Indian Airmails

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      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Colombo August 1952
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      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Sydney March 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Tokyo July 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Colombo August-September 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Tokyo April 1959
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      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Auckland April 1963
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      • B.O.A.C. VC 10 40th Anniversary of Regular Airmail
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  • Home
  • Pre-1953 Airlines
    • Indian State Air Services >
      • 1929 Karachi - Delhi via Hyderabad & Jodhpur
    • Delhi Flying Club >
      • 1931 Emergency Flight by Delhi Flying Club
      • 1932 Karachi - Delhi
    • Indian Trans-Continental Airways >
      • 1933 Karachi - Calcutta >
        • 1933 Eastwards: Karachi - Calcutta
        • 1933 Westwards: Calcutta to Karachi
      • 1933 Calcutta - Rangoon via Akyab >
        • 1933 Eastwards: Calcutta - Rangoon via Akyab
        • 1933 Westwards: Rangoon - Calcutta via Akyab
      • 1933 Karachi - Singapore Extension
      • 1934 Karachi - Australia Extension
      • 1936 Rangoon - Hong Kong
    • Indian National Airways >
      • 1933 Calcutta - Dacca
      • 1933 Rangoon - Calcutta
      • 1934 Karachi - Lahore
      • 1940 Karachi - Calcutta via Lahore
      • 1939 Karachi - Delhi
      • 1947 Calcutta - Rangoon
    • Madras Air Taxi Service
    • Experimental & Survey Flights. >
      • 1931 England - Australia Flight >
        • 1st Experimental Flight
        • 2nd Experimental Flight
      • 1938 Flying Boat Coogee
    • Star Line
  • Tata Airlines
    • 1931 - Karachi - Madras: Route Survey Flight
    • 1932 - Karachi - Madras >
      • Official Southbound
      • Official Northbound
      • Other Southbound
      • Other Northbound
      • Other Material
    • 1933 - Karachi - Madras via Poona
    • 1935 Karachi - Madras via Hyderabad >
      • 1935 - Karachi - Madras via Hyderabad
      • 1935 Bombay-Hyderabad Errors on Stamp
    • 1935 - Bombay - Calcutta demonstration flight
    • 1935 - Bombay - Travancore via Goa & Cannanore
    • 1936 - Madras to Colombo via Trichinopoly
    • 1937 - First Flight to Bhuj
    • 1937 - Delhi - Bombay via Gwalior, Bhopal & Indore
    • 1938 - Karachi - Madras extension to Colombo via Trichnopoly
    • 1938 - Trichinopoly - Trivandrum extension
    • 1938 - Mansoon halt at Poona
    • 1946 - Bombay - Calcutta via Nagpur
  • Air-India
    • 1948 Air-India International Bombay - London Flight >
      • Postage Stamps - Constant Errors
      • The Postage Stamp
      • First Day Covers
      • DG's Circular & Postal Notices
      • Official Covers
      • Air-India Covers
      • Special Flight Cachet
      • Postage Rates gallery
      • Local Cancellations
      • Private Covers Gallery
      • Interesting Places of Origin & Destinations >
        • Interesting Destinations
        • Interesting Places of Origin
        • Interesting Places of Origin & Destinations
      • More interesting covers
      • Return Flight covers
      • Other Philatelic Curiosities
      • Award winning exhibit
    • 1948 - 1953 Early Route Expansion
    • 1954 - 1959 Early Route Expansion
    • 1960 - 1965 Air-India Boeing 707 Era.
    • 1966 - 1970 Air-India Boeing 707 Era.
    • 1971 - 1975 Boeing 747 & Other Aircraft Era
    • 1976 Onward Boeing 747 & Other Aircraft Era
    • Crash Mail Covers
    • Postal Meter panels
  • Indian Airlines
    • 1960 - 1964
    • 1965 - 1969
    • 1970 - 1974
    • 1975 - 1979
    • 1980 - Onward
    • Crash Mail Covers
    • Meter Panel & Stationery
  • Foreign Airlines
    • B.O.A.C. >
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Colombo August 1952
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Singapore October 1952
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Tokyo April 1953
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Sydney March 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Tokyo July 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Colombo August-September 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Tokyo April 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Singapore June 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Sydney November 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Manila November 1961
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Auckland April 1963
      • B.O.A.C. Boeing 707 London to Nandi November 1965
      • B.O.A.C. VC 10 40th Anniversary of Regular Airmail
  • Others
    • Zeppelin & Catapult >
      • LZ-10 Schwaben
      • LZ-13 Hansa
      • LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin
      • LZ-129 Hindenberg
      • LZ-130 Graf Zeppelin II
      • Catapult Mail
      • Ephemera
    • Rocket Mail >
      • Indian Rocket Mail
      • Sikkim Rocket Mail
    • Pigeon Mail
    • Balloon Mail
    • Airship R 101
    • Indian Air Force
  • Resources
  • Useful Links
  • Contact us
Postage Stamps - Constant Errors

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The Broken Tail variety: The center vertical fin in the tailplane has a break on the leading edge and appears broken.
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The Extra Porthole variety: There is an extra porthole visible in the undercarriage towards the center of the fuselage.
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The spot under the left wing. There is a spot under the left wing close to the fuselage with a white spot.

