A German weather station that was used during the Second World War has recently been discovered in the most unlikely of places. It has not been located anywhere in Germany, or even in Europe for that matter, but rather in Canada. This discovery is a matter of interest, as it shows the Germans had the ability during the war to infiltrate North American soil. The weather station, known as Kurt, was apparently part of a larger covert mission of which few were aware.
Kurt was transported to Canada by way of a German U-boat. It was located about a fourth of a mile in from the waters of Martin Bay, where it was put together by a German crew. This crew included not only military personnel, but also experts in the field of meteorology. The purpose of the weather station was to help the Nazis gain more precise forecasts. Kurt helped them to tap into forecasts provided by similar constructs made by the Allies, which allowed for a better understanding of climate conditions when forming battle strategies. Although it was not exactly unassuming in terms of appearance, it went undiscovered for the entirety of the war.
This changed in the late 1970s, when Kurt was found by a team of archaeologists. At first, they assumed that the construct belonged to Canada, as Germany was not known to have built any such device on North American soil. The weather station was confirmed to be of German manufacture when an engineer did some research into the U-boat responsible for its transport. This was when they uncovered the complete story behind its construction and the reasoning behind it.
The engineer in question, Franz Selinger, was met at first with incredulity. Given the lack of known German operations on North American soil, Canadian officials had little reason to believe his proffered account. When they were presented evidence regarding the origin of the weather station in the form of a logbook from U-537, they quickly changed their tune. Kurt was soon dismantled and moved to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where it stands to this day, the weather.com reports.
The notion of a German weather station being created in North America begs the question as to what other sorts of operations the Germans could have carried out in the west if they had so chosen. They clearly had the ability to infiltrate Canada without being discovered, so it is almost surprising that the greatest use they would have made of this ability would revolve around a simple weather station. Luckily, they did not opt for any more nefarious uses of their stealth capabilities.