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

First day cover details

FDC image	No image uploaded
FDC reverse image	No reverse image uploaded
Country	Isle of Man
Country code	IM
Issue title	RAF Diamond Jubilee – Stuart 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Withdrawal or invalidation date	27 February 1979 (stamps withdrawn from sale)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	Standard cover
Cover producer	Stuart Covers
Cover reference
Limited edition	No
Edition limit	N/A
Copy number	N/A
Cachet or cover design	Monochrome early biplane illustration with Isle of Man Commemorates the 60th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force wording, Stuart logo and First Day of Issue inscription.
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	No postmark image uploaded
Signed	No
Signed by	N/A
Signature details	N/A
Information sheet included	Yes
Information materials
Information sheet title
Information sheet image	No image uploaded
Information sheet reverse image	No reverse image uploaded
Information sheet notes
Certificate of authenticity included	No
Certificate of authenticity image	N/A
Certificate of authenticity reverse image	N/A
FDC owned	No
Condition
Collection Comment	Wanted cover; the supplied private reference has a third-party image watermark and a faint rectangular mark at lower right. The latter is not identified from this photograph.

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.

Illustrated cover

This Stuart cover is wanted for the collection. The reference example is unaddressed and bears the full set arranged 6p and 7p above 11p and 13p. It is cancelled at Douglas on 28 February 1978 with a circular first-day-of-issue handstamp.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

Related covers

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

Stamps on this cover

The illustrations are cancelled stamp scans from the collector’s owned official cover. They illustrate the shared stamp issue, not the particular stamps on the wanted example.

Image	Identifier	Face value	Subject	Format	Other catalogues	Notes
	IM-SG-107	6p	Short Type 184 seaplane and HMS Ben-my-Chree, 1915	Stamp		Scan from the collector’s official cover.
	IM-SG-108	7p	Bristol Scout C and HMS Vindex, 1915	Stamp		Scan from the collector’s official cover.
	IM-SG-109	11p	Boulton Paul Defiant over Douglas Bay, 1941	Stamp		Scan from the collector’s official cover.
	IM-SG-110	13p	SEPECAT Jaguar over Ramsey, 1977	Stamp		Scan from the collector’s official cover.