Group flight Italia

On June 16, 1933, a series of three overprinted stamps was issued to commemorate the stopover in Iceland of an Italian squadron of flying boats under the command of Italian Marshal Balbo. The squadron was en route to the World's Fair in Chicago. The word Hópflug translates roughly to: group flight. But why was that series issued? In Chicago, United States, the international exhibition entitled "A Century of Progress" took place from May 27, 1933, to November 12, 1933. Many countries were represented by means of pavilions and reconstructed villages and towns, such as the Holland Dutch Village, a fishing village featuring a number of cottages with stepped gables. Here, the progress achieved over 100 years in technical and economic fields was on display, with an eye to the future. Italy also had a pavilion. Because the exhibition grounds bordered Lake Michigan, the idea was conceived to fly a squadron of seaplanes from Italy to Chicago. A fine propaganda stunt by fascist Italy. Italo Balbo, Minister of Aviation, was ordered by dictator Benito Mussolini to prepare and carry out the voyage. On June 30, 1933, 24 Savoia-Marchetti SM.55X seaplanes departed from Orbetello in Italy for Amsterdam. Three waves of eight aircraft flew over Watergraafsmeer at 1:00 PM en route to the Royal Netherlands Navy Air Base near the Oranjesluizen. After the stopover, they set course for Derry and from there to Reykjavik. The Icelandic postal service decided to commemorate this memorable moment with the issuance of three stamps. Time was too short to design a series, so the Gutenberg printing house in Reykjavik was commissioned to produce existing stamps of 1 kr., 5 kr., and 10 kr. The print runs were: 1 Kr.: 5.900 pieces, 5 Kr.: 4.600 pieces, and 10 Kr.: 4.000 pieces. Certainly not large numbers! Consequently, these stamps are highly sought after by collectors today. And postal items franked with these stamps are particularly scarce. Unfortunately, forgeries do occur, and if one wishes to purchase the stamps, a certification is absolutely necessary. Such as the 5 Kr stamp cancelled with a stamp featuring an image of an airplane. Genuine used examples, like the other three stamps, are also rare. It is a pity that they were cut out of the postal item. On October 9, 1993, the Icelandic Post issued a commemorative block in which the three stamps were reproduced. But who was Italo Balbo? He was born on June 5 or 6, 1896, in Quartesana (Ferrara) and became a member of the Fascist party in his youth. He soon became one of the leaders of the Blackshirts. In 1926, he was appointed Undersecretary for Aviation by Mussolini, but because he had no knowledge of aviation at the time, he took a crash course to become a pilot. Subsequently, he was appointed Minister of Aviation in 1929. His transatlantic flight in 1933 made him world-famous. In Chicago, he left behind a column from Ostia that was erected at Lakefront Trial. A street was also named after him: Seventh Street was renamed Balbo Drive. Franklin D. Roosevelt was so impressed by Balbo that he honored him with the Distinguished Flying Cross. The Sioux Indians honored Balbo by appointing him Chief Flying Eagle, and he received a feathered headdress. After his return to Italy, he was appointed Air Marshal by Mussolini. At the beginning of World War II, Balbo was killed when his plane was shot down by Italian anti-aircraft fire over Tobruk on June 28, 1940. This incident is still shrouded in uncertainty, as it was suspected that the shooting down was ordered by Mussolini. Balbo had turned against an alliance between Mussolini and Hitler just before the Second World War… Famous and reviled, such has been the life of this person.