Galerie

Feeder flights

With the close of the 1935 season the era of catapult flights was over, as the now regular Zeppelin airship flights were servicing the relevan destinations. However feeder flights to the steamer “Europa” continued to be operated until the end of 1936.

For the Danzig collector not only are the flights in the direction of America interesting but so are the catapult flights on the return journeys to Southampton and so on, being

a) when they are destined for Danzig and bear airmail forwarding endorsement handstamps of there,
b) quite particularly, when these sendings are partially franked with Danzig postage stamps (as used on reply postcards). The addition of foreign stamps make for interesting mixed frankings.

It is relevant to give as an example here a 2OPf reply postcard supplemented with USA postage stamps totalling l8c, that was flown on a catapult flight from the steamer “Europa” to Southampton oz 17.9.1930.

When the numbers of sendings forwarded by catapult mail from Danzig were very small, so indeed the numbers of sendings to Danzig were. correspondingly more insignificant.

The purpose of catapult mail was to provide a means of getting mail to the addressee a dayearlier than would otherwise have been possible from a ship into port; the purpose of the feeder flights was so that late pos mail could in general still reach the ship before its departure from the last European port. .

Feeder flights to the steamer “Columbus”

Serial                                              Take-off
number                                         from Cologne ‘
1                                                          30.7.1930
2                                                          19.8.1930
3                                                          7.9.1930
4                                                          30.9.1930
5                                                          26.10.1930
6                                                          3.7.1931
7                                                           5.8.1931
8                                                          19.5.1932
9                                                          18.6.1932
10                                                        7.7.1932
11                                                        26.7.1932
12                                                        13.8.1932
13                                                         5.9.1932
14                                                         18.5.1933
15                                                         21.6.1933
16                                                         11.7.1933
17                                                         10.8.1933
18                                                         29.8.1933
19                                                         22.9.1933

 

Danzig Report  Nr. 64 - July - August - September - 1989, Page 26.