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1957 “Planes of the World” (R707-2)
Topps Chewing Gum, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Series Title: “Planes of the World”
American Card Catalog Number: R707-2
Issued by: Topps Chewing Gum, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Number of Cards: 242 Total
Card Dimensions: 2½ × 3½ inches
Circa: Series 1 issued Spring of 1957; Series 2 issued Summer of 1957
Overview
Following in the footsteps of their popular “Wings” airplane trading card set, Topps introduced a new series of 60 “Planes of the World” … aka “Planes” airplane trading cards in the Spring of 1957. This initial series was consecutively numbered from 1 to 60. A second series of 60 cards quickly followed during the summer of 1957. The second series of cards were numbered from 61 to 120.
This series of airplane cards is most commonly known as “Topps Planes,” however the real title of the series is “Planes of the World.” The colored artwork of the card fronts depicted planes, dirigibles, and helicopters, with the name of the aircraft and one line of description located in a small yellow panel inside the picture area. The card number, data table, text, and a “Junior Skywatcher Quiz”; are printed on the back. A Public Service ad, “Earn Your Wings … Join The Ground Observer Corps,” sits at the very bottom of each card.
There has been much discussion about the detail differences found in this set. The most important of these is the color of accents on the gray stocks backs … Blue and Red.
Every card in the series is found in both colors. The most likely reason for the variations in colors was that Topps had recently bought Bowman Gum and decided to test out their newly acquired equipment by printing the Planes
set in one color with their old printing presses, and in another color with Bowman’s printing presses, using Bowman’s cardboard, ink, and gum. This speculation is made more plausible by the fact that the Planes
checklist comes with advertising lines for both Bazooka and Blony gum, the latter being Bowman’s brand.
At any rate, “Blue-Back” cards are twice as numerous as their “Red-Back” counterparts, and the second series of both cards is harder to find in the first. In addition, Card No. 9 (shown below) appears on many want lists, and is considered the “key” to completing the set. The American Card Catalog reference number for the set is “R707-2”.
Image-Guide
Checklist-Cards
There were two versions of the R707-2 “Checklist” cards: (1) The “Bazooka … Young America’s Favorite Bubble Gum,” checklist card, and (2) the “Big Blony America’s Longest Chew” checklist card. The two checklist cards are identical on both sides except for the brand names. Thanks to Al Kramer[1], we were able to scan the Bazooka checklist card. We have also reconstructed a “Blony” checklist card. However, we are not sure what the color scheme is on the reverse side of the card. 600 dpi scans of both the “Blony” and the “Bazooka” checklist cards would be appreciated.
Wrappers and Display Boxes
There were two different wrappers and two different display boxes associated with the series. The 1¢ wrapper is made of wax paper and has red, white and blue planes repeated on alternating red and yellow bands. The 5¢ wax wrapper is yellow and green with a single red, white and blue in the center. The 1¢ and 5¢ retail display boxes colors are presented in a mixture of blue, yellow, red and white.
