Author: John C

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Portugal 1945, Marshal Carmona wonders if the homeland is sick as it tries it’s best men

Portugal’s first republic was not working with economic strife and anarchy in politics and in the streets. How do you solve it? A military coup perhaps? Won’t the people then be ill served as Generals turn themselves into pagan Caesars in the fascist mode. General/ Marshal/President Carmona tried to find a middle way. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

It is interesting that this late in his career pictures Oscar Carmona in a dress military uniform, even though he had served as President for nearly twenty years. The uniform perhaps both recognizes him as a figure head while also acknowledging his right under the Nuevo State to fire the government, an important check the kept Salazar from becoming one of Europe’s pagan Caesars as he himself described the fascist leaders of other European countries.

Todays stamp is issue A149, a 1.75 Escudo stamp issued by Portugal on November 12th, 1945. It was an 8 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $7.50 unused.

Oscar was born the son of a Portuguese Naval Captain who was serving as naval attaché to Brazil in 1869. Despite this he joined the army and married the daughter of a General. In marrying her, he legitimized their three kids. He rose through the ranks and was charged by the republican government with leading a military tribunal that was tasked with prosecuting officers who had conspired in a series of failed coups against the unpopular and unstable, but elected government.

He was perhaps not the best choice as the Prosecutor then dramatically asked in open court if the homeland was sick as it was persecuting it’s best men. One of the few times a prosecutor wins an acquittal of the officers. Soon Carmona is leading 15,000 troops marching into Lisbon demanding and recieving the resignation of the Republican government.

Initially the plan was to install a rival politician in power under the same constitution. Carmona quickly realized the weakness of that and instead crafted a Nuevo State that gave him personally dictator like powers.

The early years of the dictatorship saw a good amount of economic progress as a new Finance Minister Antonio Salazar got the countries very iffy finances in order. This is where Carmona differed from so many military dictators. Seeing the success, he promoted Salazar to Prime Minister as he himself stepped back in a more figurehead role. As a non military leader, Salazar was able to gradually reduce the importance of the military in politics with the acquiesce of Carmona. This reduced role was central to the very delicate task Portugal pulled off by staying out of both the Spanish Civil War and World War II.

There was of course opposition to the absolute power of the Nuevo State. This included both far left and more mainstream elements. A nod to how well the system worked was that both aged Marshal Carmona and his also aged military replacement as President  were repeatedly offered the role of figurehead to proposed opposition governments.

Respect for Carmona extended 20 years after his death and all the way to Angola
The respect didn’t last as Angolan Escudos became Kwanzas, devalued and now offered two unnamed heroes

Well my drink is empty. Come back soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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French occupied Kamerun 1916, so much for Neukamerun

Germany did their African colonies a little different, They sent settlers and the Kamerun colony was organized around large commercial ventures. In the years leading up to World War I, Germany was able to add considerable territory at the expense of France. After German withdrawl, France was not able to duplicate German success and the colony became a great expense of France. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

A note about geography. This is a prewar French issue of Middle Congo overstamped for use in the western French occupied area of wartime Kamerun. The French Middle Congo was not the same as later French Congo or modern Republic of Congo but included the area of the modern Central African Republic and southern Chad.

Todays stamp is issue A1, a 1 Centime stamp issued by the French occupation force in 1916. It was a 17 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents unused. Another overprint of this 1907 Congo issue happened in 1921 after France recieved the official League of Nations mandate over the area. The new overprint just says Cameroun and the stamp magically loses five cents of it’s value.

The earliest inhabitants of the territory of Kamerun were a nomadic pygmy people called the Baka. They were hunter gatherers in the rain forest and very few ever reached 5 feet in height. They tended to stick to the dense rainforest as the much taller neighboring Bantu peoples were mean to them.

A modern Baka chief. In modern Africa, the pygmys are still kept on reservations

Germany was awarded the area under the terms of the Treaty of Berlin. A large German trading and shipping  company named Woermann set up shop. German settlers poured into the interior to set up large farms. It was intended to leave the Baka on reservations. Taking advantage of allowing a large French deployment in Morocco, under the Treaty of Fez, Kamerun was awarded a lot of new territory. This was called Neukamerun and plans were drawn up  to include it in the colonies rapid development. A new Capital, Jaunde, was constructed inland.

