Collecting Air Crash Covers

Program 7 of a series sponsored by

The American Air Mail Society

An Affiliate of The American Philatelic Society

Copyright 2010
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Collecting Air Crash Covers
By Ken Sanford

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 What is an Air Crash Cover?
• 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

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

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Earliest Regular Air Mail Service
Crash
U.S. Government Air Mail Service – 1918

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 Interesting Cachets
Early U.S. Post Office Cachets

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Interesting Cachets
Post Office Notice

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 Interesting Cachets
Postmaster manuscript – Rubber Stamp

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Collecting by Airline

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Earliest Airline Service Crashes
Air Transport & Travel Ltd.
Crashed at Eltham, Great Britain – 22 August 1920

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

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 United Air Lines
Crash on the beach at
Point Reyes, California – 29 November 1938

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 American Airlines
Crash at Goodwin, Arkansas – 14 January 1936

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 Pan American Airways
Crash in Gulf of Mexico – 15 August 1928

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Collecting by Continent

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 South America
SCADTA crash in Colombia – 16 May 1929

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SCADTA crash in Colombia – 16 May 1929

Explanation of the condition of the mail

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 Africa
Imperial Airways “Corsair” flying boat
Crash 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

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 India
Imperial Airways Flying Boat “Centurion”
Crash at Calcutta, India – 12 June 1939

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 Portugal
Pan American Airways “Yankee Clipper”
Crash at Lisbon, Portugal – 22 February 1943

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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. 1936
Pietersburg, 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. Aloni
collection

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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

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 Famous Crashes
German Zeppelin “Hindenburg” – Crashes at
Lakehurst, NJ – 6 May 1937

Postcard from
National Postal
Museum in
Washington

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Counterfeit Air Crash Covers

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Counterfeit “Hindenburg” Crash Cover

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 Cachet Unknown on
U.S. Domestic Crash Covers

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Crash which supposedly happened at
Berry Islands, Bahamas

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 “Ambulance” Covers
From crash of National Air Transport aircraft
20 December 1928

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Unidentifiable Air Crash Covers

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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 Catalogue
6th 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 – 8 th 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 Society
http://www.americanairmailsociety.org

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 British Air Mail Society
http://www.britishairmailsociety.co.uk/

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Other Major Aerophilatelic Societies

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

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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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