Wednesday, December 16, 2009

How this is possible?

I saw UN 2009 Gandhi FDC with India stamp with same day cancel on ebay and I was curious about it.

How this is possible?

Following is the cover with both stamp and cancel.





Is this real or someone bribe Indian Postal service or DIY(Do It Yourself).?
UN issued this FDC on October 2nd 2009 in USA. It takes about 16 hours to reach Delhi with direct flight and from there it takes about 2-4 hours to reach Kanpur. So let's consider total 24 hours including drive time to airport, custom clearance,traffic in newyork,delhi/kanpur etc. Also there is time difference of 9 1/2 hours from New York(EST). So total is 33-35 hours.

If someone gets this cover at 9:00 am EST from UNPA it will reach Kanpur on October 3rd around 10pm in India and at that time Indian postoffice is closed.

So I am confused.!


I don't own this cover or not planning to buy in future unless it is not FAKE and ofcourse if it is cheap.



Again thanks for reading this blog post and  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.



Monday, December 14, 2009

Gandhi & Event Cover - II

Recently I bought following event cover.
Event:- Maiden Voyage from USA (New York) to France(Le Havre)
Ship Name:- FRANCE ( SS France)
Stamp:- USA 1961 8 Cents Gandhi.
Maiden Voyage from Le Havre:- 3 Feb 1962
Maiden Voyage from New York:- 13 Feb 1962
Uniqueness of ship:- World's longest passenger ship (in 1962).
Decommissioned: 25 October 1974
Status: Scrapped in Alang, India 2008 ( Which also near to Gandhi's birthplace!!)





Again this cover was not made with Gandhi thematic in mind. It was made with event "Maiden Voyage of the ship". This cover has unique cancellation with SS France ship and Le Havre postal cancel in the back and in front it has rubber stamp of photo of ship, name of event, date and place.
The SS France was the French Line flagship from 1961 to 1974, combining regular transatlantic crossings - six days and nights - with occasional winter cruises, as well as two world circumnavigations.

Further Reading:-

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Gandhi and Event Cover - I ( Gandhi stamp on event cover against his principle)

Hello Gandhi Collectors,

Event covers are decorated, stamped and canceled commemorative envelopes. They are created to celebrate an event or note an anniversary. It explains what is being commemorated on what date, and generally also includes an illustration page.

Ideally, the stamps used relate to the celebration (for instance, space stamps for a shuttle launch). Cancels are either obtained in the city of the event (such as Kitty Hawk for the Wright Brothers first flight anniversary) or, for larger quantities of envelopes, from a special cancellation unit maintained by the Postal Service in Kansas City, Missouri. If a special cancellation (one with a design) has been created for the event, you can generally only receive that cancel from the local post office.

Following is the event cover and it has Gandhi stamp from USA. This commemorative event cover has postal cancelled on March 9 1961 on Polaris Missile Fired at 1pm from Cape Canaveral FLorida with cancel from Patrick Air Force Base near Cape Canaveral in Florida.


 In this cover the main important thing to notice is

1) Event. (What is event?)

2) Place of cancellation (From where missile was fired. )

3) Date of cancellation ( Date when event occured.)

4) Stamp on cover (what stamp should be on cover to make it more important).


This cover was not made specially for Gandhi philatelic collection. It was made to celebrate Polaris missile launch so this makes some what important for Gandhi philatelic collection because it was not made with Gandhi in mind. Also this cover don't justify Gandhi's Non-Violence principle which he follows throughout his life so this Missile launching does not go with this stamp.!!!!


Again thanks for reading this blog post and  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.






Now let's talk about Polaris Missile launch on this cover.

1961 March 9 - Launch Site: ETR Launch Area. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Polaris. Model: Polaris A2. LV Configuration: Polaris A2X-8.
Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USN. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

1961 March 9 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC6. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Redstone. Model: Redstone. LV Configuration: Redstone 2040. FAILURE: Control system malfunction during re-entry at 374 sec. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). Missile test failure. Missed aimpoint by 358 m.



The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy. It was designed to be used as part of the Navy's contribution to the United States arsenal of nuclear weapons, replacing the Regulus cruise missile. Known as a Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM), the Polaris was first launched from the Cape Canaveral, Florida, missile test base on January 7, 1960.


