U.S. Naval Shore Bases in Europe 1917-1919

This web page, published by the Military Postal History Society, contains images of the single frame U.S. Naval Shore Bases in Europe 1917-1919 exhibit pages created by the late Al Kugel. This exhibit was created by, and is the property of the late Al Kugel, and is being supplied by his heirs as a courtesy to the Military Postal History Society.

Introduction

Reflecting the enormous build-up of American forces in Europe after the U.S entered World War I, the Navy opened a substantial number of onshore bases to support the warships and seaplanes that operated in the theater. Prior to the Armistice, at least, the availability of mail that can be identified as to origin is extremely limited, since most examples from both onboard and shore stations received a generic "U.S. Navy" postmark. After the end of the war, restrictions were loosened and specific postmarks were provided to some of the facilities, with most of such postmarks being recorded in quantities of five or fewer. In any event, such material is highly elusive and it has taken several decades of careful searching to assemble the modest collection of such examples shown in the exhibit.

To view the text within these images, see: web page containing the text content of the exhibit frame.

Updated 11/9/2024