Aircraftcarrietr that picked up Astronauts????

Question

What's th name of THE name of th Aircraft carrier that picked up the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Mission. Was it the Lexington , or another?

Answer 1

The aircraft carrier Hornet in 1969 oversaw the retrieval of Apollo 11 that July and Apollo 12 that November.

Several of the Essex-class ships played a part in the United States' human spaceflight program, as recovery ships for unmanned and manned spaceflights, from 1960 to 1973.

The Essex was scheduled to be the prime recovery carrier for the ill fated Apollo 1 space mission. It was to pick up the Apollo 1 astronauts north of Puerto Rico on March 7, 1967 after a 14-day spaceflight. However, the mission did not take place because on January 27, 1967, the Apollo 1 crew were killed by a flash fire in their spacecraft on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center.

Essex was the prime recovery carrier for the Apollo 7 mission. She recovered the Apollo 7 crew on October 22, 1968 after a splashdown north of Puerto Rico.

Answer 2

Here is a list of the ships that were used.  The Lexington in not on the list.

Answer 3

Various aircraft carriers were used, depending on what the Navy had in the landing area at the time. All Mercury and most Gemini missions landed in the Atlantic, while one Gemini and most Apollo missions landed in the Pacific.