posted January 10, 2010 09:18 AM               

Space Cover #39: V-2 Test Flight, Made in the USA

The Space Cover of the Week this week was flown on V-2 rocket number 23 at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, April 8, 1947, recovered from the desert test area and then mailed via registered mail to a space cover collector in Glendale, Long Island, New York. The von Braun and U.S. Army team assembled V-2 rocket achieved a true space altitude of 64 miles apogee and traveled a distance of 19 miles before crashing back into the desert at White Sands at the termination of the test. The disparity in the cancellation date on the back of the registered mail cover and the Army's launch date is due to difficulty in locating the rocket after the test. While the cover's condition is not pristine, it is a very rare V-2 rocket flown cover from the beginning of the U. S. space program. The magenta White Sands Proving Ground, Las Cruces, New Mexico, corner card is also unusual for an early rocket test cover, and commands our attention to stop and take a closer look at the cover.

A previous space cover collector has splayed the cover to show both the registered mail cancels on the front of the cover as well as the double ring Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Brooklyn, New York, cancels showing where the flown cover was mailed after the rocket test and recovery to its end recipient. In addition to U.S. airmail postage, the cover also has the two singles of the 1947 Las Cruces, V-2, New Mexico overprints in both red and blue, Ellington-Zwisler #14A1a and #14A2a, postally marked and tied to the cover with a light green boxed V-2 postal marking as was used for this.

Many space cover collectors shun these large number 10 sized covers as being too large and difficult to mount for an exhibit. A large cover is often a challenge to one's arrangement in a competitively evaluated exhibit. But, for a cover flown on a V-2 rocket by the von Braun rocket team and U.S. Army in 1947, possibly an exception could be made to somehow fit it in.

posted January 10, 2010 09:53 AM               

I'm currently working on a project that involves an artifact removed from a V-2 rocket that was flown at White Sands in 1946. The artifact is a lawfully obtained section of metal from one of the tail fins.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, great cover, thanks for sharing!