More interested in this Polaris missile read following links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGM-27_Polaris

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/polaris.htm

http://www.astronautix.com/chrono/19611.htm

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Gandhi & Naval Cover - II

Hello Gandhi Collectors,


Following cover was mailed from USA SubMarine USS Dace and then it was given to USA Navy Cargo ship USS Vermilion(AKA107) ship for further delivery to New York address.



This cover was not mean to made for GANDHI philatelic collection. It was made for Naval cover collection so it is very very rare cover with GANDHI stamp.




Again thanks for reading this blog post and  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.




History about USS Dace Submarine:-

USS Dace (SSN-607), a Permit-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the dace, any of several small North American fresh-water fishes of the carp family. The contract to build her was awarded to Ingalls Ship building in Pascagoula, Mississippi on 3 March 1959 and her keel was laid down on 6 June 1960. She was launched on 18 August 1962, sponsored by Betty Ford, wife of future President of the United States Gerald R. Ford, Jr., and commissioned on 4 April 1964, with Commander John A. Walsh in command.

Dace was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 December 1988. Ex-Dace entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington and on 1 January 1997 ceased to exist.
History about USS Vermillion Navy Ship:-
USS Vermilion (AKA-107/LKA-107), was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy, named after a parish in southern Louisiana and a county in eastern Illinois. She served as a commissioned ship for 25 years and 9 months.



Thursday, December 3, 2009

Gandhi and Naval Cover - I.

Following cover was not mean to made for GANDHI philatelic collection. It was made for Naval cover collection so it is very very rare cover with GANDHI stamp.






Above cover is example of Naval Cover with USA Gandhi stamp. This cover was send from USA Navy Ship USS Observation Islan (EAG 154)

Observation Island (EAG–154) was laid down as a Mariner Class high speed cargo ship 15 September 1952 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.; launched as Empire State Mariner 15 August 1953; sponsored by Mrs. Samuel C. Waugh; and delivered to the Maritime Administration and the United States Lines for operation under General Agency Agreement 24 February 1954.

In March 1959 Observation Island returned to Norfolk Naval Shipyard for installation of additional equipment, including the Ships Inertial Navigation System (SINS). In June she steamed for her new homeport, Port Canaveral, Fla., and made preparations for the first at-sea launch of a Polaris missile. Designated UGM–27, the missile was successfully launched from Observation Island 27 August.

Following this milestone, Observation Island returned to Norfolk Naval Shipyard for installation of a fire control system to enable her to launch more sophisticated guided versions of new generation Polaris missiles. She also received a new launcher, the developmental prototype of those installed in the FBM submarines.

This work was completed in January 1960 and Observation Island returned to Port Canaveral to continue Polaris test launch operations. After a total of six launchings, the ship commenced support of Polaris launchings from FBM submarines. She provided optical and electronic data gathering services, and acted as communications relay station between submerged submarines and the supervisor of range operations at the Cape. The first successful fully guided Polaris missile launching from a submerged submarine took place 20 July 1960 from George Washington (SSBN–598). Through October Observation Island also supported launches from Patrick Henry (SSBN–599).

Following further modifications at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in the fall of 1960, Observation Island returned to Port Canaveral in December to continue FBM support work and systems test and evaluation. She received the Navy Unit Commendation 15 December; launched the new A–2 Polaris 1 March 1961; and supported the first submerged A–2 launch from Ethan A lien (SSBN–608) 23 October.

In late 1961 Obervation Island served as a survey ship on the Atlantic Missile Range, and in January 1962 she again put in at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, this time for modifications preparatory to launching the new A 3 Polaris. Returning to Port Canaveral in March, she supported FBM submarines through the following autumn, when she steamed for two months of operations on the Pacific Missile Range.

Observation Island was back at Port Canaveral by Christmas, and until June 1963 she expanded her role of oceanographic survey in the Atlantic Range. She conducted the first successful at-sea launches of the A–3 Polaris 17 and 21 June. President John F. Kennedy came on board 16 November to observe a Polaris launch.

She has since continued to operate essentially as a sea-going platform from which missile launches can closely approximate conditions encountered in FBM submarine launches. Her equipment is constantly being modified, allowing prototypes to be tested thoroughly before missiles and associated components become operational with the Fleet. As a mobile platform, she can conduct tests in any instumented range.


Do you think this is Paquebot covers?



Again thanks for reading this blog post and  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.


To read more about Observation Island click following link.
http://www.bbbrown.com/oi.html