V-mail form

Date

• ca. 1940-ca. 1949

Summary

• This blank 8.5" x 11" two-sided form would have been used to send a V-mail message to or from someone in the armed forces. V-mail, standing for Victory Mail, utilized a microfilm process to save space on cargo planes. Letters were written on special forms like this that were photographed with 16mm cameras in postal service mail rooms. The microfilm was flown to processing centers in destination areas where the letters were reproduced on photographic paper about one-fourth the size of the original form, inserted into V-mail envelopes, and sent on to the recipients. It was claimed that 1,700 V-mail letters could fit in a cigarette packet and that V-mail weighed 98% less than regular paper letters. In the U.S., V-mail forms could be purchased at the post office or at the five and ten cent stores. Civilians paid regular postage rates to send V-mail; members of the armed forces could send V-mail at no charge. Between June 15, 1942 and April 1, 1945 more than 556 million V-mail letters were sent from the U.S. to military posts overseas and more than 510 million pieces of V-mail were received from military personnel abroad. Despite the patriotic advantages of V-mail, most people continued to use regular surface mail or air mail.