When war broke out in Europe, Kamerun hoped that neutrality would hold. This is what the Treaty of Berlin imagined as European colonies were to stick together and remain neutral to what was happening in Europe. This was in hope that there would be inter European aid in the avent of native uprising. France was first to break the treaty by retaking Neukamerun with no fighting. Then the British invaded from the west. All Germans faded up into the northern highlands around Jaunde. They were badly outnumbered but intact and had their families with them. For a while France and Britain didn’t press, assuming the Germans would give up.

A German officer and his African helpers fire a cannon during the defense of Kamerun

Instead the Germans raided neighboring British Nigeria hoping to turn the tide. The Germans were repulsed at the battle of Gurin. The raid scared the British and they sent extra troops into Kamerun, the opposite of what was hoped. German forces and their families withdrew intact into friendly neutral Spanish Rio Mundi, modern Equitorial Guinea. From there they were given passage to Spain and on to Holland and finally home. Interestingly several important native tribal figures evacuated with the Germans and set themselves up permanently in Madrid as visiting dignitaries with ample German funding.

The French tried to replecate the German colony with a French Jewish company taking over the Woermann facilities. They had no colonists though and their atempts to entice Africans into contract labor were not successful and built up much hostility. Neukamerun was never returned to modern Cameroon.

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Mauritius 1895, A “Great Experiment” opens the Aapravasi Ghat

Keeping sugar cane plantations operating post slavery often proved difficult. To solve the issue, the British attempted an experiment to see if poor Indians would be willing to work far and wide throughout the empire. Many indeed signed the contracts and for many that meant passage on a coolie ship to the newly opened Imigration Depot on Mauritius, to be processed and assigned to the available job. Mauritius was never the same though the system ended 100 years ago. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The coat of arms of Mauritius must have been evocative to the numerous immigrants being brought in. They were not in chains but they were not free either. What they might have had was hope that the tropical island might offer more opportunity than what they left behind.

Todays stamp is issue A38, a 4 cent stamp issued by the British Crown Colony of Mauritius in 1895. It was a 21 stamp issue in various denominations that were issued over 9 years. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents used.

Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean that passed to the British from the French during the Napoleonic War. A French elite remained in place and so did the African slaves the French brought in to work sugar cane plantations. In 1835 the slaves on Mauritius were freed and the former slaveowners received compensation for their lost property from the colonial administration. The former slaves did not receive compensation and they also were not able to work out a fair to them system to keep working the plantations. In desperation the plantation managers looked to bringing in new immigrants from Africa, China, Portugal and even freed slaves from the USA. In this period a large French built stone structure on the wharf of Port Louis was taken over to use as an immigration depot.

The British realized that a more organized system was needed to keep the sugar cane plantations operating both in Mauritius and throughout the Empire. Indentured laborers had previously been used extensively in the British colonies in North America. Half of the whites in North America came as indentured workers. In the aftermath of the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion, Northern India, home of most of the fighting, paid a huge economic price. Given the lack of opportunity at home, many young Indians were willing to sign up for transport to a far off place, to do hard manual labor, at what to European eyes were low wages for a period of five years.

During the course of the 100 years it operated, the Immigration Depot saw over a million Indians come through. They could house about a thousand at a time and a written file with a picture was started for the coolies. There was a medical facility and train service to get them to their plantation once assigned.

The practice was ended by Britain in 1918 and the facility taken over for other uses. Again less activity at the sugar cane plantations badly hurt the economy as did a bad bout of malaria. The island was now over 2/3rds Indian and as such were taking much political power from the now mostly intermarried creoles.

