Posted : June 17, 1940 at Bahrain

Route : Bahrain to Bangkok via BOAC Horseshoe route Flight NE1; Bangkok to Hong Kong via BOAC Feeder service Flight BH248; FAM 14 China Clipper from Hong Kong to San Francisco; US domestic airlines to Oregon.

Notes : On June 10, 1940 Italy entered WW2, and airmail routes across the Mediterranean were closed. This included the Imperial Airways route which connected Britain to the the Middle East, Africa, Southern Asia, and Australia. A new route was developed, which went by ship from England to South Africa, and then by air from Durban up the east coast of Africa to Cairo, then eastward through Iraq, India, and Singapore, then southward to Sydney, Australia. Because the air portion was shaped somewhat like a Horseshoe, it was dubbed the Horseshoe Route. The 1st flight of the North and East leg of the BOAC Horseshoe Route left Durban on June 19. It arrived in Bahrain on June 24 and continued on to Bangkok, arriving there on June 26. This cover was carried on the Bahrain to Bangkok portion of the 1st flight, where it was offloaded and carried on the Bangkok to Hong Kong route to connect with Pan Am's Pacific Clipper service at Hong Kong. This cover is backstamped Hong Kong June 27, verifying that it was on the Bangkok to Hong Kong flight on that date, and confirming that it was also carried on the First Flight of the BOAC Horseshoe route.

Rate : 2 Rupees 11 Annas 6 pies (43 1/2 annas) = 3 1/2 annas base rate + 40 annas air surcharge for transpacific service.

Posted : Dec 9, 1940 at Bahrain

Probable Route : Bahrain to Rangoon via BOAC Horseshoe route; CNAC to Hong Kong; FAM 14 China Clipper from Hong Kong to San Francisco; then to Palo Alto by US domestic airlines. Backstamped Hong Kong, Honolulu, San Francisco, and Palo Alto.

Notes : Although this cover is endorsed "Via BOAC to Sydney Thence Pan American Airways to San Francisco" it did not go this route. The Hong Kong transit, and the Jan 2 Honolulu transit, verifies the route as FAM 14 from Hong Kong, not FAM 19 from Sydney. In addition, in October of 1940, the BOAC Bangkok to Hong Kong connecting route, which flew over French Indo China air space, was suspended, due to pressure from the Japanese on the French government. A new route was needed to connect Hong Kong to the BOAC Horseshoe route. In late October of 1940, the Hong Kong Post Office petitioned to use the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) route to connect the BOAC Horseshoe route to Hong Kong and the Pacific Clipper Service. The new CNAC connecting route flew from Rangoon, Burma to Chungking, China and then on to Hong Kong and back the same route. This cover was flown on that route, censored in Hong Kong, and carried on the FAM 14 Northern Route by the China Clipper to San Francisco. Scarce Registered cover from Bahrain.

Rate : 2 Rupees 14 1/2 Annas (46 1/2 annas) = 3 1/2 annas base rate + 3 annas registration fee + 40 annas air surcharge.

Posted : June 29, 1941

Probable Route : BOAC to Sydney, Australia; TEAL to Auckland, New Zealand; Pan American Airways FAM 19 Southern route to San Francisco; then to Palo Alto by USA domestic airlines.

Notes : The basic route is handstamped on the front of the cover - Via BOAC to Auckland / Pan American Airways To San Francisco. On May 23, 1941, a new airmail rate of 44 annas was announced, for 1/2 ounce letters to the USA.

Rate : 2 Rupees 15 Annas 6 Pies (47 1/2 annas) = 3 1/2 annas base rate + 44 annas air surcharge.