World War II Airgraphs

Airgraphs were used during the Second World War by servicemen stationed overseas and by their families when writing to them. It was a fast and reliable means of communicating. Surface mail was very slow and subject to the ships carrying the mail not being sunk. Airmail was very expensive and the mail often took second place to more important cargos.

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World War II Airgraphs

Airgraphs were written on standard forms and were photographed onto 16mm film. This was sent to the destination country where it was developed and printed to half the original size. The prints were placed in window envelopes and delivered through the normal mail. As soon as this was completed the original forms and film were destroyed. However, if something went wrong the forms could be re-photographed and the film sent through once more. Thus the system was quite reliable. Except for one case at Christmas 1944, all official forms were supplied without illustrations. The illustrated airgraphs were printed by military units stationed overseas, often as a replacement for Christmas cards.