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Subject: Dead Media Working Note 10.2

Dead medium: Nazi U-boat automated weather forecasting espionage network

From: boneill_AT_voyager.net (Bradley O'Neill)

Sources: comp.arch, comp.misc, _U-Boats Against Canada_, German Submarines in Canadian Waters, by Michael L. Hadley; McGill-Queen's University Press, Kingston and Montreal, 1985.

Automated Nazi weather station in Canada

posted by: dmanzer_AT_wimsey.com (Canadian War Library)
Newsgroups: comp.arch

"The following [previously posted in comp.misc] is condensed from *U-Boats Against Canada*, German Submarines in Canadian Waters, by Michael L. Hadley; McGill-Queen's University Press, Kingston and Montreal, 1985."

"Weather reporting formed a vital part of German military operations. Given that weather systems generally move from west to east across the Atlantic, it was imperative that U-boats at sea enhance the reporting net of surface ships and shore stations by radioing data to BdU as frequently as possible. [BdU - Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote (Commander U-boats); Admiral Karl Doenitz]

"Some missions consisted almost entirely of weather- station patrols, either at the beginning or at the end of tactical missions. In support of these wide-ranging and highly mobile patrols, Germany built 21 land-based automatic weather stations that would provide specific data at predetermined transmission times. Fourteen of these unmanned stations were established in Arctic or subarctic regions (Spitzbergen, Bear Island, Franz-Joseph- Land and Greenland); 5 were located around the Barents Sea above Norway, and 2 were destined for North America. Only the first of those bound for North America, and planned for delivery by U-537 in the summer of 1943, was ever in operation. The 2nd mission failed when U-867 was sunk NNW of Bergen on 19 Sep/44.

""BdU charged U-537, on its maiden operation voyage in the summer of 1943, with the installation of automatic station WFL-26 [Wetterfunkgeraet-Land] on northern Labrador. Code-named station "Kurt", it consisted of a set of meteorological instruments, a 150W short-wave transmitter and antenna mast, and an array of nickel- cadmium and dry-cell batteries.

"The station was packaged in ten cylinders approximately 1 x 1.5 m diameter, each weighing approximately 220 pounds. The cylinder with the instrument unit contained a 10-m-tall antenna mast with anemometer and wind vane. In order to avoid suspicion if discovered, the Germans had marked the cylinders with the rubric "Canadian Weather Service". As it happened, the fact that no such organization existed by that name did not compromise the plan, for WFL-26 was not discovered and identified as German until July, 1981.

"Once installed as designed, the station would broadcast a coded weathergram at three-hour intervals. To accomplish this, a sophisticated contact drum or Graw's diaphragm (named after a certain Dr. Graw, then of Berlin) would transcribe the observed values for temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and wind direction into Morse symbols. These were then keyed on 3940 kHz to receiving stations in northern Europe. Transmission time for the whole weathergram, including one minute for warming up, did not exceed 120 seconds.

"The choice of site for WFL-26 seems to have been left largely to [Kapitan] Schrewe's discretion in consultation with the technical advisers. In order to avoid all possible contact with people ashore, especially with 'Eskimoes trekking south at this time of year,' Schrewe wanted to set up the station as far north in Labrador as possible. At 18:45 on 22 October, 1943, he anchored in Martin Bay, some 300 m from shore in position 60 degrees 4.5 minutes N by 64 degrees 23.6 minutes W.

"Within an hour, a reconnoitering party set ashore by inflatable craft to locate a transmitter site. They would leave empty American cigarette packages and match folders on the site in order to decoy any subsequent Allied intruders... By 18:00 on 23 October, less than 24 hours after having anchored, the work was done. The first transmission of WFL-26 occurred 3 minutes late, but was otherwise technically perfect.

"Throughout his Canadian patrol, Schrewe continued to monitor WFL-26 and on a number of occasions reported intense jamming by a station that turned out to be German. For reasons we can only surmise, Canadian stations heard nothing from "Kurt" in Labrador."

References:

KTB [Kriegstagebuch ("War Diary")]/ U-537.

Douglas, Alec [W.A.B.] "The Nazi Weather Station in Labrador," *Canadian Geographic* 101, no.6 (December 1981/January 1982): 42-7

Douglas, W.A.B., and Selinger, Franz. "Oktober 1943-Juli 1981: Eine Marine-Wetterstation auf Labrador." *Marine- Rundschau*, Nr.5 (Mai 1982): 256-62

Note: Franz Selinger was the first to trace the location of WFL-26, and ultimately joined Douglas to lead an expedition to the site with the Canadian Coast Guard.

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