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Collecting Air Crash CoversCollecting Air Crash Covers

Program 7 of a series sponsored by The American Air Mail Society

An Affiliate of The American Philatelic Society

Copyright 2010

Collecting Air Crash CoversBy Ken Sanford

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What is an Air Crash Cover?

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• Crash – Incomplete flight due to aircraft accident resulting in damage to or destruction of the aircraft, with mails (if not lost or destroyed) forwarded by other aircraft or other means (sometimes referred to as “recovered mail” or “salvaged mail”). 

• Interrupted Flight – A flight which is interrupted or delayed en route, resulting in an unscheduled or forced landing, usually due to adverse weather conditions or an aircraft mechanical problem. Flight continued later by the same aircraft, or to expedite mail, another aircraft.

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Earliest Air Crash Covers

Paris balloon crash in Norway“Ville d’Orleans” – November 1870

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Earliest Regular Air Mail Service Crash

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U.S. Government Air Mail Service – 1918

Interesting CachetsEarly U.S. Post Office Cachets

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Interesting CachetsPost Office Notice

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Interesting CachetsPostmaster manuscript – Rubber Stamp

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Collecting by Airline

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Earliest Airline Service Crashes

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Air Transport & Travel Ltd.

Crashed at Eltham, Great Britain – 22 August 1920

Varney Air Lines

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1st flight crash - Jordan Valley, Oregon - 6 April 26

United Air Lines

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Crash on the beach at

Point Reyes, California – 29 November 1938

American Airlines

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Crash at Goodwin, Arkansas – 14 January 1936

Pan American Airways

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Crash in Gulf of Mexico – 15 August 1928

Collecting by Continent

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South America

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SCADTA crash in Colombia – 16 May 1929

SCADTA crash in Colombia – 16 May 1929

Explanation of the condition of the mail

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Africa

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Imperial Airways “Corsair” flying boatCrash in Belgian Congo – March 1939

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Collecting by Aircraft Type

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Pan American Airways Sikorsky S-40“American Clipper” – Barranquilla, Colombia

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Imperial Airways - Short S23 Flying Boat

Crashed in Lake Habbaniyah, Iraq – 27 Nov. 38

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BOAC – Boeing 707

Crashed at London, England – 8 April 1968

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Imperial Airways Lockheed Electra

Crash at Luxeuil, France – 11 August 1939

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Gordon Bennett Balloon Race Crash – 4 May 1985

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Military Mail Crashes

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U.S. Army Emergency Airmail Service

Crashed at Greenville, South Carolina – Feb. 1934

Autographed by pilot

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U.S. Military Flight

Crash in Pacific - November 1944

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Collecting by Stamp

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Western Air Express crash at Alhambra, Calif.

22 December 1930 – with beacon stamp

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Pacific Air Transport Crash

Burbank, California

16 May 1932 – 5 cent Winged-Globe stamp

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Collecting by Country

India

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Imperial Airways Flying Boat “Centurion”

Crash at Calcutta, India – 12 June 1939

Portugal

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Pan American Airways “Yankee Clipper”

Crash at Lisbon, Portugal – 22 February 1943

Trans Oceanic Record Flight Crashes

Alcock & Brown Crash – Ireland - 1919

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Pilot Autographed Crash Covers

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Imperial Airways “Artemis” Crash – 10 Feb. 1936Pietersburg, South Africa – pilot autograph

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Schlessinger Air Race - Cover carried &

autographed by A.E. Clouston, who crashed at Felixburgh, Southern Rhodesia – 30 Sep. 1936

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AIRCRAFT SHOT DOWN

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Imperial Airways “Dardanus” - Shot down by

Japanese fighters over Waichow Island – Nov 1939

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El Al Israel Airlines – Lockheed Constellation

Shot down by Bulgarian fighter over Tsirbanova, Bulgaria – 27 July 1955

Z. Alonicollection

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CRASHES INVOLVING TERRORISM

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British Airways – Vickers VC-10 – Hijacked by

Muslim terrorists at Dubai – 21 November 1974

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Pan American World Airways – Boeing 747

Blown up by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland – 21 December 1988

Famous CrashesGerman Zeppelin “Hindenburg” – Crashes at

Lakehurst, NJ – 6 May 1937

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Postcard from National Postal Museum in Washington

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Counterfeit Air Crash Covers

Counterfeit “Hindenburg” Crash Cover

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Cachet Unknown on U.S. Domestic Crash Covers

Crash which supposedly happened at

Berry Islands, Bahamas

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“Ambulance” CoversFrom crash of National Air Transport aircraft

20 December 1928

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Unidentifiable Air Crash Covers

Cover from World War 2 Crash which is unrecorded and can’t be identified

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Cover from U.S. Army accident which is unrecorded and can’t be

identified

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Air Crash Cover References

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The American Air Mail Catalogue6th Edition

Volume One – Interrupted Flights Section

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Recovered Mail – Volumes 1 & 2 by Henri Nierinck

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Crash Covers, An Aerophilatelic Challenge

By Joseph L. Eisendrath

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The Australian Air Mail Catalogue – 8th Edition

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Irish Crash Airmails – by Ronny Vogt

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World Directory of Airliner Crashes

By Terry Denham

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Wreck & Crash Mail Society Quarterly Journal

http://wreckandcrash.org

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Hindenburg Crash Mail, by Arthur Falk

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American Air Mail Societyhttp://www.americanairmailsociety.org

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British Air Mail Societyhttp://www.britishairmailsociety.co.uk/

Other Major Aerophilatelic Societies

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Australian Air Mail Society

Canadian Aerophilatelic Society

Air Mail Society of New Zealand

Aerophilatelic Society of Southern Africa

Irish Air Mail Society

Metropolitan Airpost Society

Crash Covers Sources

• Auction Houses

• Stamp Show Dealers

• eBay

• Trading with Other Collectors

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Credits

• Material Sources:

Ken Sanford, U.S. National Postal Museum, National Library of Australia, and Z. Aloni,

• Presentation : Ken Sanford

• Edited by: Alan P. Bentz

• Narration by: Arthur A. Pignataro

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This has been a presentation by the American Air Mail Society.

This, and other aerophilatelic programs of the American Air Mail Society, can be obtained from the American Philatelic

Society at: www.stamps.org/directories/dir_slideform.htm

For further information on the AAMS go to the Website:

www.AmericanAirMailSociety.org

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