The Secret Nazi German Weather Station In Canada, Discovered 38 Years After It Was Built (Photos)

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The Second World War proved to be not only a war fought for resources, territory and domination, but also an information war. All sides of the conflict conducted intelligence and counter-intelligence operations, but the Allies and the Germans had something more basic and absolutely necessary on their mind in the early stages of the war.

The weather forecast above the cold waters of the Atlantic was at that time crucial, for it determined the conditions of any naval operation. Meteorological data was important as it affected military planning and the routing of ships and convoys.

In some circumstances, visibility was necessary (photographic reconnaissance and bombing raids) and in others concealment (keeping ship movements secret or suppressing enemy air activity).

The Allies had an upper hand in the so-called North Atlantic weather war, for in temperate climates (like the area around the Arctic and the north of Atlantic Ocean) the weather systems moved from west to east.

The Allied network of weather stations in North America, Greenland and Iceland established during the early years of the war enabled them to provide their ships with far superior weather forecast than the Germans. Like in any information war, the point was that you gather information and deny your opponent from getting them.

German Weather Station Kurt set up on the Hutton Peninsula, Labrador, Newfoundland (now Canada) on 22 Oct 1943 – ww2db / Bundesarchiv

Since the Germans were behind the Allies in the race for meteorological data, they used specially modified airplanes, ships and U-Boats to carry out the retrieval of weather information. However, these missions proved to be quite dangerous.

The Allies would easily destroy or capture a lonely weather ship, or a surfaced submarine. The planes weren’t of much use either. They needed a way to collect the same amount of data as the Allies, but to do that they needed stations located on the North American continent.

Type IXC/40 submarine U-537 at anchor in Martin Bay, Labrador, Newfoundland (now Canada) on 22 Oct 1943. Crewmen can be seen on deck offloading components of Weather Station Kurt into rubber rafts. ww2db / Bundesarchiv

Scientists at the Siemens Company developed an automatic weather station that was capable of sending data every three hours via radio waves on 3940 kHz. It was called Wetter-Funkgerät Land (WFL). Twenty-six were manufactured. Fourteen of them were placed in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, including the Allied-occupied Greenland. Five were placed around the Barents sea.

Two were intended for North America. The WFL used an array of specialized measure instruments. It was equipped with two masts carrying the anemometer which registered the winds speed and wind wane for direction. The WFL had a telemetry device installed so it could register data automatically and send it via a transmitter. It was powered by nickel-cadmium batteries which were rechargeable and it was capable of working for up to six months.

Type IXC/40 submarine U-537 at anchor in Martin Bay, Labrador, Newfoundland (now Canada) on 22 Oct 1943. The photo is taken from the site of Weather Station Kurt on the Hutton Peninsula.

Two U-Boats were designated for installing the automatic weather station onto North American soil. The U-537 was the first one and the only one to successfully deploy the WFL, codenamed Kurt. The second submarine, U-86 was sunk in 1944, near the Norwegian coast by an RAF bomber.

The U-537 commanded by Captain Peter Schrewe in 18th of September, 1943. On board were two meteorologists – Dr. Kurt Sommermeyer and his assistant, Walter Hildebrant. The voyage itself proved to a risky one, not due to the Allies patrolling the coast, but due to the weather.

The submarine was caught up in a storm, during which it bumped into an iceberg. The damage was significant – the U-Boat lost its Anti-aircraft gun and the iceberg caused leakage in the hull. The submarine was helpless against an enemy air raid and was unable to dive to avoid detection.

Source WarHistoryOnline.com