The cold and treacherous North Atlantic Ocean is the scene of one of the most effective and humanitarian projects ever to be created by a group of nations.
No—it is not the Atlantic Pact. It is the valuable network of North Atlantic Ocean Weather Stations.
It is not generally realized that twelve ships, representing eight nations and acting as floating weather observation stations, are pinpointed over the 3,000 miles of rough water between North America and Europe. Day in and day out, in the world’s most unpredictable weather, these ships cruise within five miles of the center of a ten-mile square, keeping a sensitive watch on the weather and ocean-crossing aircraft.
The idea of North Atlantic weather stations is not new. It was developed and put into practice on a meager scale before the war, and became a necessary meteorological operation during the war. In London, in September 1946, member nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization signed the agreement that was to make the ocean weather stations a reality.
Before World War II, surface weather reports were made by trans-Atlantic shipping. However, these reports were none too good because of their irregularity, thus losing much of their effectiveness in preparing proper weather reports for the Atlantic Ocean.
When commercial airlines began to fly regular trips across the Atlantic in 1936, the quest for accurate weather information became more important than ever. Surface weather reports from shipping were available, but of little importance since trans- Atlantic planes usually fly at altitudes of 5,000 to 20,000 feet, and not just above the sea.
The French airline, “Air France Trans-atlantique,” was the first company to make use of a weather observation ship, lent to it by the French meteorological office. Other nations made plans to take the same course, but no actual steps were taken.
When the war broke out Atlantic weather reports were still being made by trans-Atlantic shipping. However, when the Nazi submarine menace began, ships became unwilling to disclose their positions, and another procedure became necessary. It was doubly necessary because, at the time no weather reports were being received, there was an increase in trans-oceanic flying with much-needed American military planes being ferried across to Great Britain.
Therefore, in January 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, by Executive Order, ordered U. S. Coast Guard cutters performing neutrality patrol off the Grand Banks to assume station as ocean weather stations. Two such stations were established in early 1940, between Bermuda and the Azores; the Coast Guard providing the ships and communications facilities, and the U. S. Weather Bureau providing the meteorologists and meteorological equipment.
These two stations were continued until early in 1943, when two additional stations were established in the Davis and Denmark Straits off Greenland as an aid to the Army planes flying over the Northern Route (from Newfoundland, Labrador, and Iceland to Great Britain).
In 1944, the total number of stations was increased to eight, because .of the pressing demands for meteorological data to facilitate expanding air operations, both over the Atlantic Ocean and Europe. The Weather Bureau observers aboard these vessels were made Chief Aerographcr’s Mates in the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve as it was inadvisable for them to continue aboard combat vessels as civilians while this country was at war. In March, 1944, operational control of the entire Atlantic weather patrol was turned over to the U. S. Navy because of military considerations.
A variety of ships were used during the war for weather observation ships. These included cutters, frigates, corvettes, yachts, trawlers, landing craft, and even Great Lakes freighters. Although these ships were virtually sitting ducks for Nazi submarines, only three ships were sunk—two British ships and an American cutter.
After V-E Day, the biggest movement of aircraft in history began as personnel and planes were redeployed across the North and South Atlantic en route to the Pacific theater of war. To assist in this operation the number of weather stations was increased to a total of 20 in the North and South Atlantic. Of these 13 were operated by the United States and seven by the British.
Early in 1946, as demobilization of the armed forces approached completion and the military needs for ocean weather stations lessened considerably, the number of stations was reduced to four. However, despite the lessened military needs, the overall need remained unchanged because commercial air operations increased tremendously and, in fact, continued to expand.
Weather reports came in from merchant ships, but it was found that, without reliable upper air reports, the forecasts had little value to trans-Atlantic passenger planes. The commercial airlines flying the North Atlantic found it necessary to carry larger fuel reserves, and thereby carry fewer paying passengers.
The first steps to establish the ocean weather stations on a permanent peacetime basis were taken at the North Atlantic Route Conference of the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization in Dublin, Ireland, in March, 1946. This conference recommended that a minimum of 13 stations be permanently established in the North Atlantic. This became a reality when participating nations approved the recommendations the following September.
The original ICAO agreement called for the establishment of the network by July 1, 1947. However, this schedule was never met because of a variety of difficulties. European nations, with reconstruction problems, ran into many technical troubles because they had never had previous experiences with weather ship operations. The U. S. Coast Guard, which operates the American weather ships, didn’t have any technical troubles. Instead it had financial troubles due to Congressional refusal to appropriate enough money to operate the American stations. At the present there are 12 stations in operation; the ' United States operating six stations alone and one jointly with Canada.
The 1946 ICAO agreement on the North Atlantic Ocean weather stations is due to expire on June 30, 1950, but continued operation was assured on May 11, 1949, when participating nations extended the present agreement for another three years.
