Australia
No Airletter Service Available

This airletter (Stein no. A-2) sent from TAREE (faint machine cancel of Jan 10, 1947 - supported by the message, which was written on Jan 9, 1947) to Gilman/Connecticut, U.S.

Airletter service to the U.S. became available only on February 10, 1947.

Either the sender knew that or he was told by a post office clerk. A 1 d stamp was added to pay for the letter to be transported by surface mail to the U.S. and by airmail within the U.S. The 8 d rate for this service was in effect from March/April 1945 to May 1947.

There is a similar airletter without the additional 1d stamp which was diverted to surface mail all the way.


References
Breckon, Richard: Pre-decimal Postal Rates, The Australian Philatelist, permanent page AA20, 1992
Stein stands for Stein, The Aerogrammes of Australia and its Dependencies 1944-1980

Australia
Used in Papua New Guinea, Treated as Unpaid

This aerogramme (Stein A-36) was written on board SS Himalaya. SS Himalaya was a British passenger ship of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, launched in 1948, which operated mainly between Britain and Australia. The aerogramme was fed into the postal network at RABAUL (cds 1 JY 72).

Regardless whether posted on the high seas (in this case, a British aerogramme had to be used) or while anchoring at Rabaul, Papua New Guinea (in this case, a PNG aerogramme had to be used), the aerogramme was correctly treated as unpaid.

The PNG postal authorities taxed the aerogramme “T 20 c / 7 c”, where 20 c is double the deficient postage (10 c was the aerogramme rate in 1972) and 7 c is the first weight step surface letter rate to Australia.

There are no signs that the postage due was collected by the Australian postal authorities.


References
Stein stands for Stein, The Aerogrammes of Australia and its Depedencies 1944-1980

Credits
Thank you, Allan, for identifiying the ship name.

Belgium
Short Paid Aerogramme

This aerogramme (Greiner no. 11, watermark II) was sent from NAMUR (cds 6 1 56) to Standford, U.S.

The aerogramme rate to the U.S. was 6 F, so the aerogramme was short paid 2 F. Double the deficiency (4 F) was converted into UPU gold centimes at an exchange rate of 1 F = 4.75 UPU gold centimes for a total of 19 UPU gold centimes. This was endorsed on the right hand side of the “T” stamp.

3 UPU gold centimes = 1 U.S. cent. Hence the postage due was 6.33 cents which was rounded up to 7 cents. The U.S. postal authorities h/s “Postage due  .. cents / AMF New York, N.Y.” and endorsed “7”.


References
Greiner stands for Greiner/Greiner, Aerogramme von Europa, 3e, 1993

UK
Civil Adress / Not Forces Mail

This aerogramme (Greiner no. 55) was sent from Gloucestershire  (29 OCT 1973), to Shreveport, U.S. The aerogramme is h/s "Civil Address - / Not Forces Mail".

Most likely, the aerogramme was fed into the BFPO network but sorted out because the addressee was a civilian. The aerogramme, then, was transferred to the Royal Mail post office in Gloucestershire.

Since September 10, 1973 the aerogramme rate was 6 d, so the aerogramme was short paid 1 d and should have been taxed accordingly. Apparently, the postage due went unnoticed.


References
Greiner stands for Greiner/Geiner, Aerogramme von Europa, 3e, 1993

Burma
Double Print

 

This aerogramme (Wiegand no. 7) was sent to India in March 1964. It shows a double print of the "blue" printing plate.

References
Wiegand stands for Wiegand, Katalog der Aerogramme von Asien, 2000.

India
Inland letter Used as Aerogramme


Indian "Inland Letters" are not domestic aerogrammes as transfer by air mail is not promised. Apart from that they share some key features with aerogrammes:

• letter and envelope are one and the same.
  
• no enclosures are allowed

This inland letter was used as an aerogramme to the U.S. in 1951 (10 AS aerogramme rate). The sender obliterated "Inland" and endorsed "By Air Mail".

This inland letter was sent to Pakistan (1.60 R  aerogramme rate) in 1980. The sender obliterated "Inland" and endorsed "Air" and "By Air Mail" instead.

Australia
Danish Aerogramme Form Used in Australia

Sent from FREMANTLE (machine cancel 4 JAN 1964) to Kastrup, Denmark, by a crew member of M/S SONGKHLA, a cargo vessel of East Asiatic Line operating Europe to South East Asia, Far East, Australia/New Zealand Transpacific services. The message on the writing panel is dated “1-1-1964 Indiske Ocean”.

Aerogramme forms used in Australia must have been approved by the Postmaster-General’s department. Hence, for this aerogramme the usual airmail letter rates applied. However, the aerogramme was franked at the 10 d aerogramme rate and went through the Australian postal network undiscovered.

A correct use of a Danish aerogramme form in Australia can also be found here on the blog.

Rhodesia
"Illegal Stamps"

This aerogramme form was sent from BULAWAYO (10 APR 1970) to Brighton, UK. The postage paid was 7.5 c.

