posted 09-29-2021 02:47 AM               

Are you aware of other covers from an actual White Sands V-2 launch date? How many such covers were done? What is its value?

posted 10-03-2021 08:19 AM               

I have noticed recently on ebay, along with a couple of European space cover/stamp dealer websites, a few advertised V-2 launch day covers from White Sands! Their cachets, however, appear to be more of a modern-day production, which seem very nice, and their used postal cancels appear authentic in their comparisons to others that I know of from that early period of U.S. rocketry. Perhaps some of those cancelled covers from the 1940's are just now appearing, but yet at the time of their creations, had no cachets available nor applied until now.

By the way, Walter, I am still trying to find information about an Ordnance Dept. officer that I believe was working at the Army's WSMR during the late 40's (more precisely in Feb. 1949). I've tried a few research agencies along with calling a couple of rocket and space museums located in New Mexico, even the Army installation itself, but never did get any replies back, except for one, but it wasn't helpful.

The U.S. Army officer's name is Captain Paul W. Davidson, Recovery Officer at the missile test range's Ordnance Dept. His name, as mentioned in a prior cS-post topic, was possibly associated with a Rocket Mail cover from Feb, 17, 1949, with a old typewriter notation on it, "This cover was among the first lot officially recovered from a V-2 rocket after flight." It was fired at 10:00 am reaching an altitude of 79 miles.

posted 10-06-2021 04:37 AM               

I noticed the White Sands covers you mentioned only with dates close to a launch. I never saw a cover with exact launch date which would be highly attractive for astrophilately collectros and exhibitors.

posted 10-06-2021 06:32 AM               

Of those that I have and/or know of, only one cover, a War Dept. #10 envelope, signed by Stuhlinger, was posted Nov. 21, 1946, a day after that V-2 flight was recorded on Nov. 20th. There's also a similar cover in 1946, signed by von Braun, on Oct. 17, but no V-2's were recorded on the 17th, but there were two flights on the 10th and 24th of that month.

The next year in 1947 saw two more V-2 War Dept. envelope-covers, both von Braun signed. One was on April 30, 1947, and one of mine with only a Las Cruces machine cancel strike as, "3 pm, 1947," but with no month indicated. There had been 13 V-2 test launches in 1947 with three V-2 flights recorded on April 1, 8, and 17, but nothing close or near to the known April 30th cancelled cover.

But in your last paragraph above, Walter, if you're referring to the possible "rocket mail" V-2 flown cover in Feb. 1949, you can see it depicted in an earlier cS-posting on this site. Robert posted it for me on April 21, 2020, "American V-2 Rocket Mail at White Sands" under the Stamps & Covers forum. If you need to see a bigger illustration of it here, let me know.

posted 10-07-2021 11:47 AM               

The three covers you presented here are great. I would love to add each of them to my collection.

Here are two early White Sands rocket covers: The first one flew with the 22nd V-2 captured by the US on April 1, 1947. I neither saw it originally nor know who owns it. It is a reconstruction from a black and white copy.

The other one flew with Nike 18R on July 15, 1948. It reached an altitude of 10 km versus 184 km of the V-2 flown the year before.

posted 10-07-2021 02:41 PM               

There may be a good possibility that this particular cover, signed by a "M S Silkines," may had been flown. It's most unfortunate, though, the V-2 cover has no postal markings on it, but possibly could there be a postmark on its back surface?

posted 12-01-2021 06:55 PM               

Beatrice Bachman informed me about a correspondence with Robert Schoendorf regarding the V-2 flown covers. He complained that the late German collector Ado Maier pressed him to sell to him a V-2 flown cover, although only two covers flown by the 22nd V-2 captured by the US on April 1, 1947 were recovered. As I understood neither knew where any of them were. As I remember, the official business covers contained these two flown covers and other correspondence. Therefore I regard your two covers as great unflown items. I wonder, whether the cover signed by Wernher von Braun has any arrival postmark on its back.

posted 12-02-2021 01:26 PM               

Mine by von Braun also indicated in a typewritten text at bottom "PER V*2 ROCKET as I have always been curious by this added feature. It usually would refer to a flown rocket mail cover and the other War Dept. envelope of mine is signed by Stuhlinger. It was penned by him as "V-2 Rocket Mail" right below his signature over the twin vignette stamp labels.

Getting back to the mysterious "ROCKET MAIL" cover from Feb. 1949 with a nice Las Cruces hand cancel applied, which appears to be authentic from my limited observations of it, but I am still checking and researching the name Capt. Paul W. Davidson typed on it. I did locate information of a Paul Davidson, U.S. Army, born in 1920 from Texas that did serve in WWII (enlisted in 1941) and may had been in New Mexico that decade as an Army officer. Still working on it to see if he was in fact stationed at WSMR in 1949.

To answer your question about the apparent coffee or tea stain on the cover in the 3-cent Ft. Bliss postage stamp area, I know nothing about it, but it does seem that the stain did make direct contact with the postage stamp itself.

posted 12-03-2021 11:14 AM               

I am not aware of other flown rocket mail covers from either the U.S. or Russia during the 1940's pertaining to large ballistic missiles or rockets.

posted 12-03-2021 01:33 PM               

quote:

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The Historic Aeronautics Association's cover was postmarked onboard USS Midway on 9/11/1947 whereas the V-2 was launched from USS Midway on 9/6/1947. Does anybody know the meaning of this date? Did the vessel embark? [/B]

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posted 12-03-2021 01:33 PM               

quote:

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The Historic Aeronautics Association's cover was postmarked onboard USS Midway on 9/11/1947 whereas the V-2 was launched from USS Midway on 9/6/1947. Does anybody know the meaning of this date? Did the vessel embark? [/B]

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posted 12-03-2021 02:00 PM               

That's also an interesting cover from Palomar Mountain, CA, on Dec. 17, 1946, as it was the 17th V-2 launch and the fourth missile flight on American soil to reach over 100 miles high. In reaching 116 miles after the first program's nighttime liftoff past 10 pm, it remained an all-time high-altitude record flight of a V-2.

posted 12-03-2021 02:26 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken Havekotte:
I wonder how far Mt. Palomar is from the White Sands V-2 launch site in New Mexico...

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posted 12-18-2021 10:17 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by cosmos-walter:
The distance from Mt. Palomar Observatory, TX to Las Cruces...

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