Indian Airmails

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  • Pre-1953 Airlines
    • Indian State Air Services >
      • 1929 Karachi - Delhi via Hyderabad & Jodhpur
    • Delhi Flying Club >
      • 1931 Emergency Flight by Delhi Flying Club
      • 1932 Karachi - Delhi
    • Indian Trans-Continental Airways >
      • 1933 Karachi - Calcutta >
        • 1933 Eastwards: Karachi - Calcutta
        • 1933 Westwards: Calcutta to Karachi
      • 1933 Calcutta - Rangoon via Akyab >
        • 1933 Eastwards: Calcutta - Rangoon via Akyab
        • 1933 Westwards: Rangoon - Calcutta via Akyab
      • 1933 Karachi - Singapore Extension
      • 1936 Rangoon - Hong Kong
    • Indian National Airways >
      • 1933 Calcutta - Dacca
      • 1933 Rangoon - Calcutta
      • 1934 Karachi - Lahore
      • 1939 Karachi - Delhi
      • 1947 Calcutta - Rangoon
    • Madras Air Taxi Service
    • Experimental & Survey Flights. >
      • 1931 England - Australia Flight >
        • 1st Experimental Flight
        • 2nd Experimental Flight
      • 1938 Flying Boat Coogee
  • Tata Airlines
    • 1932 - Karachi - Madras >
      • Official Southbound
      • Official Northbound
      • Other Southbound
      • Other Northbound
      • Other Material
    • 1933 - Karachi - Madras via Poona
    • 1935 Karachi - Madras via Hyderabad >
      • 1935 - Karachi - Madras via Hyderabad
      • 1935 Bombay-Hyderabad Errors on Stamp
    • 1935 - Bombay - Calcutta demonstration flight
    • 1935 - Bombay - Travancore via Goa & Cannanore
    • 1936 - Madras to Colombo via Trichinopoly
    • 1937 - First Flight to Bhuj
    • 1937 - Delhi - Bombay via Gwalior, Bhopal & Indore
    • 1938 - Karachi - Madras extension to Colombo via Trichnopoly
    • 1938 - Trichinopoly - Trivandrum extension
    • 1938 - Mansoon halt at Poona
    • 1946 - Bombay - Calcutta via Nagpur
  • Air-India
    • 1948 Air-India International Bombay - London Flight >
      • Postage Stamps - Constant Errors
      • The Postage Stamp
      • First Day Covers
      • DG's Circular & Postal Notices
      • Official Covers
      • Air-India Covers
      • Special Flight Cachet
      • Postage Rates gallery
      • Local Cancellations
      • Private Covers Gallery
      • Interesting Places of Origin & Destinations >
        • Interesting Destinations
        • Interesting Places of Origin
        • Interesting Places of Origin & Destinations
      • More interesting covers
      • Return Flight covers
      • Other Philatelic Curiosities
      • Award winning exhibit
    • 1948 - 1953 Early Route Expansion
    • 1954 - 1959 Early Route Expansion
    • 1960 - 1965 Air-India Boeing 707 Era.
    • 1966 - 1970 Air-India Boeing 707 Era.
    • 1971 - 1975 Boeing 747 & Other Aircraft Era
    • 1976 Onward Boeing 747 & Other Aircraft Era
    • Crash Mail Covers
    • Postal Meter panels
  • Indian Airlines
    • 1960 - 1964
    • 1965 - 1969
    • 1970 - 1974
    • 1975 - 1979
    • 1980 - Onward
    • Meter Panel & Stationery
  • Others
    • Zeppelin & Catapult >
      • LZ-10 Schwaben
      • LZ-13 Hansa
      • LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin
      • LZ-129 Hindenberg
      • LZ-130 Graf Zeppelin II
      • Catapult Mail
      • Ephemera
    • Rocket Mail >
      • Indian Rocket Mail
      • Sikkim Rocket Mail
    • Pigeon Mail
    • Balloon Mail
    • Airship R 101
    • Indian Air Force
  • Resources
  • Useful Links
  • Contact
36-90
1936 Madras to Colombo via Trichinopoly
Indo-Ceylon Special Christmas Flight