Files of the indentured laborers

In 1970 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited and was disappointed to see the Immigration Depot being taken down to make way for a bus depot. She worried that the history of the many Indian arrivals would be lost. The complex was saved including the famous stone steppes down to water level. An Indian Trust Fund now manages the complex where the old files are available to view. Controversially the site is now known as the Aapravasi Ghat, which is just the Hindi translation of Immigration Depot. but is thought to leave out the laborers from other places who passed through. I have used the period term coolie for the laborers. Some may think that derogatory, but not so much in Mauritius itself. All races there refer to coolitude as part of the local culture, as they all share a long sea journey to face hard labor on Mauritius as part of their families’ past.

Aapravasi Ghat in it’s modern museum form

Well my drink is empty. Come back soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Martinique 1947, the Vichy colony with the fleet and the gold

One thing that happens when a home country is conquered is that there is a rush to get out the assets of the country that are moveable. It was thus that tiny and mostly destitute Martinique  became host to much of the French fleet including their only aircraft carrier and much of the gold supply of France. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This issue of stamps was the last issue of the French colony of Martinique before it became a French overseas department. This was already in process so the stamps can be seen as an introduction to France of their new countrymen and women.

Todays stamp is issue A25, a 30 Centimes stamp issued by the French colony of Martinique in June 1947. This was the last issue of the colony and lead times can be seen in that it actually came out 5 months after Martinique was declared an overseas department of France. This was a 17 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents unused.

Martinique was first spotted by Christopher Columbus, who did not start a settlement but released some wild pigs and goats onto the island. The island was occupied by warlike Caribe Indians that it was up to the the French to subdue. Cardinal Richelieu’s Company of the American Islands was responsible for development that included sugar cane, coffee, and indigo. The development was quite lucrative but required the importation of many African slaves. The island is also subject to frequent hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes so it was not an easy go.

The ending of the French slave trade in the 1830s was the end of the gravy train as the plantations could no longer be staffed. There was an attempt to replace sugar cane with bananas but workers could again not be attracted.

In 1940, the French aircraft carrier Bearne was ordered to the USA to pick up American made planes available under lend lease. On the way back to France it was ordered to divert to Martinique. Also sailing out of France in June 1940 was the cruiser Emile Bertin which was carrying 286 tons of gold. She originally was meant to go to Halifax, Canada but the now Vichy government had second thoughts and ordered her to slip away with the gold. It was unloaded safely in Martinique. 286 tons of gold is over 8 billion dollars in todays money. Two British cruisers began a blockade to keep an eye out for the gold. The gold was deemed readily obtainable by the British and listed as collateral by them on their wartime loans.

French cruiser Emile Bertin. Built in 1935 and named after a naval architect, It served until 1959.

Martinique was under Vichy leaning French Admiral Georges Robert. He found it easier to work with the Americans where the French fleet in Martinique would be rendered immobile and in return the island would not be bombed or invaded and the gold would stay in French hands.

In 1943, Admiral Robert was ordered back to France and the journey took him through Puerto Rico and Portugal. With him out of the way the gold and the French fleet fell into Free French hands. Post war Admiral Robert was tried and convicted of collaboration. He was sentenced to 100 years of hard labor though only did six months and was pardoned in 1957. Imagine his sentence if he had pocketed the gold personally.

Well my drink is empty and imagine being in the crew of the Emile Bertin and understanding  that France has lost but absolutely everyone is out after you. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Nigeria 1936. Dredging for tin, whatever happened to that?

Here we have a country that in colonial times was the second largest exporter of tin in the world. The mining of tin is something that can be done just with a man and a pick axe. Yet post independence, and flush with oil revenue, the tin mining industry was allowed to wither to less than 10% of the 1910 level, below small and poor Rwanda. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

I don’t try to disguise my love for these colonial window into the colony stamps. Imagine the young stamp collector who may be trying to figure out what to do with his life viewing these stamps and seeing some truly exotic opportunities.

Todays stamp is issue A4, a one and a half Pence stamp issued by the British Crown Colony of Nigeria on February 1st, 1936. It was a 12 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents used. There is a more perforation version that ups the value to $4.50 used. Independent Nigeria is pretty good for showing off their industries on their stamps, but the common 1974 issue doesn’t bother with mines. It does list vaccine production, and you were worried about some vaccine concocted in a hurry by President Trump or Bill Gates depending on your politics…

The National Africa Company was capitalized with private capital to operate a series of trading posts along the Niger River. It’s main business was palm oil but one of it’s employees/fortune seekers, Sir William Wallace discovered tin veins in the granite of the Jos Plateau in 1884. The company went through many changes including much competition from French and native King Ja Ja and in 1900 the assets were sold to the British Government.

