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1941 “Aircraft Spotter Series - Allied and Enemy Planes” (C271A)
Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada, Ltd., Montréal, Québec, Canada
Series Title: “Aircraft Spotter Series - Allied and Enemy Planes”
American Card Catalog No.: C271A
Manufactured by: Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada, Ltd.; Sweet Caporal Cigarettes
Country: Montréal, Québec, Canada
Number of Known Cards: 136
Three Card Sizes: 84 × 74 mm; 90 × 74 mm; 102 × 74 mm
Numbering: 1-66, 2 unnumbered cards
Circa: 1941
Checklist: Download
Background
During 1941, the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada Ltd., issued a series of airplane trade cards titled Aircraft Spotter Series - Allied and Enemy Planes
with an American Card Catalog designation of C271A.
These English text cards were available in three Sweet Caporal Cigarettes package design sizes as noted below.
There were multiple printings of two of the three card sizes (medium and large), which resulted in the C271A set having a known total of 136 cards.
There were 134 Airplanes cards sequentially numbered from 1 to 66, and two unnumbered Aircraft Markings cards.
The first 55 cards are easier to collect than the cards numbered from 56-66, which are extremely difficult to acquire.
| Three Box Sizes |
|---|
| “S”mall = 84 × 74 mm (15 cigarettes package) |
| “M”edium = 90 × 74 mm (20 cigarettes package) |
| “L”arge = 102 × 74 mm (25 cigarettes package) |
The Sleeve
We are pleased to share the following image of a typical C271A Sweet Caporal unglued Aircraft Spotter Series - Allied and Enemy Planes
25-cigarette sleeve/package.
When completed, the C271A sleeves are glued end-to-end to form an open top/bottom rectangular cigarette package.
After the cigarettes are inserted into the package, they are shrink-wrapped sealed to form the final cigarette package.
The sleeve we are showing is one of the 25s (shillings) 25-cigarette packages (102×75 mm).
Using the Sweet Caporal Cigarettes … Kinney Bros as the front of the cigarette package, the left flap says Sweet Caporal, the right flap gives the manufacturer information in both English and French.
The back side of the cigarette-package contains the aircraft trade card.
Complete C271A cigarette packages are considered to be the Holy Grail for C271A collectors.
These cigarette packages are extremely rare, and even rarer in higher grades.
Serious collectors of the C271A series should have at least one of these cigarette packages for reference.
Error Card
There was at least one glaring card error. Card #3 was mis-labeled as P-43 Mustang. The corrected card was labeled P-51 Mustang.
 Mustang Single-Seat Fighter.jpg "3 - P-43 (sic) MUSTANG")
Image-Guide
No. 2 (2 cards) — BALTIMORE / HELLDIVER
No. 3 (2 cards) — P-43 (sic) MUSTANG / P-51 MUSTANG
No. 4 (1 card) — HAVOC
No.
5 (3 cards) — MOHAWK / STORMOVIK / Vengeance
No. 6 (3 cards) — BERMUDA / HELLDIVER / WARHAWK
No. 7 (1 card) — NORTH AMERICAN B-25
No. 8 (1 card) — LANCER
No. 9 (2 cards) — HEINKEL BOMBER
(Germany) / Vindicator
No. 10 (1 card) — Devastator
No. 11 (1 card) — Mariner
No. 12 (1 card) — Liberator
No.
13 (3 cards) — Junkers Transport / Kittyhawk / Vengeance
No.
14 (3 cards) — Breda 65 / Flying Fortress / Super Flying Fortress
No. 15 (1 card) — Airacobra
No. 16 (3 cards) — Caproni-Campini / Hudson / Ventura
No.
17 (3 cards) — Digby / Seagull / STORMOVIK
No. 18 (1 card) — Maryland
No. 19 (2 cards) — Harvard II / Zero
No. 20 (1 card) — Catalina
No. 21 (1 card) — Lightning
No. 22 (3 cards) — Coronado / Rata / Vanguard
No. 23 (1 card) — Defiant
No.
