COVER N. 633 - NORWAY

Postmark: Søgne A  4640 28.08.2025 

Posted on the 28st August; Received on the 4th September 2025

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What a treat! This cover would fly all by itself, so many are the aircraft stamps on it. The all things that fly, (damselflies and butterflies included) nut in me  was really pleased to get this one.

Tusen takk, Kjell!

Stamps:

Beginning with the four stamp souvenir sheet:

Norwex 80 was an international philatelic exhibition that took place in Oslo between 13 and 22 June 1980.

Calling on the attention of stamps fans to the event, on 05OCT1979, Postverket, the then existing Norwegian Postal operator  (I believe....) issued the 4 stamp (1.25; 2; 2.8; 4 Krone)  miniature sheet on the cover, dedicated to important moments in the history of Arctic aviation in Norway.

when together the image in the background of the stamps forms a map section projected form the North Pole, the on each individual stamp an image of an aircraft associated  with an important milestone flight is superimposed into it.

Left to right, top to bottom:

Dornier Wal N-25, one of the 2 aircraft in which Roald Amudsen and  Lincoln Ellsworth (who would be the navigators for the mission) tried to become the first to fly over the North Pole, in 1925.

Unfortunately, the mission was unsuccessful in its ultimate aim, and the crew of six of both aircraft had to return home on the N25, (the N24, was lost on landing on ice), after spending almost four weeks on the ice, working to prepare a makeshift  take off strip so that the surviving Dornier could take to the air again.

Norge, an airship designed and piloted by Italian pilot and engineer Umberto Nobile, in which he,  Amudsen, Ellworth and 13 other members of the expedition plus Nobile's pet dog were the first to verifiably fly over the North Pole, on the 12th May 1926.

Loening C-2-C Air Yacht in which Thor Solberg made the first flight from the United States to Norway, in 1935

SAS Douglas DC7C, which made the first flight on the Polar Route from Oslo to Tokyo in 1957.

The 15 Krone stamp on the top left corner of the cover is part of a three stamp set (14; 15; 27 krone) issued on 18MAY2012, celebrating the centenary of aviation in Norway, which began in 1912 with a Rumpler Taube flight piloted by Hans Dons, this aircraft being the subject of the 14K stamp.

The 15 K on the cover bear the image of a Douglas DEC3, while  the 27 k is illustrated with a photograph of a current day glider.

The three stamps were issued integrated in a miniature sheet.

The 4 krone stamp illustrated with a  Douglas DC9 about to land atop a Boeing 727 😀 was part of a mini sheet issued for the already mention Norwex, on 13JUN1980, the first day of the exhibition.

The last stamp on the cover, with a facial value of 4.5 Krone, was issued on 08MAY1987 as a one stamp souvenir sheet, for a joint issue Norway Somalia, celebrating the red cross and red crescent activity.

The postmark was applied at Søgne, in ths south of Norway.