In 1903, the British colonial administration did a survey of mineral resources in Nigeria and word got out about the opportunities available in tin mining. By 1910 over 80 companies  were involved in tin mining and Nigeria was the second largest tin exporter in the world after Russia. Production peaked at more than 13000 tons a year exported.

I did a stamp a while ago about the tin industry in Malaysia. There Chinese who had come to Malaya as coolies often stayed beyond their contract to make a fortune in tin. This was done initially with a pick axe and the strength of their back, see  https://the-philatelist.com/2019/01/07/malaysia-1974-remembering-the-tin-industry-during-its-malaysian-sunset/  . This would not prove possible in Nigeria. The independent government nationalized all ongoing mining activities. Then the chaos of the late 1960s Biafra civil war saw the departure of expatriate mining exports. With now low productivity came large losses and the government shut down the operations one by one. The most recent number for tin exports I could find was 574 tons.

In the 21st century, Nigeria has relaxed some of their restrictions on mining. In fact they are actively courting Chinese investment in the sector. I think we are beyond the day when Chinese send out large numbers of strong backed coolies. It will be interesting to watch how their adventurous investors fare.

Modern tin miners in Nigeria take a break. This operation looks less advanced than the stamp from 1936.

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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USA 1960, The first automated post office, Operation Turnkey becomes Operation Turkey thanks to Czarist Russia

In the 1950s, it seemed mail volumes would rise forever. How was the mailman to keep up. Well maybe if machines could sort the mail at speeds impossible for humans. Worth a try, but lets get it done before the election. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

There are two interesting things about this stamp issue. They used the architect conception of the  Providence, Rhode Island new automated post office even though the actual post office was built. It looked better in imagination. Also notice the issue date, just a few weeks before the national election of 1960. The in power Republican Administration was doing things for you, Rhode Island. Not enough apparently, in 1960 Rhode Island voted Democrat.

Todays stamp is issue A605, a 4 cent stamp issued by the United States on October 20th, 1960. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused. There is a few copies were the red writing on the bottom was left off, this version is worth $250.

Project Turnkey was started by the new Eisenhower Administration in 1953 as a project to automate the backroom sorting of mail at the post office to cope with rising mail volume. A Democratic administration would have instead seen the opportunity to hire more reliably Democrat voting postal workers. A company called Intelex was brought in to design and manage Project Turnkey and the Providence site was chosen as a laboratory to determine what would work. The project cost over 20 million 1950s USA dollars.

The project opened with much fanfare. There were indeed machines that could sort letters and parcels by size, class and destination. The machine assigned codes that were then entered by humans into a computer. The new complex actually employed 100 more postal workers than the previous facility in addition to 170 workers in the employ of Intelex but was designed for a much higher mail capacity.

Automated post office indoor view as imagined. Looks like something Ken Adam designed for a James Bond movie. I love the control tower.

The project was not a success. The sorters were not speeding up the process as hoped. Then there was an embarrassment coming from a local stamp collector. Hearing that no human eyes were viewing the mail, the collector sent several pieces of mail through the center with old stamps from Czarist Russia on them to see if the sorters would catch the fraud. The mail went through and then the stunt was publicized in the local newspaper. This inspired copycats and the post office claimed it solved the issue by adding a step where each piece of mail is viewed by one of their employees. The new Democratic Administration ended Project Turnkey, fired Intelex, and the building reverted to a standard post office that still exists. New Postmaster General J. Edward Day blamed the failure on mismanagement of the previous administration who he said tried to design a system to match their pre-written press releases. He dubbed Project Turnkey, Project Turkey.