Checklist
| Topps R707-2 “Planes of the World”
Checklist | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Card No. | Blue-Backs | Red-Backs | Card Title |
| Series 1, Cards 1-60 | |||
| 1 | F4D Skyray, U.S. Navy Fighter | ||
| 2 | Lockheed T2V-1, U.S. Navy Trainer | ||
| 3 | F7U-3 Cutlass, U.S. Navy Fighter | ||
| 4 | YC-130A Hercules, U.S. Transport | ||
| 5 | Convair B-36H, U.S. Long-Range Bomber | ||
| 6 | F-84F Thunderstreak, U.S. Recon Plane | ||
| 7 | B-52 Stratofortress, U.S. Heavy Bomber | ||
| 8 | AD-6 Skyraider, U.S. Navy Attack Plane | ||
| 9 | 1048 Propeloplane, U.S. Research | ||
| 10 | Lockheed WV-2, U.S. Navy Recon | ||
| 11 | XP6M-1 Seamaster, U.S. Navy Photo Recon | ||
| 12 | Douglas DC-8, U.S. Airliner | ||
| 13 | UF-1 Albatross, U.S. Navy Rescue Plane | ||
| 14 | Bell XH-40, U.S. Helicopter | ||
| 15 | F9F–8 Cougar, U.S. Navy Fighter | ||
| 16 | F-89D Scorpion, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 17 | Trident, French Research | ||
| 18 | T-33A Shooting Star, U.S. Jet Trainer | ||
| 19 | Bristol 173, British Helicopter | ||
| 20 | MS 760 Paris, French Private Jet Plane | ||
| 21 | Hurel-Dubois, French Transport | ||
| 22 | Djinn, French Jet Helicopter | ||
| 23 | RF-84K “FICON”, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 24 | Avro CF-100, Canadian Fighter | ||
| 25 | Vautour, French Fighter-Bomber | ||
| 26 | Britannia, British Airliner | ||
| 27 | F-100 Super Sabre, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 28 | B-47E Stratojet, U.S. Medium Bomber | ||
| 29 | F-86H Sabre, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 30 | Percival Provost, British Trainer | ||
| 31 | Convertiplane, U.S. Research Helicopter | ||
| 32 | MiG-15, Russian Fighter | ||
| 33 | HARE, Russian Helicopter | ||
| 34 | Lansen, Swedish Attacker | ||
| 35 | M-4 Horse, Russian Helicopter | ||
| 36 | Tu-104, Russian Jet Airliner | ||
| 37 | Caravelle, French Airliner | ||
| 38 | Rubber Plane, U.S. Research | ||
| 39 | Avro Shackleton, British Recon | ||
| 40 | Fairey Delta 2, British Research Plane | ||
| 41 | Convert 880, U.S. Jet Airliner | ||
| 42 | Aerocycle, U.S. 1 Man Helicopter | ||
| 43 | Colonial Skimmer, U.S. Private Plane | ||
| 44 | YH-16 Transporter, U.S. Helicopter | ||
| 45 | SG-4 Blimp, U.S. Navy Recon | ||
| 46 | F-84G Thunderjet, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 47 | F3D-2 Skynight, U.S. Navy Fighter | ||
| 48 | F3H-2 Demon, U.S. Navy Fighter | ||
| 49 | Grumman Avenger, Canadian Attacker | ||
| 50 | Martin B-57, U.S. Night Bomber | ||
| 51 | F-104A “Starfighter”, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 52 | KC-97G Stratofreighter, U.S. Transport | ||
| 53 | Fairchild C-123, U.S. Transport | ||
| 54 | Convair XC-99, U.S. Transport | ||
| 55 | 1049-G Super Constellation, U.S. Airliner | ||
| 56 | A3D-1 Skywarrior, U.S. Navy Attacker | ||
| 57 | Douglas RB-66, U.S. Light Bomber | ||
| 58 | F11F-1 Tiger, U.S. Navy Fighter | ||
| 59 | A4D-1 Skyhawk, U.S. Navy Attack Bomber | ||
| 60 | FJ-3 Fury, U.S. Navy Fighter | ||
| Series 2, Cards 61-120 | |||
| 61 | Cessna YH-41, U.S. Helicopter | ||
| 62 | Leduc O-21, French Ramjet | ||
| 63 | Douglas C-133A, U.S. Transport | ||
