Up, up and away

  August 29, 1965:  Gemini 5 returned to earth after orbiting the earth 120 times.  It landed in the Pacific Ocean and the astronauts and capsule were recovered by the USS Lake Champlain.
  After spending eight days cramped in the  Mercury Capsule the men, Cooper and Conrad, were relieved to be back on earth.  The Capsule were small, about Volkswagen Beetle size, and were jammed with equipment which took up most of the room.
  The recovery ship had a story of its own that could be hard to explain.  It had been through overhaul much like other carriers of the day and had its superstructure rebuilt but an angled deck was not added.  Don't ask me why, it was easier for takeoff and landings with the angled deck.

USS Lake Champlain CV-39