This is a
registered letter sent during World War II from the Commander in
Chief Atlantic Fleet, (CINCLANTFLT)
stationed aboard the USS
Constellation in Newport,
Rhode Island to the Commandant, Eleventh Naval District in San
Diego, California.
NOTE:
During World War II the USS Constellation served as the Flag
Ship for the Atlantic Command.
The letter
is official government mail and as such, there was no postage
charge against it. However, there was a charge for sending it
registered mail of 15 cents that is covered by the 15 cent James
Buchanan definitive (Scott
#820), which was issued beginning in 1938. The
register number is 2391 and there is also a nice script
(V) for Victory cancel on
the stamp.
The reverse
of the envelope has two February 27, 1942 USS Constellation
cancels and a March 4, 1942 San Diego receiving cancel.
It should also be
noted that official mail, which needed some protection, such as
confidential material, but was not of a high enough security
classification to warrant more stringent control was often sent
via registered mail. |