published.