LATI Mail to the United States
This web page, published by the Military Postal History Society, contains images of the single frame LATI Mail to the United States This exhibit was created by, and is the property of Dann Mayo, and is being supplied as a courtesy to the Military Postal History Society.
Introduction
In September 1939 Germans lost their airmail service to South America by Deutsche Lufthansa, leaving the Pan American Airways route out of Portugal via the US as their only viable alternative. On January 18, 1940 mail from PanAm planes began to be examined by British censors in Bermuda, leading German radio on January 27 to declare that this “home of pirates, buccaneers and thieves now lives up to its vile reputation by pirating mail.” Fascist Italy’s Linee Aeree Transcontinentali Italiane (LATI), in development since 1938, began commercial operations on December 21, 1939. While its service was slower and its rates higher than PanAm’s, it promised a chance to avoid British censorship.
To view the text within these images, see: web page containing the text content of the exhibit frame.
Updated 11/15/2024
Table of Contents
Introduction -- Italy, Rates -- Slovak State, Rates -- Germany, Early Mail -- Germany, Later Mail at Standard Rates -- Germany, Later Mail Rate Confusion -- Germany, a cautionary note about 240 rpf -- Germany, Diversion to Trinidad -- Germany, Diversion to Jamaica -- Germany, Routing Instructions -- Germany, Receiving Markings -- Early German Censorship -- Later German Censorship -- Germany, Problem Cover
