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Conquest of the South Atlantic

On April 11, 1927, ownership of the Compagnie Générale d'Entreprises Aéronautiques passed 93% from Pierre Georges LATECOERE to Marcel BOUILLOUX-LAFONT. It will take  the new name of Compagnie Générale Aéropostale. 

 

In October 1927, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who had been hired in October 1926 at the Latécoère Airlines, was appointed by Didier Daurat (Director of Operations) "head of Aéroplace" at Cap Juby/Tarfaya. He will stay there for 18 months. 

From 1928 an air service, with the transatlantic part by boat from Dakar to Natal, linked France to Brazil, then from 1930 to Argentina and Chile.


This is the era of exploits (Mermoz Guillaumet...) known throughout the world:  


In May 1930, Mermoz successfully crossed the South Atlantic aboard a Laté 28. But it was in 1933 that he made the round trip with René Couzinet's Arc-en-ciel.

 

The boats will be withdrawn from service in 1936.

Great personalities and exploits: Didier Daurat, Operations Director of the Latécoère Lines then of the Aéropostale, Jean Mermoz, Henri Guillaumet, Marcel Reine, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Raymond Vanier, Jean Dabry, Georges Pivot, Léo Gimié, to whom many drivers and mechanics compete.

 

Many risks for the mail to travel to Santiago de Chile. 

From 1923 to 1933, the length of the network of French companies is multiplied by five.


In 1930, Aéropostale had 200 planes and 17 seaplanes, 1500 employees including 51 pilots.


The economic crisis of the 1930s, which did not spare Aeronautics, led in 1933 to the first major restructuring of French air transport.

In 1933, Air Orient, Air Union, the Société Générale de Transport Aérien (SGTA ex Lignes Farman) and the CIDNA (ex Franco-Romanian), created a joint company: the Société Centrale pour l'Exploitation de Lignes Aériennes (SCELA). The new company was renamed Air France in August 1933, after the acquisition of the assets of Aéropostale in compulsory liquidation.

Air France was officially inaugurated at Le Bourget Airport on October 7, 1933. It uses the Air Orient emblem, “the winged Seahorse”. It takes over most of the Aeropostale personnel and will use all the South American infrastructures created by Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont until the war.

 

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Letter dated 30/09/1933 for Brazil.
End of Aéropostale.

Surcharge: 10.50F for a 5g letter instead of 10F (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 8.50F air surcharge for South America)

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Letter dated 9/06/1933 for Brazil.
End of Aéropostale.

Postage: 18.50F for a 10g letter (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 17F air surcharge for South America)

Letter dated 10/01/1937 for Brazil.

Postage: 18.50F for a 10g letter (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 17F air surcharge for South America)

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Letter dated 09/15/1937 for Argentina.

Postage: 22.75F for a 10g letter (1.75F for mail abroad + 21F air surcharge for South America)

Letter dated 04/02/1935 for Brazil.

Postage: 18.50F for a 10g letter (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 17F air surcharge for South America)

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Letter for Brazil.

Postage: 18.50F for a 10g letter (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 17F air surcharge for South America)

Letter dated 27/09/1934 for Argentina.

Postage: 18.50F for a 10g letter (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 17F air surcharge for South America)

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Letter dated 4/07/1934 for Brazil.

Postage: 18.50F for a 10g letter (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 17F air surcharge for South America)

Letter dated 25/08/1934 for Brazil.

Postage: 18.50F for a 10g letter (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 17F air surcharge for South America)

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Letter of 16/06/1933 for Chile.

Postage: 10F for a 5g letter (1.50F for mail abroad + 8.50F air surcharge for South America),

Registered letter of 08/02/1936 for Chile.

Postage: 37.50F for a 20g letter (1.50F for mail abroad + 2F for registered mail + 34F air surcharge for South America)

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Registered letter of 15/05/1933 for Chile.

Postage: 15.40F? (1.50F for mail to foreign countries + 2F for registered mail + 8.50F air surcharge for South America)

Letter of 29/04/1940 for Peru.

Cursive: Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Postage: 38.50F  (2.50F international mail + 36F air surcharge letter of 10g for South America)

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Letter of 04/27/1940 for Argentina. Military censorship (open and closed letter)

Postage: 38.50F (2.50F international mail + 36F air surcharge 10g letter for South America)

Construction site. Check out the additions as they come

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