Cyrenaica 1933 – Flying boats and
the Dippers
Cyrenaica was part of the former Italian
colony of Libya in north Africa. This pair of stamps
commemorates a highly celebrated North Atlantic crossing in
1933 from Italy to Chicago by a formation of 24 Savoia
Marchetti flying boats led by Italy’s air minister,
General Italo Balbo (1896-1940). Later that same year, Balbo
was appointed governor of Libya. These beautifully drawn and
printed stamps contain a realistic depiction of the Big and
Little Dippers, and show how the bowl of the Big Dipper can be
used to locate the north pole star, Polaris, for navigation. An
earlier Balbo flight, across the South Atlantic, is
commemorated by a 1930 stamp from Italy.
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