USA STAMPS
1944

Scott 923
STEAMSHIP ISSUE

Issued 22nd May 1944 on unwatermarked paper, printed rotary press and perf 11:10½. The stamp commemorates the first Transatlantic crossing by a steamship, the SS Savannah. There were also First Day Covers to commemorate the anniversary.

SS Savannah was an American hybrid sailing ship/sidewheel steamer built in 1818. She is notable for being the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, transiting mainly under sail power from May to June 1819. In spite of this historic voyage, the great space taken up by her large engine and its fuel at the expense of cargo, and the public's anxiety over embracing her revolutionary steam power, kept Savannah from being a commercial success as a steamship. Savannah was wrecked off Long Island, New York in 1821. No other American-owned steamship would cross the Atlantic for almost thirty years after Savannah's pioneering voyage.