1932

This year marked the inauguration of the first commercial airship service to South America. All told, the Graf Zeppelin would undertake nine such flights in 1932. In order to accommodate last minute dispatches on these flights, Deutsche Lufthansa initiated regular connecting air mail flights between Berlin and Friedrichshafen, with mail flown on the connecting flights marked with a special zeppelin connecting flight cachet unique to each of the nine South American flights. A similar DLH connecting flight service from Stuttgart to Friedrichshafen was begun with the 5th South America Flight that year. Unique connecting flight cachets similar to those for the Berlin flights were utilized on that mail.
 
Rates for German mail flown to South America included a base rate of 15 Pfennigs and a 1.25 RM zeppelin surcharge for every 5 grams, resulting in a typical rate of 1.40 RM for unregistered cards and letters. Rates for transmitted mail varied by country and were set by agreement with the originating nation.
 
Although the South American service dominated the airship’s 1932 flight schedule, there were several trips of note within Europe, including flights to the Netherlands, Switzerland, England, and Danzig, the latter of which coincided with the LUPOSTA Philatelic Exhibition and included a scheduled mail drop over the Danish Island of Ronne. As in prior years, each of these major flights, along with all the South American Flights, featured unique flight cachets.