Lufthansa first flight covers to/from India.

Lufthansa first flight covers to/from India.

As a halfway house across the globe, India is an important route on any airline.  Thus Lufthansa's flights to the east have halts in India at various Indian cities notably, New Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta.

Lufthansa has been commemorating first flights with special covers and cachets/handstamps.  These covers are quite attractive.

I have attempted a checklist of these first flight covers for collectors and posterity. I have been referring to "Seiger Katalog Der Luftpost Der Neuen Deutschen Lufthansa," published Summer 1976.

I have some covers which are not listed in this catalogue I refer to.

I request readers of this blog to check their collection and inform me if they have any covers not listed by me.  Email me: amecvi@gmail.com

First flights to the East start with 1959

1.11.1959 -  Hamburg - Calcutta

1.11.1959 -  Dusseldorf - Calcutta

1.11.1959 - Frankfurt- Calcutta

Hamburg - Calcutta

Dusseldorf - Calcutta

Frankfurt - Calcutta

 

Vienna acceptance for the first flight via Dusseldorf.  Cover was sent from Vienna to Dusseldorf and received the special cachet there and sent to Calcutta on the first flight.

East Bound: As per Sieger, covers were flown from Calcutta to:

Bangkok 231 covers.

West Bound: As per Sieger, covers were flown from Calcutta to 
Karachi - 110 covers
Athens  - 114 covers
Rome    - 113 covers
Frankfurt - 2316.

I have the Calcutta - Frankfurt cover but do not have, nor have I seen, the others.  Do let me know if you have any.
 
 23.1.1961.  First Flight to Far East.  

No covers to any Indian destination listed, nor seen.  Covers and postcards were flown from Calcutta eastwards to Bangkok, Hong Kong & Tokyo. 3000 India 40p airmail postcards  are purported to have been printed.  

Special cover flown from Calcutta to Tokyo. 

              Postcard flown Calcutta - Bangkok

               Postcard flown Calcutta - Hong Kong

           Postcard flown Calcutta -Tokyo

     Postcard flown Calcutta - Cairo on return flight.

   Postcard flown Calcutta - Frankfurt on return flight.

1.4.1963. Boeing 720B Dusseldorf-Tokyo
 
I have an official cover flown Dusseldorf-Calcutta on flight LH 646, with special postmark.  The postmark states its Dusseldorf-Tokyo Flight by Boeing 720B. But this flight is not listed in Seiger's catalogue.

I have this cover, but have never come across another one, nor seen one listed for sale.

6th September, 1963.  New Delhi included on the far east route LH 648.  Stages: Dusseldorf-Frankfurt-Rome-Cairo-Kuwait-Karachi-New Delhi-Bangkok-Hong Kong-Tokyo.  Covers were flown from & to all stages.

Official Cover flown Frankfurt - New Delhi

Specially printed cover flown Frankfurt - New Delhi

Cover Flown Dusseldorf - New Delhi

Cover flown Rome to New Delhi

            Lichtenstein acceptance for the first flight via Rome.
 

                                  Cover flown Cairo to New Delhi

Cover Flown Kuwait - New Delhi

Cover flown Karachi - New Delhi

bears a special cachet

Eastward Flight took place on 7th morning.  Hence the covers are postmarked 7th. The flight had left Germany on 6th September and the cachet wrongly gave this date.

Cover flown  New Delhi - Bangkok

 

Official Cover flown  New Delhi - Tokyo. Violet cachet

             Cover flown  New Delhi - Tokyo. Green cachet

 

Cover flown  New Delhi - Tokyo. Black cachet

Official cover flown Tokyo -  New Delhi

Aerogramme flown Tokyo - New Delhi

West bound flight took place on 1st September, 1961.

                            Cover flown Delhi - Karachi.

                      Cover flown Delhi - Kuwait.

              Cover flown Delhi - Cairo.  Signed by all crew members

Covers for Frankfurt were hand stamped with the cachet in 4 colors - violet, black, red & green.
            
        Official cover flown Delhi - Frankfurt.  Violet cachet

               Cover flown Delhi - Frankfurt - black cachet

6th April, 1966.  Delhi included on the Australia Route.  First flight covers only known from New Delhi to Singapore & Sydney and return.  I have not seen any other stages presumably the other stages were not first flights.

Official cover flown New Delhi - Singapore

Official cover flown New Delhi - Sydney

            Cover flown Sydney - New Delhi

 

Official cover flown Singapore - New Delhi