ZEPPELIN MAIL

This page was last updated
03-Jan-2023 02:29

GRAF ZEPPELIN II
(LZ130)

The story of LZ130 is a brief one. She was approved for entry into service by the Reich Aviation Ministry on 14th Nov 1938 for one year but with limited operations: No passengers were permitted, and flights could only take place between non-tropical regions. By the end of Aug 1939, with war looming large on the horizon, she was removed from service and scrapped the following year with the salvaged metal being used for fighter production.



She had six proving flights and a ferry flight before she began revenue operations, after which she only started 9 commercial flights:

PROVING FLIGHTS

1. FRIEDRICHSHAFEN to FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (14th Sep 1938)
2. FRIEDRICHSHAFEN to FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (17th / 18th Sep 1938)
3. FRIEDRICHSHAFEN to FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (22nd Sep 1938)
4. FRIEDRICHSHAFEN to FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (25th Sep 1938)
5. FRIEDRICHSHAFEN to FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (27th Sep 1938)
6. FRIEDRICHSHAFEN to FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (28th / 29th Sep 1938)

FERRY FLIGHT

1. FRIEDRICHSHAFEN to FRANKFURT MAIN (31st Oct / 1st Nov 1938)

REVENUE FLIGHTS

LZ130 performed a total of 8 commercial/propaganda flights. A 9th flight was planned to Königsberg but was cancelled at the last minute due to the mounting tensions and risk of imminent war. Between these flights the Reichs Air Ministry co-opted LZ130 for several clandestine flights which were used mainly to try to prove the existence or otherwise of a British Radar network. The radar network certainly existed, and it did detect the LZ130 as she moved up the English coast, but the Germans were never able to verify its existence or effectiveness during these tests. This was to cost the Germans dearly during the battle of Britain where radar was pivotal to the British success.

1. FRANKFURT MAIN to SUDETENLAND (2nd / 3rd Dec 1938)
2. FRANKFURT MAIN to LEIPZIG (9th Jul 1939)
3. FRANKFURT MAIN to GÖRLITZ (16th / 17th Jul 1939)
4. FRANKFURT MAIN to BIELEFELD and MÜNSTER (22nd / 23rd Jul 1939)
5. FRANKFURT MAIN to KASSEL (30th Jul 1939)
6. FRANKFURT MAIN to WÜRZBURG (6th Aug 1939)
7. FRANKFURT MAIN to EGER (13th Aug 1939)
8. FRANKFURT MAIN to ESSEN / MÜLHEIM (20th Aug 1939)
9. FRANKFURT MAIN to KÖNIGSBERG (26th Aug 1939) - incomplete.

1st PROVING FLIGHT
(14th Sep 1938)

LZ130 took off at 07:50 on 14th Sep 1938 with 74 people on board, including crew, Air Ministry officials, technicians and radio engineers. She flew over Munich, Augsburg and Ulm, approximately 925 Km, before landing back at the Löwenthal hanger around 13:30.

2nd PROVING FLIGHT
(17th / 18th Sep 1938)

At 8:08 on 17th Sep 1938 LZ130 undertook her second voyage, a test flight of 26 hours and approximately 2,388 Km. She flew over the Bodensee and Stuttgart then on to Frankfurt am Main where she arrived around 13:15. The journey continued onto Eisenach and Eisleben before reaching the capital, Berlin. Afterwards she proceeded on to Hamburg performing testing and calibration. Flying a direct course over Minden she then went back to Bodensee where, due to fog, she waited over Friedrichshafen before eventually landing at 10:30.

3rd PROVING FLIGHT
(22nd Sep 1938)

The third trial flight was an espionage flight that flew a 1,215 Km loop over the Czech border whilst performing aerial reconnaissance. Although officially it was just a test flight, she departed Friedrichshafen at 08:13 and returned at 19:30 on 22nd Sep 1938. This was the last time Hugo Eckner would pilot the airship.

4th PROVING FLIGHT
(25th Sep 1938)

Captain Hans von Schiller took the controls for this 7-hour, 764 Km flight which included 40 crew and 34 technicians, with the primary aim of performing high altitude tests.

5th PROVING FLIGHT
(27th Sep 1938)

Two days later and LZ130 was off again, this time on an eleven-hour flight to test range-finding equipment and water ballast equipment that had been installed on board and now captained by Captain Sammt. The range-finding testing didn't go as planned due to atmospheric conditions, but other tests were more successful.

6th PROVING FLIGHT
(28th / 29th Sep 1938)

The 6th proving flight was a busy one with Captain Sammt again in command. Covering 2,600 Km in 26 hours LZ130 performed a series of tests to try to determine if electrostatic discharges may have been the cause of the destruction of the Hindenburg, two years earlier on 6th May. The idea was to fly through a series of thunderstorms to take measurements and then analyse the results. Further testing of the water ballast system was successful.

FERRY FLIGHT

1. FRIEDRICHSHAFEN to FRANKFURT MAIN (31st Oct / 1st Nov 1938) Captain Sammt was in command of the ferry flight from Friedrichshafen to Frankfurt am Main, her new home for the next 11 months. Taking off at 14:17 on 31st Oct she landed 25 hours later after travelling a leisurely 2,100 Km route. LZ130 was now ready for active service, albeit without fare paying passengers and confined to non-tropical regions. With such restrictions imposed on her she was to be used primarily for propaganda purposes and the transportation of large amounts of mail to satisfy the stamp collecting public eager to add to their collections.

