| Flight Number | GZ 294 a |
|---|---|
| Airship Number | LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin |
| Flight Name | First South America Flight 1933; Barcelona, Spain Drop |
| Departure Date | May 6, 1933 |
| Departure Location | Friedrichshafen, Germany |
| Arrival Date | May 9, 1933 |
| Arrival Location | Recife, Brazil |
| Dispatch Type | Berlin Connecting Flight, Official Drop |
| Value | $ |
Notes
This card was flown to Friedrichsafen on a special Deutsche Lufthansa airplane flight that connected with the zeppelin flight to South America. Mail carried on the connecting flight received a six-sided flight cachet depicting the zeppelin and noting the Berlin - Friedrichshafen flight route.
Although this card is marked for delivery to Barcelona, and a landing was originally planned there, it never occurred due to concerns over a potential attack by communist agitators. Instead, the mail marked for delivery at Barcelona was dropped from the airship by parachute.
The rate for ordinary German zeppelin mail to Brazil in 1933 equaled the International Base Rate of 15 pfg. + a Zeppelin Surcharge of 1.25 RM, for a total of 1.40 RM. The card shown here is short-franked at 1.25 RM, but lacks any postage due markings.
Flight Route: Friedrichshafen - Konstanz - Schaffhausen - Basel - Besancon - Lyon - Vienne - Valence - Montelimar - Pt. St. Esprit - Romoulins - C. de San Sebastian - Barcelona (Mail Drop) - C. de la Nao - C. de Palos - C. de Gata - C. Sacratif - C. Spartel - Casablanca (23 miles to port); C. Cantin - C. Sim - C. Juby - C. Bojador - Porto Praia, Cape Verde - Fernando Noronha - Recife.
Airship Commanders: Dr. Eckener and Ernst Lehmann. Crew: 45. Passengers: 11. Post: 100 kg. Freight: 435 kg.