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Broken Tail' variety
​
 You will notice that the center fin of the tailplane has a break in the leading edge. The Official Souvenir cover is correctly franked 14 as. which was the postal rate to Switzerland, and went on the first flight from Bombay to Geneva.

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Broken Tail' variety
Air-India International. First Flight from Bombay to London.
8th June 1948
Cover mailed in Bangalore and addressed to Olaho, Portugal.
‘Broken Tail error’ stamp on cover.
 
Air-India International souvenir cover franked with a superb block of four with two side margins indicating position of the stamps at the bottom right corner of the sheet. The stamps are cancelled at G.P.O. Bombay by the boxed rectangular first flight cachet.  Mailed from Bangalore, and addressed to Olaho, Algarve, Portugal, the cover would have flown Bombay to London on Air-India International’s inaugural flight, arriving on 9 June, and then onward to Lisbon by perhaps B.O.A.C., and onward from Lisbon to it’s final destination. There is a transit mark at Lisbon, CORREIOS, LISBOA, 11 JUN 48 21H, III, CTT, and a faint delivery mark at OLAHO CTT. Other covers sent by Alberto a. Lopez of Bangalore to Olhao have also been seen.
 
This one is franked 48a, and clearly over stamped as the airmail rate to Portugal was 14a. However, this has one hidden beauty. Each sheet of this issue had 20 rows and 8 columns adding up to 160 stamps per sheet, and approximately 3,500 sheets were printed. The constant error of the Broken Tail variety is on row 20 column 7 of the sheet. Thanks to the two sides margins, we can identify the error stamp on the bottom left of this block of four.
 
Given the visible damage to three corners of the cover and pinhole damage on the fourth corner, it appears this was badly mounted for display, and the damage occurred when removing this. Also visible stains and foxing indicate poor storage and age, but still a beauty in any collection.

Picture
Broken Tail' variety
Air-India International. First Flight from Bombay to London.
8th June 1948
Cover mailed in Pandur, South India and addressed to San Francisco, USA.
‘Broken Tail error’ stamp on cover.

Air mail cover sent on Air-India International First Flight on 8th June 1948 from Pandur, South India to San Francisco, USA. Cover is correctly franked with 18as postal stamp and bearing a type C cachet and have Bombay cancellation mark - BOMBAY G.P.O./8.JUN.48.
Air-India International souvenir 12as stamp have Broken Tail Error.
 ​


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Extra Porthole' error

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Extra Porthole' error
​
 This is on a Registered Air-India International Souvenir cover flown on the first flight from Bombay to London, and then onward to New York. The cover is franked with a block of four 12 a. special postage stamps issued for use on that date. The correct rate would be 24 as., and it has been overstamped by another 24 as
Picture
Air-India International, First Flight from Bombay to London 8th June 1948
Error on Stamp – Extra Porthole 
Air-India International souvenir cover sent Registered to Cairo and franked with a block of four 12 annas stamps, totally adding up to 48 annas, and overstamped 34 anna. The top right stamp has the ‘Extra Porthole’ Error, a constant error.

Picture
Spot under the left wing error
Souvenir cover prepared by the postal department for the occasion and franked with the 12as Air-India stamp issue, tied with the special boxed rectangular cachet, addressed to London.

There is a spot under the left wing close to the fuselage with a white spot. Inking error on the stamp.

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Picture
Picture
Two errors on stamp 
Air-India International First Flight from Bombay to London 8 June 1948
Cover flown from Bombay to Cairo
Two errors on stamp & Unusual Place of Origin – Calcutta 
Air Mail cover with the 12a value stamp issued for use on that date, and posted with a Calcutta return address. Unusual place of origin. The stamp has two visible errors, there is a pearl in the outer blue border on the top just above the first T of INTERNATIONAL, and another pearl in the bottom, between the A on INDIA and the P of POSTAGE.

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This cover has special Flight cachet# type C. Error on stamp, white spot in the middle of the plane between engine two and three.
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