Naval Ship Covers
| To a stamp collector, or philatelist, a naval cover is not a
sailor's white hat but an envelope or postcard that has been mailed from a
naval vessel as evidenced by postal markings or shipboard cancellations.
Sometimes a cachet, an imprinted image or rubber stamped design is added to
create an interesting postal souvenir. Some cachets were designed for a specific ship while others were generic (perhaps for a holiday or commemorating a historic event) and used aboard many different naval vessels. Here are some naval ship covers mailed from Bowditch, Dutton, Michelson and H. H. Hess. These illustrate the ships' movements among operating areas and ports in both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Click for larger images. |
| USNS Bowditch (T-AGS-21) |
| USNS Dutton (T-AGS-22) |
| USNS Michelson (T-AGS-23) The two examples of Michelson covers with the purple anchor cachet were postmarked in June 1971 at a US Navy Support Activity (Supply Center) at Mechanicsbug, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, zip code 17055. Thus, they are not really ship cancellations as Michelson was in the Pacific at the time. More of these appear frequently for sale on Ebay. |
| USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38) |
