Crash site	Copenhagen/Kastrup airport, Denmark
Airline	KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Aircraft	Douglas DC-3  –  PH-TCR  –  The Flying Dutchman
Route	Amsterdam  –  Copenhagen  –  Stockholm/Bromma
Crew	6  –  0 survivors
Passengers	16  –  0 survivors

 

The crash

The plane arrived at Copenhagen at 14.55. At 15.31 it took off for Stockholm. At an altitude of 75 meters the plane suddenly stalled and crashed about one kilometre from the runway. The plane immediately caught fire.
The cause of the accident was failure to remove the elevator locking pins which had been mounted while on ground at Kastrup.
Among the passengers were H.R.H. Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, the American singer Grace Moore and the Danish actress and singer Gerda Neumann.

 

The mail

On board the plane was 82 kg of mail from Belgium and Denmark mainly destined for Sweden and Finland. Due to the fire only a part of the mail was recovered.
The recovered mail was brought to The Reexpedition Post Office in Copenhagen where it was sorted out.

 

Number of items in my records:

To	From Denmark	From Belgium
Denmark	–	2  (*)
Finland	10	20
Sweden	1	26
Russia	1	0

(*)  Two items sent from Belgium to addresses in Denmark are known. Perhaps one mail bag was by mistake not unloaded in Copenhagen?

 

Most of the recovered mail was forwarded in a Danish service cover (Type J. 6). One example of a Swedish service cover is known (see under examples of mail).
Labels with Danish text were used with mail from Denmark. A few examples of Danish labels on mail from Belgium to Finland or Sweden are known.
Labels with Swedish text were sometimes used on mail from Belgium to Sweden.
Covers and cards without service cover or label are known as well.

 

The Danish Post produced labels with text in Danish language which can be translated to “Damaged in the air crash at Kastrup Airport on 26. January 1947. The Reexpedition Post Office”.
The size of the labels vary as they were printed on large size paper and later cut from the sheets.
Even if the text is the same I have recorded 3 variations in the arranging of the text:

 

A-a.
Danish label.
Size textblock: 111 x 20 mm.

 

 

A-b.
Danish label.
Size textblock: 111 x 20 mm.

 

 

A-c.
Danish label.
Size textblock: 114 x 20 mm.

 

 

 

The Swedish Post also produced labels to be used with forwarded mail.

 

B-a.

Swedish label.
Size textblock:  80 x 29 mm.

 

Translation:
Malmö on 30 January 1947.
This item has been damaged in an airplane accident at Kastrup airport on 26 January 1947.
Post Office Malmö 1.

 

B-b.
Swedish label.
Size textblock:  93 x 29 mm.

Same text as B-a. but different arrangement of the text.

 

C.
Swedish label.
Size textblock:  84 x 28 mm.

 

 

Translation:
The letter was on board the airplane that crashed near Copenhagen on Sunday 26 January 1947, when H.R.H Prince Gustav-Adolf died.

 

 

D-a.
Swedish label.
Size textblock: 90 x 16 mm.
Used in Sockholm.

 

 

Translation:
The item, to which the enclosed envelope belonged, was damaged by fire in the airplane accident at Kastrup airfield on 26.1.47, when among others, H.R.H. Prince Gustav Adolf died.

 

D-b.
Swedish label.
Size textblock: 90 x 16 mm.
Used in Stockholm.

 

As above except for double space between the words “den  flygolycka”.

 

 

E.
Swedish label.
Size textblock:  ?

 

Translation:
Contains: /  Mail that was on board the Dutch airplane which crashed at Copenhagen on 26 Jan. 1947, when Prince Gustaf Adolf was killed.

Illustrated in Nierinck handbook.

 

 

F-a. and F-b.
Finnish labels ?

 

 

 

These two labels are quite a mystery. They were written with the same typewriter on glossy paper and glued on a Danish servicecover type J.6. Both letters are addressed to the same company in Finland – Takha & K., Helsinki.

Translation.
Fire damaged envelope from the air crash on 24.1.47 in which Sweden’s Crown Prince G.A. was killed.

The text is not correct as G.A. was not Sweden’s crown prince.

My theory is that these labels were put on the covers at a later date to describe the content.

 

G-a.
Danish service cover.
Size:  214 x 150 mm.
Type:  J. 6 (1-44)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

H.
Belgian label.
Size textblock: 81 x 12 mm   ?

French text with postmark
of BRUXELLES/BRUSSELS.

Translation:
Debris from letters sent to us by the Danish office, following the Kastrup disaster

Used on mail returned to Belgium.

 

 

 

 

 

Examples of mail

Cover from Denmark postmarked  KØBENHAVN OMK.  25 JAN 1947 and addressed to Helsinki, Finland. The cover was forwarded with the Danish crash label type A-a. Thiesen Collection.
Express cover from Copenhagen, Denmark to Stockholm, Sweden forwarded with Danish crash label type A-b with part of Copenhagen postmark dated 26.1. Ekenstierna Collection.
Cover from Denmark postmarked KØBENHAVN K 21.1.47 and addressed to Kupavna, Moscow region in Russia. After sorting out the cover was placed in a Danish service cover type G. together with the crash label type A-a. Thiesen Collection.
Much charred postcard from Brussels, Belgium written 24 January and addressed to Hørsholm, Denmark. The postcard was forwarded in Danish service cover type G. together wit crash label type A-c. As mentioned above mail to Denmark should no be on board this plane ! Thiesen Collection.
Cover from Belgium with illegible postmark of Bruxelles and addressed to Helsinki, Finland. The cover was forwarded in the Danish service cover type G. On the service cover are manuscript notes about the accident. The cover also has the mysterious label type F-a. described above. Thiesen Collection.
Cover from Belgium postmarked ANTWERPEN 25-1-47 to Sweden. Forwarded in Danish service cover type G with Swedish crash label type B-a. Thiesen Collection.
Cover from Belgium postmarked ANTWERPEN 25-1-47 To Lund, Sweden. Forwarded in Danish service cover type G with Swedish crash label type B-b. Ekenstierna Collection.
Cover from Belgium with postmark BRUXELLES 25-1-47 addressed to Stockholm, Sweden. Forwarded in the Danish service cover type G with Swedish label type C. Private Collection.
Cover from Belgium postmarked ANTWERPEN 25-1-47 to Sweden. Forwarded in Danish service cover type G with Swedish crash label type B-a. Thiesen Collection.
Mail item from Gent, Belgium to Västerås in Sweden. The original cover no longer exist. Instead the much charred content was forwarded in a Swedish PS service cover with violet handstamp dated -1 FEB 1947 used at the Örebro 1 Postoffice. Thiesen Collection.
Registered cover from Belgium with metermark and postmark ANTWERPEN 25 1 1947 addressed to Stockholm, Sweden. Forwarded with Swedish label type D-a. Thiesen Collection.
Part of a much charred cover from Belgium postmarked BRUXELLES 25-1-47 and addressed to Sweden. The cover was returned to Belgium where the label type H dated 1 FE 1947 was used. This is the only known example of this label. Thiesen Collection.