Whilst air mail services had been established for most of the major cities of India, Ceylon had remained largely ignored. However, the groundwork for regular flights was laid in 1931.  On 7 May 1931, Nevill Vintcent, Deputy Director of Civil Aviation in India, flew a De Havilland DH80A Puss Moth G-AAXJ (the first aeroplane to have been seen in Ceylon) from Colombo to Bombay carrying a special airmail edition of the Times of Ceylon.  On 2 April 1932, Vintcent made a survey flight from Bombay to Colombo via Madras to provide data for Tata’s proposed regular service to Ceylon.
Following an agreement between the postal authorities of India and Ceylon, Tata Sons Ltd were given permission to fly Christmas mails from Madras to Colombo via Trichinopoly in December 1936. There were two flights, the first leaving Madras on 23 December with Indian mails only, returning on 24 December. The second flight, intended for British mails, completed the return journey on 24 December. However, the Imperial Airways flight (IE.506) from London was delayed with the result that only about 31 lbs of mail (about 3,000 letters) were carried.  
The flights were made by Mr Homi Bharucha in a Miles M4A Merlin VT-AHC.  Covers are known signed by him.
Regular airmail service to Ceylon was not inaugurated until 28 February 1938, with the introduction of the Empire Air Mail Scheme

                                                                                                                                                 Reference  - Jeffrey Brown Indian Airmails

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S 1-1, Madras - Trichinopoly
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S 1-2, Madras - Colombo
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36-91: Extension to Ceylon of Karachi-Madras service, blue/black TATA imprint etiquette airmail cover franked 1 anna, canc special 'India-Ceylon / December 1936' used as canceller, signed by pilot B.K.N. Rao. Scare signature.

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36-91: Cover mailed in Saharanpur on 15 December 1936, and flown on the Madras - Colombo special flight on 23 December 1936.

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36-91: The only known French acceptance for carriage to Ceylon on the special Christmas flight, Bombay to Colombo, with a machine roller inward cancellation at Colombo dated 24/12, via Paris Avion 15/12, pale grey airmail etiquette cover, franked 6F50 postmarked red Paris 14.XII.36 machine cancellation, violet circular 'Special Flight Xmas' cachet, TATA.

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S 2-2, Trichinopoly - Colombo
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Tata Sons Ltd., special Christmas flight to Colombo
Cover flown from Trichinopoly to Colombo
 
ISC 36-90: Souvenir cover of Tata airlines cancelled with the large boxed cancellation FIRST SPECIAL AIRMAIL / INDIA – CEYLON / DECEMBER, 1936 and violet round cachet INDO-CEYLON AIRMAIL / SPECIAL / FLIGHT / X’MAS / 1936. Also on the front is a cds TRICHINOPOLY / 23 DEC 36 / 11.15 A.M. and on the reverse is the machine roller cancellation with a boxed CHRISTMAS MAILS / PLEASE POST EARLY and outside the box is COLOMBO / 6.- PM / 23 DEC 36. The cover also has an oval TATA SONS LTD. BOMBAY / AVIATION / DEPT. handstamp and is signed by H. D. Engineer.
 
Addressed to “Tata Sons Ltd., Aviation Dept., Care Aero Club of Ceylon, Colombo.”

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N 1-1, Colombo - Trichinopoly
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N 1-2, Colombo - Madras
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36-90: Registered cover flown from Colombo to Madras.
The round souvenir cachet in violet, Indo-Ceylon Air Mail, Special Flight X'Mas 1936 in violet.

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(Image Courtesy: Mike Robinson)


N 2-2, Trichinopoly - Madras
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Tata Airlines Limited
Indo-Ceylon Special Christmas Return Flight
Trichinopoly to Madras stage, 24th December 1936

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Tata Sons Ltd., special Christmas flight to Colombo
Cover flown from Trichinopoly to Madras
 
ISC 36-90: Souvenir cover of Tata airlines cancelled with the large boxed cancellation FIRST SPECIAL AIRMAIL / INDIA – CEYLON / DECEMBER, 1936 and a cds TRICHINOPOLY / 24 DEC 36 / 10.30 A.M. and on the reverse is the MADRAS G.P.O. DELIVERY / 24 DEC / 1936 / 16 - HRS. The cover also has an oval TATA SONS LTD. BOMBAY / AVIATION / DEPT. handstamp and is signed by H. D. Engineer.
 
Addressed to “Tata Sons Ltd., Aviation Dept., Care Madras Flying Club Ltd., Madras.”
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