1. FRANKFURT to SUDETENLAND
(2nd / 3rd Dec 1938)

The Sudetenland flight is probably the most well-known of the LZ130 flights coming the day before the region would vote on its future and coinciding with a visit from the Fuhrer himself. The crisis that led up to the vote saw Germany annex large swathes of what was independent Czechoslovakia. Below are a couple of examples of the 663 Kg of mail that was carried on that one flight.

a) This example is an official issue P275 Sudetenland commemorative postcard. There are two versions of this card, one with a pre-printed stamp and this one without a pre-printed stamp. The card has been franked with four 1934 issue Michel 529 to 539 airmail stamps for a total of 60Rpf. The card has the required special red cachet used on the flight as well as the departure cancel used in FRANKFURT-MAIN.




b) This next example is a cover carried on the same flight and having the required Sudetenfahrt red cachet and departure cancel for FRANKFURT-MAIN on 1st Dec 1938. The reverse side has an arrival cancel for the newly 'free' town of REICHENBERG on 2nd Dec and the special slogan used to give notice of the upcoming vote on 4th Dec.




c) This official P274/02 postcard shown here was also carried on the Sudetenland flight of 1st/2nd Dec 1938 and has the required red circular cachet and FRANKFURT-MAIN departure stamps. There is no arrival stamp or special slogan announcing the upcoming election. The card was franked with 56Rpf, 6Rpf for the Reichspost and 50Rpf to fill the Zeppelin company's coffers.

This is as close as it gets to a Zeppelin card used for personal use rather than purely philatelic and has the sender Robert telling his father that he has arrived safely at his destination and to give the card to Franz for his collection once he has read it.




d) Below is another cover carried on the same flight, with the special red cachet, FRANKFURT-MAIN cancels and 4th Dec vote slogan. This sender has used many smaller denomination stamps to achieve the required postal fee.

2. FRANKFURT to LEIPZIG
(9th Jul 1939)

The Leipzigfahrt, or Leipzig trip, on 9th Jul 1939 saw LZ130 land at Leipzig-Mockau airfield with a consignment of mail.

3. FRANKFURT to GÖRLITZ
(16th / 17th Jul 1939)

The Görlitzfahrt (Görlitz trip) was captained by Sammt and saw the LZ130 land briefly in Görlitz to off load mail. Due to bad weather in the area her stop was cut short, and she departed a mere two minutes after landing.

The following cover features the red cachet used on the GÖRLITZ flight on 16th/17th Jul 1939. The card has the departure cancel from FRANKFURT-MAIN as well as the arrival stamp in GÖRLITZ. The card is franked with 100Rpf using a combination of definitive and commemorative stamps.

4. FRANKFURT to BIELEFELD and MÜNSTER
(22nd / 23rd Jul 1939)

The Bielefeld-MünsterFahrt was a much more entertaining flight. Departing on 23rd July she hovered over the venue for the 1939 Grand Prix which was taking place at the Nürburgring. Radio commentary on part of the race was broadcast briefly from the airship before she attended the Bielefeld and Münster flying Day events.

The following plain postcard features the red cachet used on the BIELEFELD flight on 23rd Jul 1939. The card has the departure cancel from FRANKFURT-MAIN as well as the arrival stamp in BIELEFELD. The card is correctly franked at 50Rpf using one of the two 100th Anniversary of Ferdinand von Zeppelin commemorative stamps Michel 669.

5. FRANKFURT to KASSEL (30th Jul 1939)

Captain Anton Wittemann was in command of LZ130 when she departed Frankfurt am Main on 30th Jul 1939 for a brief 7-hour, 600 Km, flight to cover air show events being held in Frankfurt and Kassel.

The following plain postcard features the red cachet used on the KASSEL flight on 30th Jul 1939. The card has the departure cancel from FRANKFURT-MAIN as well as the arrival stamp in KASSEL. The card is correctly franked at 50Rpf using one of the two 100th Anniversary of Ferdinand von Zeppelin commemorative stamps Michel 669.

6. FRANKFURT to WÜRZBURG
(6th Aug 1939)

The following plain postcard features the red cachet used on the WÜRZBURG flight on 6th Aug 1939. The card has the departure cancel from FRANKFURT-MAIN as well as the arrival stamp in WÜRZBURG. The card is correctly franked at 50Rpf using one of the two 100th Anniversary of Ferdinand von Zeppelin commemorative stamps Michel 669.

7. FRANKFURT to EGER (13th Aug 1939)

The following plain postcard features the red cachet used on the EGER flight on 13th Aug 1939. The card does not have the departure cancel from FRANKFURT-MAIN but does have the arrival stamp in EGER. The card is correctly franked at 50Rpf using one of the two 100th Anniversary of Ferdinand von Zeppelin commemorative stamps Michel 669.

8. FRANKFURT to ESSEN / MÜLHEIM (20th Aug 1939)

This was the last flight of the LZ130 and marked the end of Zeppelin airship travel. Commanded once more by Albert Sammt the flight took place on 20th Aug departing from Frankfurt am Main, stopping at Essen/Mülheim airport, before returning home at around 21:38 later that day.

8. FRANKFURT to KÖNIGSBERG
(26th Aug 1939)

Due to the imminent threat of war this flight was cancelled at the last minute. Mail had already been loaded and special red cachets applied before it was dispatched by regular postal routes (i.e., Bahnpost). As the flight was cancelled this mail does not have a special arrival cancel for Königsberg. (Königsberg is present day Kaliningrad and would have been right in the vicinity of the German invasion of Poland which took place only 6 days after this flight was due to depart).

Mail that was due to be carried on this flight had a three-line red stamp applied stating "Wegen Ausfalls der Fahrt auf gewöhnlichem Weg befödert. Bahnpostamt 19 Frankfurt (Main)" - 'Transported on the usual route due to the cancellation of the journey. Railway post office 19 Frankfurt (Main)', as can be seen on the example below.




REFERENCES:

1. MICHEL Zeppelin- und Flugpost-Spezial 2017/2018 3. Auflage. ISBN 978-3-95402-161-1
2. Wikipedia