| 64 | FB-30 Vampire, Australian Fighter | ||
| 65 | Bell X-2, U.S. Research Plane | ||
| 66 | Boeing QB-17 Drone, U.S. Research Plane | ||
| 67 | Aerocar, Experimental Plane | ||
| 68 | Boeing 707, U.S. Tanker-Transport | ||
| 69 | C-7C Seven Seas, U.S. Airliner | ||
| 70 | Sikorsky H-34A, U.S. Helicopter | ||
| 71 | Flying Platform, U.S. 1 Man Helicopter | ||
| 72 | Rotor Craft, Rocket Helicopter | ||
| 73 | Hughes Falcon, U.S. Guided Missile | ||
| 74 | Lockheed X-7, Research Missile | ||
| 75 | Martin Matador, U.S. Guided Missile | ||
| 76 | Avro 707B, British Research Plane | ||
| 77 | DHC-3 Otter, Canadian Seaplane | ||
| 78 | MK-6 Sabre, Canadian Fighter | ||
| 79 | Folland Gnat, British Fighter | ||
| 80 | MK-7 Swift, British Fighter | ||
| 81 | DH-106 Comet, British Airliner | ||
| 82 | Victor B-1, British Medium Bomber | ||
| 83 | 170R Magister, French Trainer | ||
| 84 | Dassault Mirage, French Fighter | ||
| 85 | Coleopter, French Research Plane | ||
| 86 | XF2Y-1 Sea Dart, U.S.N. Fighter | ||
| 87 | Convair F-102A, U.S. Interceptor | ||
| 88 | F5D-1 Skylancer, U.S. Navy Fighter | ||
| 89 | F-86D Sabre, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 90 | F-101A Voodoo, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 91 | F8U-1 Crusader, U.S. Navy Interceptor | ||
| 92 | F-94C Starfire, U.S. Fighter | ||
| 93 | AD-5 Skyraider, U.S.N. Fighter | ||
| 94 | Yak-9P, Russian Fighter | ||
| 95 | Grumman S2F-1, U.S.N. Anti-Sub plane | ||
| 96 | P2V-7 Neptune, U.S.N. Patrol Bomber | ||
| 97 | B-26C Invader, U.S. Light Bomber | ||
| 98 | B-45C Tornado, U.S. Recon Bomber | ||
| 99 | B-50 Superfortress, U.S. Medium Bomber | ||
| 100 | AJ-1 Savage, U.S.N. Attack Plane | ||
| 101 | Pulqui, Argentine Fighter | ||
| 102 | TC-135A Stratotanker, U.S. Tanker | ||
| 103 | Convair R4Y-1, U.S.N. Transport | ||
| 104 | R3Y-2 Tradewind, U.S.N. Transport | ||
| 105 | C-124C Globemaster II, U.S. Transport | ||
| 106 | Stroukoff YC-123E, U.S. Transport | ||
| 107 | P4M-1 Mercator, U.S.N. Patrol | ||
| 108 | Cessna OE-2, U.S.MC Trainer | ||
| 109 | Cessna T-37A, U.S. Trainer | ||
| 110 | Temco TT-1, U.S.N. Trainer | ||
| 111 | Yak-17, Russian Fighter | ||
| 112 | T-37 Bison, Russian Bomber | ||
| 113 | LA-9, Russian Fighter | ||
| 114 | IL-28 Beagle, Russian Attack-Bomber | ||
| 115 | Jet Mentor, U.S. Trainer | ||
| 116 | Yak-12, Russian Recon Plane | ||
| 117 | Vickers Valiant, British Medium Bomber | ||
| 118 | TU-31 Barge, Russian Bomber | ||
| 119 | T-35 Bosun, Russian Bomber | ||
| 120 | MiG-9, Russian Fighter | ||
| Checklist Cards | |||
| Checklist | Bazooka | ||
| Checklist | Blony | ||
Similar Planes Series
The saga of the “Planes of the World” cards continued across the pond to England in 1960. The A.& B.C. Gum Company issued two different series of Planes
cards. One series of 120 cards measured 88 × 64 mm. The other series measured 94 × 67 mm. Examples of the backs of both of these series are shown below. There was also an Israeli “Planes” 60 card set issued by Judaica Israel Old Chewing Gum. The Israeli set use the artwork from the Topps R707-2 Series 2 set 60 cards. The fronts and backs of a typical card from this set are also shown below.
References
