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Author
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Topic: Advice on 1960s McMurdo rocket cover
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Axman
Member Posts: 305
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 12-21-2023 11:15 AM
   
I would love some advice regarding this cover for sale on eBay. I have no prior experience regarding the USA Deep Freeze operation which first fired sounding rockets from the Antarctic continent. The only knowledge I have is via the Ellington-Zwisler catalogue 1967 edition US#51. In that listing the following information is given: Cachets 1. black National Science Foundation circular cachet. 2. Red, "First Meteorological Rocket Flights in Antarctica" 3. Black, "McMurdo Station"51C1 Cover, postmark - US NAVY 17038 Operation Deepfreeze. I have two issues/questions regarding the eBay listing.The second cachet is in blue, not red. And, the cover is an airmail envelope. Is it genuine? Apart from the queries I have, it looks authentic to me. Any opinions gratefully received and digested. Thanks. |
cosmos-walter
Member Posts: 832
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 12-23-2023 08:52 AM
Alan, at first sight this looks like a genuine launch cover. However, I cannot find any hint that it actually flew with a rocket. For an unflown launch cover with hardly readable date of the postmark the price is much too high. |
Axman
Member Posts: 305
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 12-23-2023 09:56 AM
Thanks Walter, much appreciated. The unreadable CDS is quite off-putting, and combined with the blue text I think you are right — not a rocket flight cover, more like a commemorative. |
yeknom-ecaps
Member Posts: 860
From: Northville MI USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 12-23-2023 04:22 PM
Walter - have to believe that Ellington and Zwisler had some reason to include it as flown in their catalog. Any idea who got all the background material/research material for their catalogs to see if there are any notes on it? |
davidcwagner
Member Posts: 1014
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 12-23-2023 06:06 PM
Any info on the blue stamp with the red rocket? What is printed under under black sharpie on stamp? Not English. Maybe German or Dutch? |
yeknom-ecaps
Member Posts: 860
From: Northville MI USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 12-23-2023 06:58 PM
Looks to be a Holland rockt mail stamp with "Nederlandse Ruimtevaart" crossed out. |
Axman
Member Posts: 305
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 12-24-2023 05:54 AM
Thanks Walter, Tom, and David.Can I summarise? This is a cover for the 1962-3 Deep Freeze Antarctic mission at the US McMurdo Base.
Between 19th June 1962 and 3rd October 1963 twenty eight Arcas meteorology rockets were fired to an average of 60km high. One or more of those rockets (I don't know which) carried a total of sixteen letters which were recovered... Which is why it is in EZ as US#51. The label is Dutch, and EZ mistakenly identies it as Holland#74A1 - it is in fact Holland no. 77A1 and A1b (a de Bruijn rocket mail flight in September 1959) with, as Tom says, Nederlandse Ruimtevaart obliterated by a black mark. Similar unflown covers are out there, and without a clear date visible on the CDS and the text cachet being blue not red, I'm in agreement with Walter that this isn't a flown cover but is instead one of those. And, also as Walter said, the price is steep for a commemorative unflown cover. |
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