Description
Rare 1956 Suez campaign affected & interrupted mail - Germany: 27-28 Oct 1956 postmarked registered surface mail cover sent from BREMERHAVEN Germany to CAIRO Egypt, franked 90 pfennig & tied by multiple strikes of the illustrated Bremerhaven Stamp Day postmark.
The ongoing transmission of the cover was delayed in transit by the Sinai military campaign as evidenced by the late dated backstamped CAIRO transit-arrival & delivery dates of 26 Nov (1 month transit); the violet 'retta' rhomboid dumb mark tied on the back is likely an Egyptian ship postal mark suggesting that this cover was among mail transferred to an Egyptian vessel for ongoing transport to Egypt - a rare postal marking as a transit mark, as 'rettas' are usually used by ships to obliterate uncancelled franking on mail; the pencil manuscript next to it is the number "94 / 477" which may be related to the transfer of mail to the Egyptian ship. Tied on the front by black oval Egyptian censor handstamp "Egyptian Postal Censorship | Miim Miim [M M]" (Kibble type-4).
Exceedingly rare postal history from the Sinai Campaign (29 Oct - 7 Nov 1956) as Daryl Kibble records only one piece of mail (also German addressed to Egypt) with an actual postal suspension no-service marking (applied by the German post office itself); otherwise no other mail is known with indications of it being affected by the Sinai campaign - here not suspended mail but heavily delayed with rare ship routing. Slit open at top.
