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There were three giant postal centers in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. The Post office, the War, and Navy Departments worked together in the complicated V-mail operation. Despite instruction, there was still some confusion about the use of V-mail.

Faint or small writing is not suitable for photographing.” The original forms could accommodate up to 700 typed words. Users of V-mail were instructed: “Use typewriter, dark ink, or dark pencil. The way one wrote on the letter also played a big part in whether one would ultimately be able to read the reduced version. All of the paper used for V-mail had to be the same size and weight so that the pages could be fed into the processing machine for microfilming. Consumers could also purchase sheets made by different sanctioned providers.

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The form was a sheet specially designed by the Government Printing Office and was provided free of charge by the Post Office at the rate of two sheets per person per day. Even without microfilming, this was a great space-saving measure. Then on June 1, 1942, V-mail service began.Īn important part of the V-mail system was the use of a standardized stationery which combined the letter and envelope into one piece of paper. Roosevelt received the first two V-mails. In May 1942, the United States entered into a contract with Kodak for V-mail microfilming. was Britain’s use of microphotography of mail, implemented in 1941 when the first Aerograph letter was sent by Queen Elizabeth. The United States studied the British model and developed the V-mail system. In 1928, Kodak debuted the “Recordak I” as a way to film documents, and in 1935, Kodak began filming and then publishing the New York Times on microfilm.īy the beginning of the war, American postal planners also had their eyes on Britain.

To keep track of checks and money, a machine called the “Checkograph” was developed. Microphotography had been used since the 1850s, primarily for business and banking. The increased demand on the mail service was new, but the technology employed to meet that demand was not. Use of V-mail is urged because it greatly furthers the war effort by saving shipping and airplane space.” 21-1 describes V-mail as “an expeditious mail program which provides for quick mail service to and from soldiers overseas. A special form is used which permits the letter to be photographed in microfilm. The small film is transported and then reproduced and delivered. Officially entitled the “Army Micro Photographic Mail Service,” War Department Pamphlet No. Although the V-mail system was only used between June 1942 and November 1945, over 1 billion items were processed through these means. V-mail, short for “Victory mail,” was a particular postal system put into place during the war to drastically reduce the space needed to transport mail thus freeing up room for other valuable supplies. To bring mail service to those serving worldwide, the military postal system required a global network and innovative practice. In 1945, 2.5 billion pieces went through the Army Postal Service and 8 million pieces through Navy post offices. Each year of the war, the number of pieces of mail increased.

An unprecedented amount of mail was moved about during the war with Army post offices, fleet post offices and US post offices flooded with mail. The military mail system and the amount of post flowing back and forth internationally during the war was massive. The critical nature of the mail effort was addressed in the 1942 Annual Report to the Postmaster General which stated: “The Post Office, War and Navy departments realize fully that frequent and rapid communication with parents, associates and other loved ones strengthens fortitude, enlivens patriotism, makes loneliness endurable and inspires to even greater devotion the men and women who are carrying on our fight far from home and from friends.” One specific wartime demand was the efficient and expeditious delivery of mail to US forces serving around the country and overseas. Many of these developments would continue to endure and evolve, while others remain particular to the period, employed during World War II only, as a way to address a specific wartime need. The war was the impetus behind a great number of inventions, some of them brand new and some wartime alterations made to existing practice.

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