24 (3 cards) — Avro Anson / Super Flying Fortress / Zestorer
No. 25 (2 cards) — Beaufort / Manchester
No. 26 (1 card) — Stirling
No. 27 (1 card) — Sunderland
No. 28 (2 cards) — Blenheim / Martin Bomber
No. 29 (2 cards) — Coronado / Hampden
No. 30 (3 cards) — Dornier 17 / Martin Bomber / Wellington
No. 31 (1 card) — Beaufighter
No. 32 (3 cards) — Hurricane / Hurry-Bomber / Messerschmitt 110
No. 33 (3 cards) — Junkers 86 / Manchester / Whitley
No. 34 (3 cards) — Caproni-Campini / Focke-Wulf / Savoia 85
No. 35 (2 cards) — Focke-Wulf / Stuka
No. 36 (3 cards) — Curtiss-20 / Messerschmitt 109 / Messerschmitt 110
No. 37 (3 cards) — Focke-Wulf / Heinkel 113 / Zestorer
No. 38 (3 cards) —
Heinkel 111 / Junkers 86 / YAK-4
No. 39 (3 cards) — Blohm & Voss HA.142 / HEINKEL BOMBER (Germany) / Iliushin
No. 40 (1 card) — Junkers 88A1
No. 41 (3 cards) —
Dornier 17 / Dornier 215 / Seagull
No. 42 (3 cards) —
Dornier 18K / Junkers Transport / Ventura
No. 43 (1 card) — Halifax
No. 44 (1 card) — Spitfire
No. 45 (3 cards) — Breda
65 / Ensign / Spaveiro
No. 46 (1 card) — Caproni 311
No. 47 (1 card) —
Mitsubishi 97
No. 48 (2 cards) — Showa
Sho 98 / Skua
No. 49 (2 cards) — Type 97 / Whirlwind
No. 50 (3 cards) — Hurry-Bomber / Lancaster / Mitsubishi Mc.20
No. 51 (3 cards) — Hertfordshire / Mitsubishi 96 / Zero
No. 52 (3 cards) — Lancaster / URSS-35 / YAK-4
No. 53 (1 card) — ZKB-26
No. 54 (3 cards) — Botha / Rata / URSS I-15
No. 55 (1 card) — URSS I-18
No. 56 (2 cards) — Battle / Botha
No. 57 (1 card) — Wildat
No. 58 (1 card) — Buffalo
No. 59 (1 card) — Boston
No. 60 (2 cards) — ARK-3 / Iliushin
No. 61 (2 cards) — Ensign / Oxford
No. 62 (2 cards) — Henley / Skua
No. 63 (2 cards) — Curtiss-20 / Douglas XB-19
No. 64 (2 cards) — Blohm & Voss Ha.140 / Kurrier
No. 65 (2 cards) — Hertfordshire / Lysander
No. 66 (2 cards) — Fulmar / Whirlwind
Unnumbered (2 cards) — Tail Markings / Wing Markings
| 1940s “Aircraft “Spotter” Series (C271A)
Imperial Tobacco Company, 134-Cards, Canada Checklist | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Focke-Wulf “Kurrier” (Germany) | Curtiss P-40A “Tomahawk” (UN) | Curtiss P-40F “Warhawk” (UN) | |||
| 2 | Martin-167 “Baltimore” (UN) | Curtiss SB2C-1“Helldiver” (UN) | ||||
| 3 | North American P-43 “Mustang” (UN) (error) | North American P-51 “Mustang ” (UN) | ||||
| 4 | Douglas A-20 “Havoc ” (UN) | |||||
| 5 | Curtiss P-36 “Mohawk” (UN) | (Iliushin) IL-2 “Stormovik&rdquo (UN)" | Vultee “Vengeance” (UN) | |||
| 6 | Brewster SB2A-1 “Bermuda” (UN) | Curtiss SB2C-1 “Helldiver ” (UN) | Curtiss P-40F “Warhawk” (UN) | |||
| 7 | North American B-25 (UN) | |||||
