|
Re: Luftwaffe Meteorological Organisation
As a former arctic weather observer (back in the 1970s!) I might be able to answer some of your questions. In my day, surface obs were referred to sometimes as “aviation weather” because the weather service was created primarily to support aviation operations, which is why they are located mainly at airfields. There are surface observers ( a guy standing on the ground reading thermometers and describing clouds) and the aerological observers ( using weather balloons and radiosonds to profile the winds temperatures and moisture of the atmosphere). I can’t imagine these being organizationally separated.
I expect that “Fuhrungswetterdienst” you refer to is actually the “Flugwetterdienst” (the aviation weather service). I expect that the flugwetter dienst refers to weather observation from aircraft.
I can strongly recommend the book:
Kington, John A., Franz Selinger Wekusta – Luftwaffe Meteorological ReconnaissanceUnits & Operations 1938 -1945 (Ottringham: Flight Recorder Publications Ltd..,2006). ISBN 0 9545605 8 2.
Unfortunately, it seems ambiguous about organization, but it is the best thing I have seen on this subject.
Specialized, but intriguing is:
Schwerdtfeger, Werner; Franz Selinger Wetterflieger in der Arktis 1940-1944 (Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1982). ISBN 3-87943-854-4.
Dealing with German civilian weather flying is:
Vocke, Dr. Ernst. die Wetterflieger – Von Temp zu Temp Die Geschichte des Wetterfluges (Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel Verlag, 2002). ISBN 3-925480-61-7.
As for who was in charge of the weather flyers in the Luftwaffe, I don’t know, but a quick search of Larry deZeng’s officer compilation yields:
Dr. Rudolf Benkendorff.
01.04.33 Leiter Abt. Flugwetterdienst des Reichsamtes für Flugsicherung bzw. für Wetterdienst.
25.06.43 appt provisional Chef des Wetterdienste/OKL.
Chef Stab Wetterdienst
Dr. Richard Habermehl
16.05.33 appt Referent für Wetterdienst und Flugsicherung in RLM.
01.02.39 appt Abt.Chef Reichsamt für Wetterdienst.
26.08.39 concurrently appt temporary deputy Chef des Wetterdientes im Ob.d.L.
Hans Siburg
29.09.39 appt Inspekteur für Flugnavigation, Blindflug und Wetterdienst (L.In.12)/Gen.St.d.Lw.
Willibald Spang
19.10.39 appt Chef des Reicheswetterdienst.
That’s about all I can say about this without spending a ton of time on it.
Good Luck!
DGS with LdZ
|