Modern view

Well my drink is empty and to be honest reviewing old projects is fun whether they worked or not. Come again soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs 1918, it would appear the new boss in Bosnia is Serb

A while back, The Philatelist did an Austria Hungary Bosnian region stamp overprinted to reflect the occupation of Serbia, see https://the-philatelist.com/2020/03/27/serbia-1916-with-bosnia-occupying-serbia-in-the-service-of-germans-it-may-be-time-to-stamp-the-black-hand/    .Three years later, the same issue of stamps is now overprinted to reflect Serbia was not only back in charge in Serbia but had Bosnia and relishing it with lots of fun cross outs. Emperor Franz Joseph was dead so lets cross him out and the new State of… failed to mention Bosnia  so better also cross that out as well. At least the stamp is still denominated in Austrian money, so there are additional cross outs to look forward to. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

As Yugoslavia was coming together in the last days of World War I, a rare show of unity was displayed by all the various ethnicities from Yugoslavia who were members of the Austrian Reichsrat parliament. They would work together toward succession. Stamp overprints tell the real story though, the Serbian Cyrillic script tells the Bosnians who was in charge.

Todays stamp is issue A23, a 3 Heller stamp issued by the not internationally recognized state of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs in October 1918. It was a 16 stamp issue of overprints on an Austrian Bosnian military postage stamp from 1912 featuring Emperor Franz Joseph. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents unused. A postal cancellation doubles the value. the unoverstampted original from 1912 is also worth 40 cents unused.

At the time of this stamp there was still officially an Austrian appointed military governor of Bosnia, a Croatian General in Austrian service named Stjepan Sarkotic. He was not in favor of the Serbian takeover of the area though he realized there was going to be a major restructuring. In 1910, Austria allowed for freedom of religion in Bosnia to practice and not face attempts at conversion. To a large extent, this made Bosnian Muslims more comfortable. So it was with them that he met in the last days trying to avoid Serbian domination.

Austrian/Croat Governor of Bosnia Stjepan Sarkotic. He doesn’t look like the type of guy Bosnian Muslims could go to.

I mentioned above the action of the Yugoslav members of the Reichsrat. They were inspired by American President Woodrow Wilson peace proposal that specially set out self determination and autonomy for the many peoples of Austria Hungary. It was this spirit that lead to the forming of the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that indeed had representation from some from all the ethnicities including the Bosnian Muslims.

Serbian Army enters Zagreb in 1918 during the State of Slovenes s Croats, and Serbs in 1918

It was not to be. Entente power Italy was still at war with them trying to grab territory and the Entente powers decided instead on a Kingdom for the area under the old Serbian King. The new Kingdom arrested now former Governor Sarkotic. When he was released he relocated to Vienna and worked with Croat nationalists there. His goal was reunification of Croatia and Bosnia with Austria because he thought it the only way for the other peoples of Yugoslavia not to be crushed by Serbian nationalism and the influence of the Serbian Orthadox Church. He died in 1939 before the next round of Yugoslav postal cross outs folowing the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, see https://the-philatelist.com/2019/09/20/croatia-1941-crossing-out-peter-ii-is-something-we-all-can-agree-on/  .

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Quaiti State in Hadhramait 1969, The what state in where

The stamp topical guys have found another important country with which to show off western art. Where do you guess this is? Thee choices; the United Arab Emirates, Somaliland, or the Yemen. Those who guessed Yemen were correct. I guessed UAE knowing Finbar Kenny sought out some pretty small villages looking for Emirs and mythic post offices. This actually was a semi autonomous Sultanate affiliated with the British colony at Aden to the north. By the time of this issue however. communists had overrun the area and incorporated it into South Yemen. They let not good for postal use stamp issues continue though notice it is a state now not a Sultanate. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The quite nice painting on this stamp was painted by Thomas Gainsborough R. A. late in his career in 1785. It was painted of a young couple of 21 years, the future Mr. and Mrs. Hallett and their Pomeranian sheepdog. It was a period when British artists like Gainsborough were getting more recognized with the help of the then new Royal Academy and the fancy people could buy their art locally. Over the fullness of time, the particulars of the people on the painting became less important and the painting acquired the title “The morning walk” that it did not have in period. The painting is in the collection of the British National Gallery.

