Date of birth:

July 12th, 1909 (Köln, Germany)

Date of death:

January 17th, 1985

Nationality:

German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Werner Schwerdtfeger became a Professor of Meteorology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, well respected by students and colleagues. The Department Library is named for him.

During the war, he made, in December 1944, the weather forecast of low clouds and fog, lasting for at least three days, during the Ardennes Offensive ("Battle of the Bulge").

Before that, he established the Wetterrerkundungsstaffeln Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons of the Luftwaffe and trained most of their meteorologists. He is regarded as the father of airborne weather reconnaissance, still a major mission of the US Air Force ("Hurricane Hunters, Typhoon Chasers").

00.00.1931: began employment as a meteorologist at Berlin-Tempelhof a/f
00.00.1937: conferred as a Doctor habilitatus at Königsberg
00.00.1938: Reg.rat, entered the Grossraum Wettererkundungsstaffel (of the Luftwaffe),
00.06.1939: unit redesignated as Wekusta Ob.d.L.
11.11.1939-15.08.1943: Reg.Rat, Meteorologe, Beobachter, Leiter for Wekusta 1 Ob.d.L.
19.01.1942: Regierungsrat, awarded the Ehrenpokal
27.05.1942: Reg.Rat, awarded DKiG, 1./ Wekusta Ob.d.L.
01.07.1942: RDA as Oberregierungsrat, Beamter des Reichswetterdienst as of 01.10.1943
15.08.1943: Oberregierungsrat, transferred to ZWG
00.05.1945: POW
00.08.1945: released, rejoined the Wetterdienst
00.00.1948/ moved to Argentina
Co-author of: Wetterflieger in der Arktis 1940-44 (Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1982). ISBN 3-87943-854-4.

Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!

• - PATZWALL, K. & SCHERZER, V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001.
  - Richard Savage