This 1962 slim Zippo commemorates the recovery of John Glenn by USS Noa after completion on the Mercury 3 mission which was the first US manned orbit of the Earth in February 1962
This 1962 Zippo also commemorates the recovery of John Glenn's "Friendship 7" capsule by USS Noa after completion on the Mercury 3 mission which was the first US manned orbit of the Earth in February 1962
This 1962 Zippo commemorates USS Kearsarge's recovery of Walter Schirra "Sigma 7" space capsule after the 9 hour Mercury 7 orbit mission in October 1962 and Gordon Cooper "Faith 7" capsule after the Mercury 8 1 day 10 hour orbit in May 1963 which was the first US space flight exceeding 24 hours
This 1962 Zippo also commemorates USS Kearsarge's recovery of Walter Schirra after the 9 hour Mercury 7 orbit mission in October 1962 and Gordon Cooper after the Mercury 8 orbit in May 1963 . It is a presentation lighter got Admiral Constantine Karaberis
This 1965 two-sided Zippo for the USS Wasp commemorates the recovery of the Gemini 6 Astronauts Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford on one side, and the Gemini 7 Astronauts Frank Borman and Thomas Lovell on the reverse. Both missions were carried out in December 1965
Apollo 8 was the first of the Apollo series to successfully orbit the moon, and the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth's gravity and reach the Moon. This 1968 two-sided slim Zippo commemorates the recovery of astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders by USS Yorktown in December 1968
The USS Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 astronauts, the first men on the moon; in 1969, the year of this Town & Country Zippo
This is a 2001 Zippo for USS Hornet CVS 12 Prime Recovery Ship. The reverse has an image of the ship and the Apollo 12 slogan "Three More Like Before." While the images look very much like the process Town & Country images on the 1969 version above, they are not since the T&C method was discontinued at the end of the 60's. The value of this 2001 version value is a fraction of what the 1969 models are worth
See also SPACE EXPLORATION and NAVY Zippo pages