Unknown label on letter from Cuba to Switzerland 1942

[GassmannP]

Hello

the following letter from Cuba to Switzerland 15.3.1942 has two labels. The one on the right I identified as Bermuda CL 21 – PC 90 with Code I.C. [Flynn CL7a]. But where does the left one come from?

Front:


Back:


Best regards
Peter

[LuzA]

Hello

the following letter from Cuba to Switzerland 15.3.1942 has two labels. The one on the right I identified as Bermuda CL 21 – PC 90 with Code I.C. [Flynn CL7a]. But where does the left one come from?

[...]

Best regards
Peter

Good evening,

The label EXAMINED BY / 4140 is the L1.4.4 from El Paso, USA.

It seems your letter, sent from Cuba to Switzerland, was sent to USA before it arrived in Bermuda islands.

Without any other datestamps is not easy to establish the route/timetable.

Bibliography
BRODERICK and MAYO (1980:68-69). Civil Censorship in the United Sates During World War II [...]

[GassmannP]

many thanks! Peter

[LuzA]

Good evening,

Let's try to see how this letter was sent to Switzerland in March 1942.

Cuba to... to El Paso by...? (censorship label)
El Paso to... by...?

USA to Bermuda island by...? (censorship label)

Bermuda to Lisbon by PanAm (1)

Lisbon to Switzerland (Via Stuttgart) by Deutsche Lufthansa (2)

Notes
(1) - Any of the common books about the FAM 18 service/contract - Flynn (2006); Proud (2008); etc.
(2) - According to Guia Oficial dos C.T.T. Março, 1942 (it is the Portuguese Oficial Postal Guide, March, 1942)

[LuzA]

Good morning,

Regarding the route of this cover... does anyone know any study with airline timetables from Cuba (also Caribbean, Mexico...) to USA in 1939-->1945 years? (PANAM, C.N.C.A, CMA, KLM...)

There's the Boyle Jr. Airmail Operations During World War II with maps, routes, etc, however, it does not contain timetables.

[GassmannP]

thanks! don't know about postal routes during the war, but seems to be strange to transport a cover from Cuba to El Paso if it should go into the other direction?

best regards, Peter

[LuzA]

GOOD EVENING,

thanks! don't know about postal routes during the war, but seems to be strange to transport a cover from Cuba to El Paso if it should go into the other direction?

best regards, Peter

Dear GassmannP,

Not exactly into the "other direction" because in case we have a look at the route 4 of the FAM18 contract (1942) for example, we can also see the following "directions/connections" of the flights:

Route 4 - ... Port of Spain (18-19/3/1942) --> Bermuda --> New York (19/3/1942) // New York (20/3/1942) --> Bermuda --> Horta/Azores --> ...
Etc.

[dannmayo]

Hi,

I am afraid there has been a lot of discussion arising from an editorial error that I made 40 years ago when assembling Broderick & Mayo.

Buried on page 66, note d, is the statement that the numbers for the various US censor tapes are NOT broken down by station. Consult the number lists at the front of the catalog. Many, many people have missed that note and read across from one set of numbers to the stations list in the next column, to get the wrong result.

So, if you check the number lists at the front of the catalog (that wolud be the blue pages if you own an original copy), you will find that 4140 is part of the block assigned to Miami, not El Paso, which makes perfect sense for the routing of a cover from Cuba to Switzerland.

Dann Mayo

[GassmannP]

thanks Dann! I was not sure how to interpret the table, so this means the columns "Stations" and "PTS." go together on page 66 (scarcity indication), but the column "Numbers" is not linked to the column "Stations", right?
best, Peter

[dannmayo]

Hi,

Yes. You read across from Stations to Pts, but you do not read across from Stations to Numbers. To identify the Station from the number on the censor tape/label, you must refer to the number assignments/observed allocations on pages 31-33.

Dann