STAMP ISSUES RELATED TO ICAO (1984-1985)

Afghanistan : 40^th Anniversary of ICAO

Issue date: 29/06/1984
	Antonov AN‑2 ‘Colt’ biplane.
	Ilyushin IL‑12.
	Tupolev TU‑104A.
	Ilyushin IL‑18 ‘Coot’.
	Yakovlev Yak‑42 ‘Clober’.
	Tupolev TU‑154 ‘Careless’.
	Ilyushin IL‑86 ‘Camber’.
Cancelled to Order (CTO).
For each stamp, a proof mounted on card exists. Apparently, only 10 to 12 of each exist. Approved by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga (Международная Книга) in Moscow (see note in the background section). Embossed frame around the stamp; embossed text at the center-low.
Seven First Day Covers. The cancel shows the issue date of 29.06.1984; however, the French text shows: 40^ém ANNIVERSAIR DE L’AVIATION. This should have been more rightly written: 40^e ANNIVERSAIRE DE L’AVIATION. Note that the second imprint applied by the Afghanistan Post at Kabul (the Capital City of Afghanistan) shows the following date: 3-9-1984.
Back of the above seven covers.
First Day Covers. The imprint shows: 40-e ANNIVERSAIRE DE LA AVIATION; it should have been written more rightly: 40^e ANNIVERSAIRE DE L’AVIATION. Although the stamps were issued on 29 July 1984 (here printed in the form 29^o-06-84), some first day cancels show 2 July 1984, printed in the form: 02^o-07-84. Two first cancels were used: KABOUL – 111 and KABOUL - 115, most likely in different post offices. Aircraft in the cachet could be: 1. The biplane: a World War 1 vintage plane, maybe a Sopwith Camel or something along those lines;  2. The airliner: any two-engine aircraft, Boeing or Airbus; and  3. The high-wing monoplane: looks a little like a Cessna L-19.
Background: This issue shows all Soviet civil aircraft; it was printed in Afghanistan. The designer is Victor Sagaidashin. For information, the Soviet war in Afghanistan began on 24 December 1979 with the invasion of troops from the Soviet Union; on 15 February 1989, the Soviet Union announced that all its troops had left Afghanistan. There is no reference (in the form of name or emblem) to ICAO on this set. The text 40-e ANNIVERSAIRE DE L'AVIATION (in French) is printed on all the stamps of this issue; thus, the full name in French of the Organization is missing (i.e. ORGANISATION DE L’AVIATION CIVILE INTERNATIONALE). It is interesting to note that Afghanistan used French language for this issue; English is also used for the first day covers. It is to be noted that: 1. Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. was established on 27 January 1955, and is the oldest and the national airline of Afghanistan. Ariana Airlines would have reached its 30th anniversary in 1985. 2. The history of the Afghan air service began on 22 August 1924 as the Afghan Air Force; it reached its 60th anniversary in 1984. 3. Although a Civil Aviation Department in Afghanistan was established in 1953, the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) was established in October 2012. 4. On 9 February 1923, the Council of Labor and Defence in USSR (the agency responsible for the central management of the economy and production of military materiel in the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and later the Soviet Union) adopted a decree on the formation of the Council of Civil Aviation, thus creating the Civil Air Fleet of the USSR, by amalgamating all pioneer airlines to form Dobrolet on 25 March 1923. The name Aeroflot was adopted in 1932 after the reorganisation of Dobrolet. Hence, 1983 coincided with the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of USSR Civil Aviation. As none of these events could celebrate a 40^th anniversary in 1984, it is considered that this issue commemorates in fact the 40th anniversary of ICAO, as noted in the stamp catalogues. Note that the issued stamps were printed on different papers. French has been used on Afghan stamps since Afghanistan joined the UPU in 1928. On a few occasions, English has been used, but usually it is French. As defined in the Constitution of Afghanistan, Dari Persian (also called Afghan Farsi i.e., the Afghan version of Persian) is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan; the other is Pashto. Dari serves as the lingua franca of the country and is understood by up to 77% of the population. At this period, the majority of Afghan stamps were printed by the Russian State printing works in Moscow. Proofs are known for most issues and approved in this way by the State printing works; it is not sure if the approving officer is a military officer, but the approval has nothing to do with the Russian military presence in Afghanistan at that time. It is just the normal approval of the proofs by the printing works. The values of the stamps are printed in French and Afghan Farsi. List of numbers in Farsi: