A British mark, or a US mark?

[Nick Colley]

Folks, I've been passed a scan of an interesting cover, naval, WW2, by a fellow member. He's asking if the RELEASED BY NAVY CENSOR mark is of British or US origin. He has one view, and I have to confess that I'm inclined to the opposite view.

Would you care to share your thoughts (if any)?

Scan attached.

chrs
N

[Peter Harvey]

US Navy

Peter

[Michael Dobbs]

I would agree - US Navy

It has a HM Ship tombstone censor and "On Active Service" cachet - both of which I would presume to be British.  But the other large cachet I believe to be US Navy, as it states "Navy", if it stated "Naval" I might have suggested British!

By the way, why has it a tombstone censor, when the postage stamp and cancellation are US?

Not my strongest point, so I could be completely wrong!

Mike  :)

[Chris Grimshaw]

Outside my field, however I'd suggest US Naval Marking. 

British Censor possibly a ship operating in US waters or attached to a US detachment, hence the postal cancel.

Chris

[Nick Colley]

Thanks, chaps. My view is the same as yours. I've looked through Daynes 2nd Ed., and there is no naval censor mark where the word 'NAVY' is used as an adjective: it is always 'NAVAL'.

However, the owner says: 'According to Phillip Nazak book on US Navy Censor Marks, only a very small number use Navy, most use Naval' so he is of the opposite view to ours.

I will advise the owner of our view.

chrs
N

[Peter High]

As a matter of interest, I have checked through 'Pictorial of World War I United States Fleet HANDSTAMPED CENSOR MARKINGS' by Curtis Kimes and there are several censor marks which incorporate the word 'naval' but none with 'navy'.
This book was published in 1995 (and I occasionally get copies for sale).
I appreciate that the cover referred to was WWII and not WWI but the above is just for the record.