“Although prepared to grant formal independence to Southern Rhodesia (now simply Rhodesia), the British government had adopted a policy of no independence before majority rule, dictating that colonies with a substantial population of European settlers would not receive independence except under conditions of majority rule […] On November 11, 1965, following a brief but solemn consensus, Rhodesia's leading statesmen issued their country's unilateral declaration of independence (UDI).This was immediately denounced as an "act of rebellion against the Crown" in the United Kingdom.” (Wikipedia).

As the UPU always regarded Rhodesian stamps as valid, this seems to be an isolated action of the UK government.

The calculation of postage due did not follow uniform rules. At the time the aerogramme was sent, the rule was: Calculate the correct postage less the value of any legal stamps used; double this value; convert the result to sterling at 1c = 1.4d

As all stamps used on the aerogramme form were regarded invalid, double the deficient postage was 15 c converted into 1s 9d at a rate of 1 c = 1.4 d. A boxed green handstamp was applied: “1’9 To PAY / POSTAGE UNDERPAID” and three UK postage due stamps (1s, 6 d and 3 d) were affixed.
 
Unfortunately, this is only the front panel of the aerogramme.

The Netherlands
Short Paid Aerogramme


This aerogramme (Greiner no. 21) was sent from AMSTERDAM (slogan cancel 23.11.76) to Haifa, Israel.

The aerogramme rate to Israel in November 1976 was 75 c. Hence, the aerogramme was short paid 15 c.

According to the rules established by the 1974 UPU Congress, underpaid items "... shall be marked with the T stamp (postage due) in the middle of the upper part of the front: beside the impression of this stamp the administration of origin shall write very legibly in the currency of its country the amount of the underpayment, and under a fraction line, that of its charge valid for the first weight step for letters dispatched by surface mail" (Article 135, 1).

The postal clerk in the Netherlands used a fixed 15/75 T stamp.  

On arrival in Israel, a boxed h/s was applied. The h/s text in Hebrew letters reads "Removed from .. (???) .. for collecting the missing postage".



References  
Greiner stands for Greiner/Greiner, Aerogramme von Europa, 3e, 1993

Credits
Thank you, stampboard.com member mbg1248 for translating the Hebrew text

New Zealand to France
No Airletter Service - Diverted to Surface Mail

Air mail letter card sent from WELLINGTON (faint cds 4 NOV 45) to Paris, France.

In November 1945, air letter service to civilian addresses from New Zealand was only available to

• UK, South Africa, British East Africa, British West Africa, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, Middle East, India, and Ceylon (since August 24, 1944)
  
• Gibraltar, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland (from September 27, 1944 on)

The air mail letter card was diverted to surface mail which is indicated by the red two bars h/s canceling the “By Air Mail” routing instruction.

 
Reference
Startup, Robin M., Airmails of New Zealand, vol. III: International Airmail 1940 - 1970

New Zealand to U.S.
Airletter Service not Available - Airletter treated as Airmail letter

Air letter card service to the U.S. was opened on April 29, 1947 (reciprocal service).

At the time the air letter card was sent (3 DE 45), air letter service to the U.S. was not available. Hence, the air letter card was treated as an ordinary airmail letter.

In December 1945, there were two airmail routes from New Zealand to the U.S. The first was by seamail to the U.S. and onward transmission in U.S. by air. The rate was 8d. The second was to the Canal Zone by sea and flown from there. The applicable rate was 1s 0d. The air letter card went the latter way. Hence, it was short paid 4 d. 

Double the deficient postage (8 d) was converted into 80 UPU gold centimes at a rate of 1 d = 10 UPU gold centimes. A tax stamp was applied and endorsed “80” centimes.

This air letter card is a special illustrated issue for Christmas greetings. Chief postmasters were advised, 8 October 1945, of its issue. Stocks on hand were withdrawn on May 31, 1946.

Illustrations on folding flaps

 
Reference
Startup, Robin M., Airmails of New Zealand, vol. III: International Airmail 1940 - 1970

Canada
Return to Sender, Double Taxed

 The aerogramme below is Wiegand no. 8.

Front panel

Back panel

Legend: [n] in the text below refers to the respective number in the scan of the back panel above

Aerogramme sent from PORT HOPE (cds 14 11 49) to a post box address in Salisbury, South Rhodesia (today’s Harare). Transit via MONTREAL (cds 1949 NOV 15) on back panel [1].

Short paid 5 c, because the 10 c aerogramme was only prepaid for UK destinations.

Double the deficiency (10 c) converted into UPU gold centimes at a rate of 1 c = 3 UPU gold centimes. Hence, endorsed „T 30 ct“ and h/s „T“ 30 Centimes“. 

At arrival endorsed „Not Box 43“ in the lower left corner of the front panel to indicate that adressee and post box address did not match. H/s with pointing finger „Return to“

Returned via CAPETOWN, South Africa (cds RETURNED L.O. 6 DEC 49 on back panel) [2] by surface mail

On arrival in Canada the postal authorities applied a meter mark in red (MONTREAL JAN 18 50) [3], a boxed h/s „BUREAU DES POSTES / DEAD LETTER OFFICE / 18 I 1950 / No. 5 / MONTREAL, CANADA“ [4] and another h/s in red for a dead letter office [5], which is only partially visible.

