Nederland - Graf Zeppelin Polarfahrt - 1931

Card of the 1931 North Pole flight with the airship Graf Zeppelin LZ127. Dutch stamps.

Signatures of Umberto Nobile as well the German captains Albert Sammt and Hans von Schiller.

The director of Zeppelin GmbH, Hugo Eckener, wanted to demonstrate the capabilities of his airship under extreme conditions. He set out to conduct a scientific expedition to the North Pole with the LZ127. The goal was to map the polar region, make meteorological observations, and study the Earth's magnetic field. German, Russian, American, and Swedish scientists and journalists were invited on board.

The polar expedition was largely financed with the revenue from stamp collectors. The airship left Friedrichshafen on July 24, 1931, and went via Berlin, Leningrad to Franz Josef Land. In the afternoon of July 27, they landed on the water to exchange mail with the Soviet icebreaker Malyguin. Nobile was present in the rowboat of the Malyguin when they met with the Graf Zeppelin near Hooker Island in the late afternoon. Approximately 50,000 pieces of mail were exchanged.

Umberto Nobile was an Italian airship designer and explorer. On May 12, 1926, he, along with Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth, became the first to fly over the North Pole. Two years later, Nobile attempted the mission again but crashed with the N2 Italia on May 25, 1928. Nearly half of the crew was killed, and the survivors had to wait six weeks on the ice before they were rescued. The rescue operation cost Roald Amundsen his life.

Nobile fell out of favor with Mussolini's Italian government and fled to the Soviet Union, where he helped establish the Russian airship program. Albert Sammt was first officer on board during the Hindenburg disaster. He was seriously injured but survived.

More info on the expedition https://www.airships.net/lz127-graf-zeppelin/polar-flight/

Zeppelin catalog Sieger 119.

Unique document with beautiful, clear signatures.