| 8 | Republic P-43 “Lancer” (UN) | |||||
| 9 | Heinkel HE-177 Bomber (Germany) | Vought-Sikorsky SB2U-1 “Vindicator” (UN) | ||||
| 10 | Douglas TBD-1 “Devastator” (UN) | |||||
| 11 | Martin PBM-1 “Mariner” (UN) | |||||
| 12 | Consolidated “Liberator” Long-Range Bomber (UN) | |||||
| 13 | Junkers JU-90 Transport (Germany) | Curtiss P-40D “Kittyhawk” (UN) | Vultee “Vengeance”(UN) | |||
| 14 | Breda 65 (Italy) | Boeing “Flying Fortress” (UN) | Boeing B-17E “Super Flying Fortress” (UN) | |||
| 15 | Bell P-39 “Airacobra” (UN) | |||||
| 16 | Caproni-Campini CC-2 (Italy) | Lockheed “Hudson” (UN) | Lockheed-Vega “Ventura” (UN) | |||
| 17 | Douglas B-18A “Digby” (UN) | Curtiss SO3C-1 “Seagull” (UN) | (Iliushin) IL-2 “Stormovik” (UN) | |||
| 18 | Martin 167 “Maryland” Attack Bomber (UN) | |||||
| 19 | North American BC-1A “Harvard II” (UN) | Mitsubishi “00” “Zero” (Japan) | ||||
| 20 | Consolidated PBY-5 “Catalina” (UN) | |||||
| 21 | Lockheed P-38 “Lightning” (UN) | |||||
| 22 | Consolidated PB2Y-2 “Coronado” (UN) | URSS I-16 “Rata” (UN) | Vultee P-48 “Vanguard” (UN) | |||
| 23 | Boulton Paul “Defiant” (UN) | |||||
| 24 | Avro“Anson” (UN) | Boeing B-17E “Super Flying Fortress” (UN) | Focke-Wulf-187 “Zestorer” (Germany) | |||
| 25 | Bristol “Beaufort” (UN) | Avro “Manchester” (UN) | Focke-Wulf-187 “Zestorer” (Germany) | |||
| 26 | Martin B-26 Bomber (UN) | Short “Stirling” (UN) | ||||
| 27 | Short “Sunderland” (UN) | |||||
| 28 | Bristol “Blenheim” (UN) | Martin B-26 Bomber (UN) | ||||
| 29 | Consolidated PB2Y-2 “Coronado” (UN) | Handley-Page “Hampden” (UN) | ||||
| 30 | Dornier 17(Germany) | Martin B-26 Bomber (UN) | Vickers “Wellington” (UN) | |||
| 31 | Bristol “Beaufighter” (UN) | |||||
| 32 | Hawker “Hurricane” (UN) | Hawker “Hurricane Hurry Bomber” (UN) | Messerschmitt ME-110 (Germany) | |||
| 33 | Junkers JU-86 (Germany) | Avro “Manchester” (UN) | Armstrong-Whitworth “Whitley” (UN) | |||
| 34 | Caproni-Campini CC-2(Italy) | Focke-Wulf Fw-190 (Germany) | Savoia Marchetti 85 (Italy) | |||
| 35 | Focke-Wulf F.W.189 (Germany) | Junkers Ju-87B “Stuka” (Germany) | ||||
| 36 | Curtiss-Wright-20 (UN) | Messerschmitt Me-109 (Germany) | Messerschmitt Me-110 (Germany) | |||
| 37 | Focke-Wulf Fw-190 (Germany) | Heinkel He.113 (Germany) | Focke-Wulf-187 “Zestorer” (Germany) | |||
| 38 | Heinkel 111 Mk.V (Germany) | Junkers Ju-86 Troop Carrier (Germany) | URSS Yak-4 Medium Bomber (UN) | |||
| 39 | Blohm & Voss HA.142 (Germany and | Heinkel HE-177 Bomber (Germany) | URSS Iliushin DB-3F (UN) | |||
| 40 | Junkers Ju.88-A1 Dive Bomber (Germany) | |||||
