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SEHR INTERESSANT !

The above registered, non-philatelic cover of 4.5.38 is one of the rarest in Zeppelin philately. Stirred by the Round-the-World Flight and the spectacular show by the Hindenburg at Lakehurst on 6.5.37, the Third Reich set about to outdo everyone in Zepp stunts: the 1938 "Durch die Erde Fahrt", featuring an airship secretly built in the Black Forest. Named the LZ-131, the ship contained special reinforcing in its sharp nose, and she started her ill-fated journey on a wet day in April, 1938. On its way to China, mail drops were to be made under Gibralter and Upper Volta, much to the chagrin of the British and Third World Vorlaufers. Soft mud caused by spring rains aided the trip at first, but, at 1250 meters into the earth, all radio contact was lost. Berlin decreed that not a word of the last flight of the LZ-131 was to be mentioned. Fortunately, we have the above cover, one of only 75,000 produced, to remind us of another glorious phase of our German heritage.

More Kenn numbers (Continued from Page 1):

 

Danzig Report  Nr. 18 – April  1978, Page 4.