Sorry value seekers, this is a fake stamp so there is no catalog value.

Forces under Sultan Quaiti conquered this area in southern Yemen in 1881. The Sultan than entered into a treaty relationship with the British in 1890 and the area became a protectorate of the British Colony in Aden. In the early 1960s, the British intended to leave the area and they created a Federation of South Arabia as a hoped for successor state. The Quaiti Sultanate refused to join the Federation.

Map of area in period

The British had bigger problems in the area. Pan Arabist communists were receiving much support from Egypt’s Nasser and Britain had to declare a state of emergency in Aden. Over a short period there was a bomb attack on the colonial governor, an Air Aden airliner was shot down with no survivors, and most shockingly the Aden police mutinied and ambushed and killed 23 British soldiers. The British understandably lost interest in South Arabia and just left in November 1968.

Remember though the Quaiti Sultanate was not a part of South Arabia. They hoped for a UN referendum on the areas future. Instead that November the Yemen marched in unopposed and that was the end of the Sultanate. If you think of the relative position of Aden verses Dubai back in the protectorate days and think of Aden now. It would not be difficult to conclude that a still British influenced South Arabia under the Sultans might have been a better outcome. Neither Aden nor Dubai itself have much oil.

Well my drink is empty and one wonders what it must be like in modern Aden. When people think of how some of the old international trading cities thrived post Britain and others just sunk  into hell holes do you blame the British, do you blame Nasser, or do you look in the mirror. The last must be the hardest. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Tanzania 1993, Attack aircraft with training wheels for Africa

America with it’s wide open spaces used supersonic training jets since the 1960s. Europe stayed with simpler slower trainers to go with their crowded skies. African countries weren’t having much luck keeping Mig or Mirage supersonic fighter bombers in service for long. Copying South Africa, they began to eye the European trainers as attack aircraft. Simple easy to fly planes and remember it is not likely the other guys Mig will get off the ground. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Here we have a nice portrait of an Italian made Aeromachi MB339 looking ready to do more than train pilots. The MB339 was an improved version of the MB 326 with a raised rear cockpit to give a better view. The MB 326 was the huge African success with over 200 used by South Africa and dozens more used by Zambia, Congo, Ghana, Togo, and Tunisia. The MB339 was less successful in Africa but a few went to Eritrea, Ghana, and Nigeria. Notice I did not mention Tanzania. Their Air Force relies on China to provide thier copies of Mig fighters. China earlier attempt at jet trainers failed, see  https://the-philatelist.com/2020/04/17/china-1958-dreams-of-a-future-in-aviation/  . So Tanzania tries to keep their 40 year old Migs operational.

A row of Chinese made Mig 21 supersonic fighters in Tanzanian service. How would you like to be the Chinese pilot that has to try to get one in the air?

Todays stamp is issue A181, a 70 Shilling stamp issued by Tanzania on April 25th, 1994. This was a 7 stamp issue in various denominations that was also available as a souvenir sheet. None of the aircraft models displayed were used by Tanzania. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 75 cents cancelled to order.

South Africa faced a unique problem in the 1970s. The Air Force had a large fleet of French Mirage fighters and British Buccaneer and Canberra bombers. There was a bush war in in South West Africa where there was no air opposition. With sanctions meaning the expensive planes would be hard to replace, it also meant they would be hard to use. Before sanctions bit, South Africa had acquired a license to manufacture the Italian Aeromachi MB326 jet training plane. The South Africans called them Impalas and built over 200 with the capability to drop bombs, strafe, and fire light rockets. Many third world nations saw this as an answer to their inability to maintain expensive supersonic fighters. Casa in Spain. BAE in Britain, Aero in Czechoslovakia, Soko in Yugoslavia in addition to Aeromachi in Italy began to offer their training planes fitted out for combat. Many offered single seat versions, but it was felt it was better to keep the back seat to enhance training functions and even to act as bombardiers in combat.