| 41 | Dornier 17 Long-Range Bomber (Germany) | Dornier Do.215 (Germany) | Curtiss SO3C-1 “Seagull” (UN) | |||
| 42 | Dornier 18K (Germany) | Junkers JU-90 Troop Transport (Germany) | Lockheed-Vega “Ventura” Bomber (UN) | |||
| 43 | Handley-Page “Halifax” Long-Range Bomber (UN) | |||||
| 44 | Supermarine “Spitfire” Single-Seat Fighter (UN) | |||||
| 45 | Breda 65 Fighter or Light Bomber (Italy) | Armstrong-Whitworth “Ensign” (UN) | Savoia Marchetti 79 “Spaveiro” (Italy) | |||
| 46 | Caproni Ca.311 (Italy) | |||||
| 47 | Mitsubishi 97 Heavy Bomber (Japan) | |||||
| 48 | Showa Sho-98 Multi-Place Fighter (Japan) | Blackburn “Skua” Two-Seat Naval Fighter (UN) | ||||
| 49 | Type 97 Army Reconnaissance Plane (Japan) | Westland “Whirlwind” Day and Night Fighter (UN) | ||||
| 50 | Hawker “Hurricane Hurry-Bomber” (UN) | Avro “Lancaster” Heavy Bomber (UN) | Mitsubishi Mc.20 Transport (Japan) | |||
| 51 | De Havilland “Hertfordshire” (UN) | Mitsubishi 96 Bomber (Japan) | Mitsubishi “00” “Zero” (Japan) | |||
| 52/th> | Avro “Lancaster” Heavy Bomber (UN) | URSS — 35 Transport Monoplane (UN) | URSS Yak-4 Medium Bomber (UN) | |||
| 53 | ZKB-26 Heavy Duty Bomber (UN) | |||||
| 54 | Blackburn “Botha” Medium Bomber (UN) | URSS I-16 “Rata” Single Seat Fighter (UN) | URSS I-15 Single Seat Fighter (UN) | |||
| 55 | URSS I-18 Single Seat Fighter (UN) | |||||
| 56 | Fairey “Battle” Two-Seat Trainer (UN) | Blackbird “Botha” Medium Bomber (UN) | ||||
| 57 | Grumman F4F-3 “Wildcat” Single-Seat Navy Fighter (UN) | |||||
| 58 | Brewster F2A-2 “Buffalo” Single-Seat Navy Fighter (UN) | |||||
| 59 | Douglas DB-7 “Boston” High-Speed Bomber (UN) | |||||
| 60 | ARK-3 Reconnaissance Flying Boat (UN) | URSS Iliushin DB-3F Medium Bomber (UN) | ||||
| 61 | Armstrong-Whitworth “Ensign” (UN) | Air Speed “Oxford” Advance Trainer (UN) | ||||
| 62 | Hawker “Henley” Single-Seat Fighter (UN) | Blackburn “Skua” Two-Seat Naval Fighter (UN) | ||||
| 63 | Curtiss-Wright-20 Troop Carrier (UN) | Douglas XB-19 Long Range Bomber (UN) | ||||
| 64 | Blohm & Voss Ha.140 (Germany) | Focke-Wulf “Kurrier” Heavy Bomber and Transport (Germany) | ||||
| 65 | De Havilland “Hertfordshire” (UN) | Westland “Lysander” Two-Seat Army Co-operation Plane (UN) | ||||
| 66 | Fairey “Fulmar” Navy Fighter (UN) | Westland “Whirlwind” Day and Night Fighter (UN) | ||||
| (67) | Tail Markings — United Nations and Enemy Planes | |||||
| (68) | Wing Markings — United Nations and Enemy Planes | |||||
| Note 1: Card numbers in (xx) are unnumbered cards. Note 2: As of 7/30/2016, the total number of different known C271A cards is 136. | ||||||
References
