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As the path of the western hemisphere's weather
is predominantly eastward, accurate European forecasting is primarily
concerned with the formation of patterns out in the Atlantic; thus Germany's
position in central-eastern Europe was not ideal as a base for
weather-reconnaissance aircraft. At the outbreak of war, with no Atlantic
coastline from which to. operate, the most valuable route, avoiding
concentrations of enemy defences, was via the North Sea around the top of
the British Isles. This area around the Orkney and Shetland Isles soon
became well known to the Luftwaffe as their early raids tended to
concentrate there, thus avoiding
attacking mainland Britain
itself. These arduous flights, usually lasting nine hours or more, were
carried out by Wettererkundungs Staffel Ob.d.L. (the long-range weather
reconnaissance unit of the Luftwaffe High Command) which flew missions daily
from its base at Oldenburg, near Bremen, to the Faeroes. Each flight
carried a meteorologist, and readings were taken at regular intervals for
later analysis. The flight plan was to stay as low as possible throughout
their time, under British radar surveillance to avoid detection.
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Upon reaching the turn-around point, a climbing turn would be
executed to take readings of air temperature,
etc, at
heights between sea-level and 7000 metres (22,000 feet). The information was
then transmitted back to base, and the flight-path retraced. When a
proposal for the creation of a Staffel insignia was aired, the design
accepted was that of a silhouette of Fair Isle, with a lighthouse prominent,
one of the principal landfalls of their route, together with a rainbow
arcing above to signify the Staffel's weather reconnaissance role.
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 These operations continued throughout
1940; the fall of France meant that Atlantic coastal bases became
available, but the `Northern Route' continued, and the local population
came to know the aircraft as `The Weather Willie'. Obviously the purpose
of these flights did not escape the attention of the defending forces in
the area and, as the number and range of radar installations increased,
a more concerted effort was made to stop them. In addition, the threat of
attack from the east became more prominent with the occupation of
Norway, and increased enemy air activity by long-range maritime patrol
aircraft, such as the FW 200 Condor, began to pose a problem to Allied
shipping. The primary airfield on Shetland was at Sumburgh, at the far
southern tip of the mainland; as the base grew in importance the runways
were extended, and facilities for aircraft and personnel increased.
However, it was still an inhospitable place to operate from,
particularly as the climate did not lend itself to operational flying
for most of the year; accounts of full 45-gallon oil drums being picked
up by the wind and sent tumbling across the field, and of trolley acc's
smashing into parked aircraft of their own accord, are not to be
queried if you have ever witnessed a full Shetland gale - wind speeds of
130 mph plus are not unheard of.
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 Fair Isle, midway
between Orkneys and Shetlands, was a common landmark and the island was
incorporated by Wetterstaffel 1 on their shield - seen outside their
quarters at Oldenburg (Above).
Right: Fair Isle in reality - a speck in a stormy sea. |
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the winter of 1940, the coldest since 1881, the decision was taken to send a
flight of Hurricanes to the area to
intercept enemy patrols. No. 3 Squadron, then based at Castletown near
Wick, were chosen, sending flights to Sumburgh as well as to Skaebrae in the
Orkneys. In the period from January 2 to March 29, 1941, `A' Flight was
dispatched to Sumburgh, whilst `B' Flight went to Skaebrae, where snow, a rarity amongst the isles in winter. cancelled most operational flying. Upon
arrival, `A' Flight, together with its 60 or so ground staff, tried to
contend as best as possible with the prevailing conditions; luckily, sharing
residency with a Fleet Air Arm detachment ensured
a copious  supply
of rum with which to combat the numbing cold! The isolation of their
locality also gave rise to supply problems; in one case repairs had to be
effected on a Hurricane fuselage with wood from a beach-combed orange box (wood
being scarce on Shetland, due to the lack of trees)! Soon after
arrival, problems were encountered with the Rotol wooden-bladed propellers fitted to
the planes; stones would be drawn up from the pebble-covered runway and
severely splinter them, rendering them unairworthy. Replacement metal props
were soon dispatched to cure this ailment, but unfortunately matching
spinners never arrived, so throughout their stay the Hurricanes were flown
without them.
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 Despite
all of the above, `A' Flight did manage to carry out effective operational
sorties, with their first encounter on January 12 resulting in the
destruction of a Dornier 215. Three days later a Junkers
Ju
88 was found 10 miles north of Fair Isle and attacked;
although without definite results. The sudden appearance of these swift
adversaries, so far from known enemy concentrations, must have come as an unwelcome surprise to the German crews,
with the added hostility of the elements and distance from friendly coasts.
The average: survival time in these waters began to be measured in minutes
rather than hours.
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