I would like to draw your attention to an excellent new exhibit just posted on Stamporama by Bob Parkin commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. You can see Bob's exhibit by visiting the Stamporama Exhibits section or by clicking here to jump to the exhibit.
re: Berlin Airlift - 50th Anniversary First Day of Issue, by Bob Parkin
incredible, Bob. I love how few of the covers are from, to me, known mass-market cachet makers and how many were in such incredibly small batches. Talk about rarity.
I had never heard of the C-47 called a Skytrain before. I knew it, as a military transport, solely as the Dakota among US nomenclature. Is that a British usage?
mnay of the cachets are beautiful, fanciful, and whimsical. I like the many unoffical APO cancels, which seems particularly appropriate. And I thought the cachet commemorating the British and US airmen who died an essential component. Few remember that "war" part of the Cold War.
David
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org 06 Sep 2011 11:03:59am
re: Berlin Airlift - 50th Anniversary First Day of Issue, by Bob Parkin
Thanks for the kind words all. David, I am not a aviation enthusiast so I am not sure where the name came from. I did try to fact check most of the info written on the covers/inserts and actually found 2 errors (1 spelling, 1 date). I saw that the C-47 was called a Skytrain so I did not question it. I did not even know before now that it was also called a Dakota. Filing that away for Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit.
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 06 Sep 2011 03:26:47pm
re: Berlin Airlift - 50th Anniversary First Day of Issue, by Bob Parkin
The C-47, a modified DC-3 was one of the most useful aviation workhorses ever built. There were over 13,000 built during WW II and its immediate aftermath. I had the chance to fly on them in 1959-'60 as they were the only decent sized cargo planes that could land on the packed sand beach that was called an airstrip on the northern part of Baffin Island to bring fresh veggies (Sometimes)] and mail (Even sometimesier) to the station there
In Viet Nam a few were fitted with a high capacity gatling gun and called "Magic Dragons" as in "Puff, you're dead" that could slowly circle a target and destroy it.
At least one is still flown around the USA to airshows and other events.
The DC-3 /C-47 had dozens of designations as over time it served in different branches of the military of several countries and the platform underwent numerous modificalions to solve different problems.
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
re: Berlin Airlift - 50th Anniversary First Day of Issue, by Bob Parkin
I too flew in a C47. On my discharge from the Air Corps in March 1946, I made arrangements with Base Operations to get the first plane that was heading to Florida. I actually lived in Brooklyn, NY but was going to Florida for a vacation and staying with my grandparents in Miami Beach. The closest I could get was Jacksonville, FL so I took it, and it was in a C47. No seats in the cargo area, so we (others going also) sat on boxes. We were so happy to be civilians again that we probably would have sat on hot coals.
Took the bus from Jacksonville to Miami Beach.
By the way, the army paid per diem to Brooklyn, so my return trip to NY was more than covered.
Richaard
President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org 27 May 2015 12:55:41pm
re: Berlin Airlift - 50th Anniversary First Day of Issue, by Bob Parkin
Just an FYI - About 4 years ago I submitted an article for the First Days magazine based on my Berlin Airlift Exhibition. It was just published. Unfortunately, you need to be a member to read the article from the website, but I'm just posting the link here anyway.
re: Berlin Airlift - 50th Anniversary First Day of Issue, by Bob Parkin
I hope I will be forgiven for posting this here, as it is not a 50th anniversary cover but a 100 day commemorative cover, posted from Charlottenburg, Berlin: