Enrique Funes post missiles (Cuba)

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At the beginning of the thirties, the first successful launches of the so called mailing missiles - special products carrying letters and postcards as payloads. Such news inspired enthusiasts in different regions and countries. One of the enthusiasts who wanted to develop a new direction, lived and worked in Cuba. At the end of the same decade, Enrique Funes carried out his own design missile launches.

The idea of ​​rocket mail was quite simple and could be implemented even with the use of not the most advanced devices. So, the first products of this kind were made of Congrive combat missiles, which, however, did not show high performance. The first successful experiments with mail forwarding missiles were carried out in the early thirties in Austria. News of such success spread around the world and became an incentive for the emergence of new projects. With a certain delay in the subject of rocket mail, Cuban E. Funes became interested.



Enrique Funes post missiles (Cuba)
One of the envelopes from the rocket launched by 1 in October 1939. Photo by Stampcircuit.com


Unfortunately, not much information about the project of E. Funes has been preserved. The background to the project is unknown, and information on technical solutions is extremely scarce and fragmentary. At the same time, there is detailed information about test and "combat" launches of mail missiles. In addition, the philatelic community of Cuba and other countries was able to preserve some materials that are directly related to the experimental rocket mail. All this allows you to make a fairly detailed picture.

Apparently, at the end of the thirties, E. Funes became interested in successful foreign rocket mail projects and therefore decided to create his own system of a similar purpose. How long the enthusiast had to look for help is unknown. There is no information about the timing of project development. Anyway, all major works were completed no later than September 1939. Soon after, all scheduled launches took place.

According to the surviving data, mail missiles E. Funes differed simplicity of design. They had a cylindrical body with a conical head fairing, divided into two compartments. The payload was placed in the head part, and all other volumes were transferred to the solid propellant engine. The type of engine and its fuel is unknown. In the tail section of the rocket, X-shaped long length stabilizers were attached. The total length of the rocket did not exceed 2 m. Diameter - a few tens of centimeters. The launch mass of the missiles is unknown, but from the dimensions it follows that it did not exceed 8-10 kg. According to calculations, a rocket along a ballistic trajectory could fly several kilometers. There were no controls, for obvious reasons.

Start should be carried out with the simplest launcher, equipped with rails guides. Unfortunately, it is not known how exactly this item was made. The installation may have been stationary, although it could have been disassembled for transportation.


Letter received by October 14 mail, and possibly flying the next day. Photo Collectspace.com


From a certain time designer-enthusiast enjoyed the support of official organizations. The project was helped by the Cuban philatelic club, which worked in the Department of Communications. This organization helped E. Funes with the development and implementation of the project, and also took part in the organization of launches. Finally, the Club provided the necessary philatelic materials, which were to become the payload of the missiles.

The first launch of the mail rocket E. Funes was scheduled for October 1 1939 of the year. In this case, while it was only about flight tests. No one was sure about the real capabilities of the rocket, and therefore it was first necessary to conduct a series of test launches. Only by showing its real capabilities, the rocket could go into operation. As it turned out later, it took three test launches to test and refine the rocket.

Despite its test character, the first flight took place with a full payload on board the rocket. 60 envelopes with special markings were placed in the cargo compartment. On the envelopes pasted service marks of Cuban mail with a denomination of 25 centavos. The stamps featured the overprint “Primer cohete aereo 1939” - “First air missile 1939 of the city.” Envelopes were also canceled with a round stamp “Pre-ensayo del primer cohete postal aereo” indicating the place and date, as well as the launch launch test.

On the appointed day, a first test launch of a mail rocket took place at one of the sites near Havana. First time in stories Cuba and South America generally launched a rocket with mail on board. Unfortunately, the rocket did not meet expectations. Testers started the engine, but he could not send a rocket to the desired flight. The product fell a few meters from the launcher and received some damage. E. Funes and his colleagues began to clarify the causes of the accident and prepare for the next launch.


Mark for the only "official" launch of the rocket. Photo Stampcommunity.org


The second test start was scheduled for October 3. Probably this time another rocket was used. The correspondence was again placed in the cargo hold. Load steel envelopes with a different label. They were pasted with white vignettes with a blue border that had a denomination of 25 centavo. In addition, a blanking was made. It was carried out using the same stamp as before, but with a different date.

The second launch also could not be considered successful. The missile retired from the launcher by several tens of meters, but the actual range was much less desirable. In addition, when the rocket fell, it was damaged. In its present form, it could hardly be used in practice for sending correspondence between settlements. Enthusiasts returned to work in order to deliver a new rocket with a new cargo to the “test site” in a few days.

October 8 on the launcher placed another experimental rocket. At its head end lay 16 envelopes with 25 centavo vignettes. This postmark had a white color with a red border. Representatives of the philatelic club again used the existing stamp, on which the top three were replaced by eight.

The third test run was the most successful. The rocket flew 200 m, then fell to the ground. Apparently, the product collapsed, and in addition, caused significant damage to the payload. The capabilities of the rocket, in general, have been confirmed. At the same time, the actual test results were much worse than expected.


Mark of special cancellation dedicated to the October 15 flight. Photos of Postalhistorycorner.blogspot.com


The developer and curators of the project decided that the mail rocket still meets the basic requirements and can be used, at a minimum, for a demonstration flight and entertainment of the venerable public. An open showing of the new communications facility was scheduled for October 15. From the fourth launch was supposed to arrange a mass event. In addition, a new batch of postal signs was prepared for it, and they also organized a collection of correspondence for the first official shipment using a rocket. Departures were asked to load onto a rocket, launch, and then transfer to Cuba's “regular” mail.

In a matter of days, the creators of rocket mail received a letter from the applicants 2581. The Cuban postal authority prepared special envelopes, postcards and a special stamp with the nominal value of 1000 centavo especially for the future flight. The existing green airmail stamp was supplemented with the overprint “Experimento del cohete postal Año de 10” - “Rocket mail experiment, 1939 year”. Thus, Cuba was one of the first countries to issue an official rocket mail brand. The postcard depicted the Cuban landscape with a flying rocket. Around the picture there were explanatory inscriptions with the start date. Also, before the first “combat” launch, they prepared a new rectangular stamp with the image of a flying rocket, a date and a corresponding signature.

For obvious reasons, the mail rocket E. Funes could not take on board all the letters sent. In this regard, the organizers of the event randomly selected only fifty shipments, which were soon to be made to fly. The letters selected for downloading to the rocket were not marked in any way. After the launch of the rocket, they were sent along with the rest of the correspondence to the post office for further shipment. It is impossible to distinguish flying envelopes from others.

October 15 The 1939 of the year on the same site near Havana as before was the first public launch of the Enrique Funes mail rocket. There were 50 letters on board for different recipients. After starting the product flew several hundred meters and fell to the ground. Further, letters were extracted from the rocket and, along with others, they transferred mail to the employees. Soon the correspondence reached their addressees.


Mark 1964, dedicated to the anniversary of the experiments of E. Funes. Photos of Postalhistorycorner.blogspot.com


Special cargo rockets could be of great interest in the context of the development of the Cuban postal system, but this idea was not developed. The first public launch of the rocket E. Funes was also the last in the entire series. Perhaps enthusiasts have prepared new rockets, but the following launches were not made. The reasons for abandoning the curious idea are unknown. Probably, the project lost support due to the lack of real prospects. The flight performance and reliability of the proposed rocket left much to be desired, and besides, it had a limited payload. As a result, the new rocket could only be used in public events, as they say, “for the fun of the public,” but was not of interest to the postal department.

Probably, in the last months of 1939, E. Funes and his colleagues stopped work, and the story of Cuba's rocket mail ended. New launches were not made. New projects of this kind on the island no longer appeared. Cuban mail continued to use existing ground and air vehicles. The boldest ideas had no real future.

Thanks to four launches - three experimental and one demonstration - a significant number of postage marks appeared on the market that are of interest to philatelists. However, in this area has not been without problems. The fact is that the vignettes and marks of the first for the three launches were not officially recognized by the Communications Department, and for this reason were not included in the catalogs. As a result, they were not widely known and could not immediately receive a proper assessment.


Other anniversary marks 1964 of the year. Photos of Postalhistorycorner.blogspot.com


Mark for a single "official" launch was more successful. In connection with this event, the Cuban Department of Communications issued 200 thousand marks of airmail with a commemorative overprint. Being official postal signs, such stamps were included in catalogs, gained fame and went into collections. The situation was similar with envelopes accepted for shipment by rocket mail. A certain number of these products are still present in the philatelic market and attracts collectors.

The experiments of Enrique Funes turned out to be the first and last attempt of Cuban experts to create rocket mail. New projects of this kind were not created in Cuba. However, the only project that actually had no real future was not forgotten. In 1964, the Cuban Post released a series of 25 stamps dedicated to the 25 anniversary of the only “official” launch of the rocket E. Funes. Stamps were issued in the form of sheets with a general picture on space themes. In addition, a stamp was repeated that repeated the mark for a single “official” flight.

At one time, the idea of ​​rocket mail excited the minds and gave rise to the most courageous forecasts in the context of the development of communications. In some countries, including Cuba, experiments have been carried out with the launch of mail missiles, but the actual results were much more modest than forecasts. So, the Cuban project of E. Funes stopped after the fourth launch of the rocket and did not resume any more. Despite all the excitement around the launches, the only real result of the project was a large number of interesting stamps, vignettes and envelopes that still attract the attention of collectors. However, not the most successful project could take its place in history, ensuring the first launch of a mail rocket in the history of Latin America.

Based on:
http://collectspace.com/
https://stampcommunity.org/
http://filatelist.narod.ru/
http://stampsportal.ru/
http://stampcircuit.com/
http://postalhistorycorner.blogspot.com/
Zbarsky I. Postal rocket // Philately of the USSR, 1968. No. 6.
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  1. Alf
    +1
    15 December 2018 16: 51
    Interesting. Not only in the USSR and Germany were engaged in missiles, but also in banana republics.

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