The South African war in Southwest Africa eventually outgrew the Impalas, see https://the-philatelist.com/2020/01/28/south-west-africa-1981-put-down-your-crowbar-and-we-will-throw-out-the-cubans/   . Angola acquired a force of Cuban flown and maintained Soviet Mig 23s and South Africa returned to using the expensive Mirage fighters. After the change in government, South Africa did not maintain the large fleet of Impalas. Instead they bought a small fleet of quite advanced Swedish Saab Gripen fighters. that rarely fly in the Tanzania style.

China eventually got into the act with the Hongdu K-8. It was much delayed because at the last minute the Chinese had to substitute a Russian engine for the American turbofan the plane had been designed for. So finally Tanzania was able to acquire a modern jet trainer 20 years after this stamp.

I couldn’t find a picture of a Tanzanian Hongdu K-8, but here is one in Zimbabwe’s service.

Interestingly the South African experience probably held back sales of the improved MB339. It was decided to retain the old Rolls Royce Viper turbojet instead of moving to more efficient turbofans as most new trainer by then offered. This was done in hopes of South African orders, South Africa would not have been allowed the British/French Adour turbofan.

Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait till Monday when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Canada 1929, Crossing the Saint Lawrence proves deadly

Quebec City had long desired a bridge over the Saint Lawrence River to connect the town of Levis. There was much struggle with financing but once construction started, the real problems showed as sections kept collapsing. As a result Canada much formalized the certification for being an engineer. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The building of the Quebec Bridge required 3 attempts, took 30 years to complete, cost three times what it was supposed to and the lives of 88 of the workers who labored to build it. This stamp from 10 years later seems to be that all is well that ends well. Hmm..

Todays stamp is issue A55 a 12 cent stamp issued by Canada in 1929. It was an eleven stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $9.00 used. Not sure if the bottom perforation on my copy were trimmed at one point of whether it connected at one point to the more valuable imperforate pair version? Contemplating this mystery lead me to consult the prominent Canadian stamp dealer Christopher McFetridge. I encourage you all to check out his website http://brixtonchrome.com. Chris informed me that the trimmed bottom occurred on the lower edge of an upper pane of a four pane printer’s sheet of stamps. This was only done from the mid 1920s till 1934.

Quebec City wanted a bridge over the Saint Lawrence as far back as 1852. The crossing there was by ferry or a winter ice bridge. Whether the high cost should be paid by the two cities the province or the federal government was the question. The design finally got going when it was rolled into the National Transcontinental Railway project. At the time it was to be the longest steel riveted cantilever bridge in the world. Starting in 1929 it was the second longest thanks to another Canadian bridge, the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario.

Sir Collingswood Schreiber, he was knighted before the project. The honour was never stripped.

The project was under Sir Collongwood Schreiber, to which reported a dedicated railway engineer named Douglas. Mr. Douglas noted that calculations being turned in by contractors made no sense and required further work. To avoid delays, Douglas was fired and the project went ahead. The steel once actually cut proved much heavier than thought and as it was coming together there was much obvious warping. Schreiber assured every thing would be fine but then found other employment on a different lesser project. In 1907 there was a huge collapse of the still incomplete bridge. 75 workers died. Many of their grave markers were crosses fashioned from steel from the bridge.

1907 wreckage from the first attempt

A Royal enquiry followed that pointed to weak steel cables. A second attempt to build the bridge began. Disaster again struck. While attempting to lift the preconstructed center section in place, the section instead broke free and fell into the river. 13 more died this time. The next year in 1917 a new center section was successfully put in place. The bridge opened the next year to train, street car, automobile, and pedestrian service.

Third time the charm with the center section in 1917

Remember the bridge was originally part of the transcontinental railway project. This is complicating the bridge’s current situation. About 60 percent of the steel is heavily corroded. The now privately owned railway says it is just cosmetic so not important. The city of Quebec, the province or Quebec  and the federal government all want to see it fixed. It is back to the 19th century though with arguments on who should pay. In 1995 the bridge was declared a national historic site which allows for public funds for preservation. It will be interesting to see if the money comes through before the rust rerenders the structure unsafe.

Well my drink is empty and my bet is with the rust, Come again soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.