The aerogramme got a second taxation (13 cents) on arrival [6], which is calculated from the original taxation (10 c) plus a 3 c surcharge incurred by routing the aerogramme through the Montreal Dead Letter Office.

References

Wiegand stands for Wiegand, Katalog der Aerogramme von Canada, USA, UNO-New York, 1994

United Kingdom
Registered Aerogramme, Express Delivery Service

This aerogramme (Greiner no. 34) was sent registered from LEWISHAM (cds 1 JU 66) to Karachi, Pakistan by express delivery service.

The breakdown of the total postage paid (3s 3d) is:

Aerogramme rate:          0 s 6 d
Express delivery service: 1 s 0 d
Registration:             1 s 9 d
---------------------------------
Total:                    3 s 3 d


References
UK Postage rates
Greiner stands for Greiner/Greiner, Aerogramme von Europa, 3e, 1993

India
Short Paid Aerogramme to the U.S.

Aerogramme (Wiegand no. 4) sent from JULLUNDUR (cds 1 SEP 1950) to Philadelphia, U.S.

The aerogramme rate to the U.S. was 10 As in 1950, so the aerogramme was short paid 4 As.
 
Top left of the “T” handstamp, the post office clerk in India endorsed “23 cms” which was crossed out and replaced by the correct “46 cms”, as double the deficient postage (8 As) was converted into 46 UPU gold centimes at a rate of 3 As 6 pies = 20 UPU gold centimes, with 1 As = 12 pies.

The U.S. postal authorities applied the h/s “Postage Due ... Cents / Foreign Sect. G.P.O.N.Y.” and endorsed a postage due of 16 cents. Consequently, a 10 c and two 3 c postage due stamps were affixed.

The postage due of 16 cents was calculated based on 3 UPU gold centimes = 1 c, which, arithmetically speaking, led to a postage due of 46 / 3 = 15.33 c which was rounded up to 16 c.


References
Wiegand stands for Wiegand, Katalog der Aerogramme von Asien, 2000

Australia
Paquebot at Auckland, New Zealand

This Australian aerogramme (Stein no. A-6) was posted in international waters on board R.M.S. Oronsay on its way from Sydney to Vancouver and fed into the postal network at Auckland, New Zealand (cds AUCKLAND PACKET BOAT, 4 JA54).

"1954   January 4   The Orient Line's new 28,000-ton luxury liner Oronsay berthed at Auckland at 7am today on her inaugural voyage reopening the Pacific service from Sydney to Vancouver and San Francisco.  The service was stopped when the 30 year old Aorangi went to the breakers' yard last year. " [THE NEW ZEALAND MARITIME RECORD]

According to the 1952 Universal Postal Convention, "In the absence of other arrangements between the Administrations concerned, the postage on correspondence posted on board ship on the high seas may be prepaid by means of the postage stamps and according to the tariff of the Country to which the ship belongs or by which it is maintained".


R.M.S. Oronsay was owned by the British Orient Line (Orient Steam Navigation Company), so British stamps and/or aerogramme forms should have been used when posting at the high seas. 

Although the sender was the renowned philatelist G.J. Hutson (author of "The Stamps of New South Wales"), the aerogramme with respect to its contents, a private message, is not ostensibly philatelic.


References
More about THE NEW ZEALAND MARITIME RECORD
Stein refers to Stein,The Aerogrammes of Australia and its Dependencies 1944-1980

Austria
Forced Overpayment of Aerogramme Rate

Aerogramme (Greiner no. 1a) sent from WIEN (cds 29 VIII 53)  to Waterville Valley, U.S.

The aerogramme rate to overseas countries was reduced from 3.80 S to 3.60 S on July 1, 1953. However, aerogrammes with the new rate became available only on September 10, 1953. In the meantime, customers were forced to overpay the aerogramme rate by 0.20 S.


References
Greiner stands for Greiner/Greiner, Aerogramme von Europa, 3e, 1993

Austria
Special Delivery

Aerogramme (Greiner no. 14) sent from WIEN (cds 27.11.67) to Paris, France (arrival cds PARIS 13 / 28.11.1967 17H45 and PARIS 08 / 28.11.67 1815 on back) with special delivery service (red label “Durch Eilboten / Exprès).

The aerogramme rate to European countries was 400 g since Aug 1, 1967, the additional fee for special delivery was 680g.

The 3.40 S (= 340 g) aerogramme was uprated with 70 g,  80 g and 6 S (= 600 g) stamps, overpaying the proper postage rate by 10 g.


References
Greiner stands for Greiner/Greiner, Aerogramme von Europa, 3e, 1993

India
Late Fee Paid

Aerogramme (Wiegand no. 19) sent from Trichinopoly (today's name is Tiruchirappalli) to Leningrad, U.S.S.R. The message on the writing panel is dated Aug 20, 1960.

An additional 3 p stamp is affixed to pay for the "late fee". The aerogramme is endorsed "Late fee paid" accordingly.

Below is an excerpt from India Post's Postal Manual (Vol. V, Post Office and Railway Mail Service General Regulations, 5e).

 

References
Wiegand stands for Wiegand, katalog der Aerogramme von Asien, 2000