Flight Number H 31 b

In 1936, Hindenburg flew ten round trips to the United States and seven round trips to Brazil in half the time of ship travel. The domestic flights were often for testing, repositioning, charter flights, or political propaganda.

Hindenburg flew passengers, freight, and mail to offset operating expenses.  Celebrity passengers included actor Douglas Fairbanks, journalist Lady Grace Drummond Hay, pilot Eddie Rickenbacker, businessman Nelson Rockefeller, boxer Max Schmeling, and explorer Sir George Hubert Wilkins. A variety of freight benefited from the faster crossing, including dogs, queen bees, pronghorn fawns, an Opel automobile, and an airplane. Special stamps, postmarks, and postal cachets attracted stamp collectors and dealers, who prepared mail to and from many countries. Onboard passengers and crew members posted mail on the world’s largest flying post office, and their signatures add to the desirability of their postcards and letters.