Apollo 11 frog men at work

August 19, 2019 · in Space · · 17 · 2.2K

OK, going up was all exciting, circling and landing on the moon was also exciting. Going back to Earth was exciting too. Then what? Interesting footage of the US navy frog men at work doing their best to secure the capsule and then make a safe pick up of the astronaut trio.

Airfix´classic box art from 1969 is a bit more dramatic with smoke and all, but what the heck. Modelling is all about getting the right feeling anyway, isn´t it?

Bit more to read on this can be found here http://www.navyhistory.org/2012/02/navy-photographer-apollo-11-recovery/

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

17 responses

  1. Very interesting, Stellan. The frogmen played a VERY vital part. It's great that you remembered them!

  2. That's exactly right. The astronauts got famous and the divers kept them from drowning, and recovered the capsule while they were at it. Stellan, are you going to build the helo?

  3. That's got to be Roy Cross's amazing artwork, just looking at that picture sent me straight back to 1978.
    N.

    • Dunno if it is Roy´s artwork on this one, it´s a classic though. The ability to capture not only the Sea King´s lines correctly but also the drama is amazing. If Airfix managed to get this model out same year as the actual mission took place they must have been on their toes. Remember this model from the catalouges in my youth.

  4. Thanks for posting the video. I’m affiliated with John Wolfram and have heard him speak on different occasions, but didn’t know about this video. Very nice to see the detail of the recovery.

  5. It's amazing watching them do their task with swells tossing them about !

  6. Hello Stellan,
    Thanks for your contribution. I have seen some shots, but this video beats it all.
    Old 66 (SH-3D) is clearly in the picture. Regards, Dirk / The Netherlands.

    • Thank you, Dirk. I think it is cool Airfix actually depicted a true moment in history rather than a generic one like an every day dog fight. After reading the photographer´s story, check the link in original posting, I understand there really was smoke at the scene but it should have been green as photographer mentioned, not orange. There ought to be some colour photos of it all though to prove either right.

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