STAMP ISSUES RELATED TO ICAO (1978-1983)

 

Bolivia : 75th Anniversary of civil aviation

 

Issue date: 16/03/1979

 

Souvenir sheet with theme: Aviation history commemorating the 75th anniversary of the first engine‑powered flight of Wright Brothers and the 30th anniversary of ICAO.

It was issued under the auspices of the Bolivian Philatelic Federation, which held various philatelic exhibitions in Bolivia in 1979. 

The text on the sheet reads: 75 AÑOS DE LA AVIACION CIVIL (75TH ANNIVERSARY OF CIVIL AVIATION).

Picture of Santos-Dumont with the dates 1873-1973 (centenary of birth) and his biplane 14-bis; ICAO emblem. Eight Bolivian rare stamps related to aviation are reproduced on this block, as described hereafter.

5,000 copies were produced.

 

 

First Day Cover.

 

Special insert of the above cover.

 

Souvenir sheet mounted on a page titled ZEPPELINE UND LUFTSCHIFFE AUF BRIEFMARKEN (ZEPPELINS AND AIRSHIPS ON STAMPS). Texts in German.

 

Background:

Details of the Bolivian stamps reproduced on this souvenir sheet (from left to right, top to bottom):

  1. Top row:

a) 8-Sobretasa stamp issued on 24 July 1974 for the 50th anniversary of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (FAB, or Bolivian Air Force); it shows Rafael Pabón and Potez 25 double-decker of 1924;

b) 15-C stamp issued on 13 June 1928 (Coat of arms of the Lloyd Aero Boliviano airline, landscape).

  1. Middle row:

a) 15-Sobretasa stamp issued on 24 July 1974 for the 50th anniversary of the Bolivian Air Force (Douglas DC-7C jet airliner and "50" figure);

b) 600-Sobretasa stamp issued on 6 September 1962 commemorating the Armed Forces of Bolivia (Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk, parachutes and emblem in red, yellow and green).

  1. Lower row:

a) 10-Centavo stamp overprinted on 6 May 1930 in commemoration of the Europe-Pan America flight of the airship Graf Zeppelin with: "CORREO AERO/R.S./6‑V‑1930" (in azure-blue). The original stamp was issued in December 1924 for the establishment of the National Aviation School in La Paz; the aircraft is a Morane Saulnier Type P;

b) 35-Sobretasa stamp overprinted and surcharged on 6 May 1930 with: "Z/1930/Bs. 6.‑" (in black), in commemoration of the connection service to the airship Graf Zeppelin. The original stamp was issued on 13 June 1928 to pay tribute to the Lloyd Aero Boliviano airline (with its coat of arms depicted on the stamp), founded on 15 September 1925;

c) 3-Sobretasa stamp issued on 24 April 1976 commemorating the 50th anniversary of Lufthansa (1926‑1976). It shows a DC-10 airliner of the Lufthansa air company, and the Bolivian and German national colours;

d) 4.50-P stamp issued on 24 July 1974 for the 50th anniversary of the Bolivian Air Force (Triplane trainer Fokker in the background used during the WWI and Morane Saulnier M.S. 760 Paris I airplane).

 

In May 1930, the Graf Zeppelin LZ 127 made its first visit to South America as part of a triangular flight (named the Europe-Pan America flight) between Spain, Brazil, and the United States. Providing passenger, express freight, and air mail service between Germany, Spain and South America was an early concern in the design of LZ 127. The 1930 flight originated in Friedrichshafen on 18 May and stopped first in Seville, Spain before continuing on to South America. The Graf arrived first in Brazil at Recife (Pernambuco) docking at Campo do Jiquiá on 22 May before proceeding on to Rio de Janeiro. The airship then flew back north to Lakehurst, New Jersey, before heading east over the Atlantic on 2 June to return to Germany with another stop in Seville. This flight led two years later to the establishment of the airship's regular scheduled commercial passenger, mail, and freight service between Germany and Brazil which operated from 1932 to May 1937.

 

On 6 January 1926, the Deutsche Luft Hansa AG was founded in Berlin; from the beginning, one of declared aims of Lufthansa was to bridge the South Atlantic in order to open a route connecting Germany with pro-German countries and with regions in South-America to which Germans had traditionally emigrated. Like the French, the Germans did not have an aircraft capable of crossing the ocean; they were also obliged to proceed in stages and were handicapped by not having colonies of the route, but they had maintained good relationships with Spain. The large group of ethnic Germans as well as Germany’s interests played a key role for the development of Lufthansa’s business with South America.