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Isle of Man – RAF Diamond Jubilee – Official cover – 1978

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First day cover details
FDC image RAF Diamond Jubilee – Official cover
FDC reverse image N/A
Country Isle of Man
Country code IM
Issue title RAF Diamond Jubilee – Official cover
Date of issue 28 February 1978
Withdrawal or invalidation date 27 February 1979 (stamps withdrawn from sale)


Stamp type Commemorative stamp
Stamp subtype Anniversary
Theme or subject Royal Air Force; military aviation; naval aviation; Isle of Man
Text credit
Designer or artist A. D. Theobald
Printer John Waddington’s Ltd
Printing process Lithography
Colours Multicoloured; four colours for each value
Paper and gum P.V.A.-gummed paper, 102 g/m² (information sheet)
Perforation 13½ × 14
Stamp dimensions 29.85 × 48.26 mm (information sheet)
Issue format Sheets of 50 (two panes of 5 × 5)
Number of stamps 4
Cover type Official first day cover
Cover producer Isle of Man Post Office Authority
Cover reference
Limited edition No
Edition limit N/A
Copy number N/A
Cachet or cover design RAF badge within a blue diamond dated 1918–1978, surrounded by badges of the Officer Cadet Training Unit, Jurby Head, No. 307 Squadron and No. 312 Squadron; Royal Air Force Diamond Jubilee and official cover wording.
Addressed No
Postmark type First-day-of-issue postmark
Postmark location Douglas, Isle of Man
Postmark date 28 February 1978
Postmark inscription FIRST DAY OF ISSUE / 28 FEB 1978 / DOUGLAS / ISLE OF MAN
Postmark notes Circular Douglas first-day cancellation ties the four stamps.
Postmark image

Main postmark for RAF Diamond Jubilee – Official cover


Signed No
Signed by N/A
Signature details N/A
Information sheet included Yes
Information materials Two-sided printed information sheet
Information sheet title Royal Air Force Diamond Jubilee — Date of Issue 28th February 1978
Information sheet image Royal Air Force Diamond Jubilee — Date of Issue 28th February 1978 — front
Information sheet reverse image Royal Air Force Diamond Jubilee — Date of Issue 28th February 1978 — reverse
Information sheet notes The front recounts RAF and naval-aviation links with the island; the reverse continues the history, describes the four designs and provides technical specifications.
Certificate of authenticity included No
Certificate of authenticity image N/A
Certificate of authenticity reverse image N/A
FDC owned Yes
Condition
Collection Comment Owned unaddressed official cover; the envelope reverse is blank.

Image notice: Images on these pages may depict copyrighted stamp designs, cover artwork, text or photographs. Unless otherwise stated, they are scans of physical items in the collection of PhantomSteve. Rights in the depicted material remain with their respective rightsholders. See Copyrights.


The four RAF Diamond Jubilee stamps were issued on 28 February 1978.[1]

Illustrated cover

The collector owns this official cover. The four stamps are arranged 6p and 7p above 11p and 13p and cancelled at Douglas on 28 February 1978. The envelope is unaddressed; its reverse is confirmed blank by the collector.[2]

Historical background and designs

The issue commemorates the Royal Air Force diamond jubilee, 1918–1978. The official leaflet dates the RAF’s formation to 1 April 1918, through the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. The stamp issue date was 28 February 1978; it is distinct from the anniversary date. The designs trace island connections from First World War seaplane carriers to wartime Jurby and modern flying over Ramsey.[3]

The leaflet traces the training role of RAF Jurby through air observer, bombing and gunnery, navigation and air gunnery schools, as well as its wartime fighter squadrons. It also describes Leonard Cheshire’s training there in 1940 and the later reopening for initial and officer-cadet training. It records the Freedom of Ramsey in December 1954 and the Freedom of Douglas in July 1955, and describes No. 243 Mobile Signals Unit’s establishment in January 1956. These accounts provide the leaflet’s historical context for the RAF’s Manx connections.[3]

The 6p shows a Short Type 184 seaplane with HMS Ben-my-Chree in 1915. The official leaflet associates the design with Flight Commander C. H. K. Edmonds’s torpedo attack on 12 August 1915 and the island’s links with naval aviation through requisitioned Steam Packet ships.[3]

The 7p depicts a Bristol Scout C flying above HMS Vindex in 1915. The catalogue identifies the aircraft as a Bristol Scout C; the stamp inscription and information sheet use the shorter Bristol Scout. The leaflet relates the scene to Flight Lieutenant Fowler’s take-off from the carrier’s short forward deck on 3 November 1915, and identifies the vessel as the former Viking.[3]

The 11p shows a Boulton Paul Defiant over Douglas Bay in 1941. The leaflet identifies it with No. 307 (Polish) Squadron, which flew Defiant night fighters from Jurby, and describes the scene as a dusk flight on its way to assist in the defence of Liverpool.[3]

The 13p depicts a SEPECAT Jaguar flying over Ramsey in 1977. The leaflet presents the Jaguar as representing the contemporary RAF and explains that military aircraft used the range off Jurby Head for practice, although no RAF aircraft were then stationed on the island.[3]

Production details

The information sheet credits A. D. Theobald as designer and John Waddington’s Ltd as printer. It specifies lithography, four colours for each value, a stamp size of 29.85 × 48.26 mm, unwatermarked P.V.A.-gummed paper of 102 g/m², and perforation 13½ × 14. The catalogue gives the same perforation.[3][1]

The catalogue records sheets of 50, in two panes of 5 × 5, and plate numbers 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D for every value, each × 4. The leaflet likewise records two panes of 25 and describes printed cylinder details 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D alongside “traffic lights”.[1][3]

Sales and withdrawal

The catalogue records 690,536 sold of the 6p, 875,811 of the 7p, 416,082 of the 11p and 422,797 of the 13p. These figures count stamps, not covers. The stamps were withdrawn from sale on 27 February 1979.[1]

Stamps on this cover

Image Identifier Face value Subject Format Other catalogues Notes


Short Type 184 seaplane and HMS Ben-my-Chree, 1915 IM-SG-107 6p Short Type 184 seaplane and HMS Ben-my-Chree, 1915 Stamp Scan from the collector’s official cover.



Bristol Scout C and HMS Vindex, 1915 IM-SG-108 7p Bristol Scout C and HMS Vindex, 1915 Stamp Scan from the collector’s official cover.



Boulton Paul Defiant over Douglas Bay, 1941 IM-SG-109 11p Boulton Paul Defiant over Douglas Bay, 1941 Stamp Scan from the collector’s official cover.



SEPECAT Jaguar over Ramsey, 1977 IM-SG-110 13p SEPECAT Jaguar over Ramsey, 1977 Stamp Scan from the collector’s official cover.


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Stanley Gibbons.Channel Islands and Isle of Man 2022 Edition Stamp Catalogue(31st combined edition).Stanley Gibbons.2022.Section: Isle of Man.p. 204.Catalogue system: Stanley Gibbons.Catalogue number(s): 107–110.ISBN: 978-1-911304-89-0.Place of publication: Ringwood. Details transcribed from the catalogue by the collector. The collector confirms the 7p subject as Bristol Scout C.
  2. ↑ RAF Diamond Jubilee — Official cover — 1978(Collection scan).The collector’s owned cover, individual stamps and separate cancellation scan. The collector confirms the envelope reverse is blank.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Royal Air Force Diamond Jubilee — Date of Issue 28th February 1978(Information sheet).Isle of Man Post Office Authority.Two-sided information sheet accompanying the collector’s owned official cover. Scans: front and reverse.
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