Apollo/COIO 3 frogmen

Acquired from JG Autographs  

 Acquired November 14th 2023

Collection #TSM-208

 This text was copied from the US Navy seal museum

Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs), precursors to today’s Navy SEALs, played an essential role in the Gemini and Apollo space missions. It was the job of the Navy Frogmen to jump into the water from a rescue helicopter to recover space capsules upon splashdown, ending a fiery thousand-mile-an-hour drop from space into the ocean. (Frogmen have reported capsules still steaming as they swam up to them.)

Once reaching the capsule, Frogmen would wrestle a flotation collar around the vessel to keep it from sinking–a physically demanding job. The Navy’s strongest swimmers trained for months using training devices like the one in the Museum’s collection, on loan from the Naval History and Heritage Command. Upon ensuring the flotation device was secure, the Frogmen would pop the hatch of the capsule to ensure the astronauts were okay. After decontaminating the space travelers, the Frogmen helped the astronauts to safety into the waiting helicopter.

In addition to the training modules, the Museum houses the wetsuit of Frogman LT (jg) David Kohler US Navy SEAL (Ret) worn on the July 24, 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) Recovery Mission in the Pacific. The mission was a symbol of détente and was the first joint U.S.-Soviet space flight, and the last flight of an Apollo spacecraft.

 David Kohler who was mentioned in the text above is one of the signers on the image

 David Kohler and three other team members are shown here ready to assist the astronauts from the capsule