Graf Zeppelin’s Arctic Flight, 1931

Object/Artifact

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Hawaii's History, A Personal Collection

Author's Personal Collection: 931 GRAF-ZEPPELIN POLAR FLIGHT (Frost #127-A), German Polar Flight stamp #C41 on a flight cachet 1¢ USA postal card pays the 2 Mark flight fee + 1¢ printed matter rate to USA, departing FRIEDRICHSHAVEN postmarked on Jul 24, 1931 and dropped to the Russian Icebreaker MALYGUIN in Polar waters and postmarked on Jul 27th, then forwarded to the addressee at Hilo-Hawaii arriving postmarked date Sep 19, 1931, one of the rare flights retailing over $1100 US. As with other Graf Zeppelin flights, the polar expedition was largely financed with revenue from stamp collectors. Graf Zeppelin transferred about 650 pounds of mail to the Malygin, and picked up about 270 pounds of mail from the Soviet ship in return; about 50,000 pieces of philatelic mail (see example) in total were carried on the flight.
Author's Personal Collection

931 GRAF-ZEPPELIN POLAR FLIGHT (Frost #127-A), German Polar Flight stamp #C41 on a flight cachet 1¢ USA postal card pays the 2 Mark flight fee + 1¢ printed matter rate to USA, departing FRIEDRICHSHAVEN postmarked on Jul 24, 1931 and dropped to the Russian Icebreaker MALYGUIN in Polar waters and postmarked on Jul 27th, then forwarded to the addressee at Hilo-Hawaii arriving postmarked date Sep 19, 1931, one of the rare flights retailing over $1100 US. As with other Graf Zeppelin flights, the polar expedition was largely financed with revenue from stamp collectors. Graf Zeppelin transferred about 650 pounds of mail to the Malygin, and picked up about 270 pounds of mail from the Soviet ship in return; about 50,000 pieces of philatelic mail (see example) in total were carried on the flight.

Name/Title

Graf Zeppelin’s Arctic Flight, 1931

Description

Cachet cover with Final Destination to Hilo, Hawaii postmarked Sep 19,1931. Graf Zeppelin’s 1931 Arctic Flight was both a scientific expedition and a dramatic display of the airship’s ability under extreme conditions. In July, 1931, the ship carried a team of scientists from Germany, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Sweden on an exploration of the Arctic, making meteorological observations, measuring variations in the earth’s magnetic field in the latitudes near the North Pole, and making a photographic survey of unmapped regions using a panoramic camera that automatically took several pictures per minute. The size, payload, and stability of the zeppelin allowed heavy scientific instruments to be carried and used with an accuracy that would not have been possible with the airplanes of the day. The five-stage flight covered 13,310 kilometers in 136:26 flying hours between July 24 – July 31, 1931, and literally changed the map of the Arctic region with the information obtained during the flight. As with other Graf Zeppelin flights, the polar expedition was largely financed with revenue from stamp collectors. Graf Zeppelin transferred about 650 pounds of mail to the Malygin, and picked up about 270 pounds of mail from the Soviet ship in return; about 50,000 pieces of philatelic mail (see example) in total were carried on the flight.

Web Links and URLs

Wikipedia - Graf Zeppelin's Arctic Flight 1931, Video of actual flight (YouTube), Another Video of Graf Zeppelin's Arctic flight

Created By

hawaiiancovers@gmail.com

Create Date

September 4, 2025

Update Date

September 6, 2025