Weather Station Kurt
Weather Station Kurt | |
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Wetter-Funkgerät Land-26 | |
Martin Bay, Dominion of Newfoundland | |
Coordinates | 60°05′00″N 64°22′51″W / 60.083389°N 64.380778°W |
Site information | |
Operator | Kriegsmarine |
Controlled by | Germany |
Site history | |
Built | 22 October 1943 |
Built by | Kurt Sommermeyer & Walter Hildebrant |
In use | 1943 | – 1944
Demolished | 1981 |
Battles/wars | Battle of the Atlantic |
Weather Station Kurt (Wetter-Funkgerät Land-26) was an
Background
In the northern hemisphere, weather systems in temperate climates predominantly move from west to east. This gave the Allies an important advantage. The Allied network of weather stations in North America, Greenland, and Iceland allowed the Allies to make more accurate weather forecasts than the Germans.
German meteorologists used weather reports sent by U-boats and weather ships, such as Lauenburg, operating in the North Atlantic. They also had reports from clandestine weather stations in remote parts of the Arctic and readings collected over the Atlantic by specially equipped weather aircraft.[2]
However, the ships and clandestine stations were easily captured by the Allies during the early part of the war. Data from aircraft was incomplete as they were limited in range and susceptible to Allied attack. Regular weather reporting by U-boats put them at risk as it broke
Development and deployment
To gather more weather information, the Germans developed the Wetter-Funkgerät Land (WFL) automatic weather station. It was designed by Dr. Ernst Ploetze and Edwin Stoebe. Twenty-six were manufactured by
On 18 September 1943, U-537, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Peter Schrewe, departed from
On 22 October U-537 arrived at Martin Bay in northern Labrador, at a position 60° 5′ 0.2" N 64° 22′ 50.8" W.[4] This is close to Cape Chidley at the north-eastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula. Schrewe selected a site this far north as he believed this would minimize the risk of the station being discovered by Inuit.[2] Within an hour of dropping anchor, a scouting party had located a suitable site, and soon after Dr. Sommermeyer, his assistant, and ten sailors disembarked to install the station. Armed lookouts were posted on nearby high ground, and other crew members set to repair the submarine's storm damage.[2]
For concealment, the station was camouflaged. Empty American cigarette packets were left around the site to deceive any Allied personnel that chanced upon it. One canister was marked and misspelled "Canadian Meteor Service",
External videos | |
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The Nazi Weather Station in North America from YouTube channel Half as Interesting . |
Rediscovery
The station was forgotten until 1977 when Peter Johnson, a
He contacted Canadian Department of National Defence historian W.A.B. Douglas, who went to the site with a team in 1981 and found the station still there, although the canisters had been opened and components strewn about the site. Weather Station Kurt was removed from its site and is now part of the collection of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.[11]
See also
- North Atlantic weather war
- Schatzgräber (weather station) in the former Soviet Union
References
- ^ Douglas, Alec. "The Nazi weather station in Labrador" (PDF). Canadian Geographic. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7735-0801-9.
- ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "Weather station Kurt erected in Labrador in 1943". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Weather Station Erected in Labrador in 1943". Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
- ^ Alberto Rosselli. "The Special U-Boot Missions In North America, Iceland and Canada 1942–44". German Naval History. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
- ^ "Wetterfunkgerät-Land WFL 26 Station Météo Ottawa :Maquetland.com:: Le monde de la maquette". www.maquetland.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ a b Stubblebine, David (30 June 2019). "Weather Station Kurt, World War II Database". World War II Database.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-537". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ "Nazi Station In Canada". Heritage Daily. 28 November 2013.
- ^ "Lost Nazi Weather Station Kurt". Heritage Daily. 6 June 2014.
- ^ "Automatic Weather Station". www.warmuseum.ca. Canadian War Museum. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
External links
- The Nazi weather station in Labrador
- Canadian War Museum artifact description
- German Description of Weather Station Kurt, including a wartime picture of the deployed station
- English Description of Weather Station Kurt