The new agreement will make the number of weather stations in the North Atlantic 10 instead of the previously scheduled 13. The stations will be located as follows:
Station |
Location |
Governments responsible |
Number of vessels to be operated |
A |
62°00 N 33°00 W |
Netherlands United States |
1 2 |
B |
56°30 N 51°00 W |
Canada United States |
1 2 |
C |
52°45 N 35°30 W |
United States |
3 |
D |
44°00 N 41°00 W |
United States |
2 ½ |
E |
35°00 N 48°00 W |
United States |
2 ½ |
H |
36°00 N 70°00 W |
United States |
2 |
I |
59°00 N 19°00 W |
Great Britain |
2 |
J |
52°30 N 20°00 W |
Great Britain |
2 |
K |
45°00 N 16°00 W |
France |
2 |
M |
66°00 N 02°00 E |
Norway |
2 |
The annual operating cost of this revised network is estimated at approximately $17,000,000. The average patrol consists of 2l days on station with an additional 10.-14 days consumed in sailing to and from station.
Meteorological observations taken by the Coast Guard cutters are transmitted to the Coast Guard Radio Station, Washington (NMH), from whence they are forwarded to the U. S. Weather Bureau. Here the reports are incorporated into the international teletype reporting networks, and are passed on to airports for the use of forecasters in drawing up their weather maps. The U. S. Air Force, Army, and Navy are also recipients of this service.
Surface observations are made every three hours, and are filed for radio transmission from the ships at 00001 0300, 0600, 0900, 1200, 1500, 1800 and 2100 Greenwich Civil Time. The regular surface observations are called raobs, pibals, and rawins.
Raobs (radiosondes) are measurements of upper air temperature, pressure, and humidity. They arc obtained by sending aloft a midget radio transmitter which sends the above data automatically to the surface observer. The midget radio is attached to a small free balloon. Scheduled raobs are made daily at 0300 and 1500 G.C.T. The times referred to are the exact time the balloon is released from the ship.
Pibals (pilot balloons) are measurements of the direction and strength of winds aloft. They are obtained by tracking the movement of a small free balloon which has a set rate of climb. The tracking is done by observing the balloon with a special weatherman’s type of transit called a theodolite.
Pibals require the services of two observers: one to operate the theodolite and read the horizontal and vertical angles at minute intervals; the other to record the angle reading and obtain the ship’s true bearing from the repeater compass simultaneously with the theodolite readings. If the location of the repeater compass makes it impracticable for one of these men to read it during the pibal, a third man is necessary, since it is essential that the ship’s true bearing readings be obtained each minute, simultaneously with the theodolite readings.
Rawins (radar) are measurements of the direction and strength of winds aloft obtained by tracking a small free balloon which has attached a radar reflector target. The tracking is done by a standard shipboard radar. In the case of Coast Guard weather patrol ships the radar is an SC-4 or other air- search radar in the 175-225 megacycle band. A standard balloon with a known rate of climb may be used (like pibals), but greater accuracy is obtained by combining the rawin with the raob—-computed heights from the raob are then used. Winds aloft observations are made daily at 0300, 0900, 1500 and 2100 G.C.T.
Meteorological equipment and supplies for these observations are provided by the U. S. Weather Bureau. Each Coast Guard vessel carries a meteorological staff of four or five Weather Bureau observers and, when available, one or more Coast Guard aerographer’s mates. The average complement of the cutters are eight or nine officers and 117 to 120 enlisted men.
The U. S. Coast Guard cutters are so well equipped and trained in rescue service that it. seems like a part of the daily routine whenever it becomes necessary to effect a search and rescue operation. The rescue operations are a definite part of the many duties performed by the North Atlantic weather station ships.
An outstanding example of such a “routine matter” was the rescue of 69 persons from the overloaded, antiquated flying boat, Bermuda Sky Queen, on October 14, 1947.
The Bermuda Sky Queen, bound to Newfoundland from Ireland, was bucking headwinds when its fuel supply ran out. There was no land in the vicinity, but the pilot made contact with the USCG cutler Bibb, then weather observation ship at Station Charlie (52° 45'N, 35° 30'W), and made a forced landing in the wind-driven waters beside the cutter. In spite of waves as high as 35 feet, the precision-trained crew of the Bibb worked for full 24 hours to carry every person to safety.
On April 27, 1949, a twin-engine Air Force transport plane, en route from the Azores to Argentia, Newfoundland, developed engine trouble after the plane had made a routine communication check with (lie USCG cutter Sebago, then weather observation ship at Station Dog (44° 30'N, 41° 00'W).
The plane returned to the fixed position of the cutter, messaging that it was going to ditch. The pilot made a fine emergency landing about 100 yards from the Sebago. A lifeboat was standing by and took the four crew members from the plane, which sank within 12 minutes.
U. S. Coast Guard cutters are not the only weather observation ships which are credited with rescuing life at sea. A British weather ship rescued the crew of a Norwegian freighter off the Scottish coast, and the Canadian ship sailed into the ice pack west of Greenland to free a fishing schooner.
The rendering of communication service is another important duty of the weather station ships. Radio beacon, direction finding, and microwave search radar service is given by all ships. Planes identify the transmitting ocean weather stations by a signal superimposed over a continuous wave. There arc four radio beacon transmissions an hour, lasting three minutes each. Special transmissions are made whenever requested.
Continuous watch is kept on the calling and distress channel of 500 kilocycles, the route frequency used for air-ground communications over the North Atlantic, and on the 118.1 megocycles band which military aircraft use. When requested, the ships also maintain guard on the 116.1 megocycles frequency used mainly by British aircraft.
The weather station vessels keep within five miles of the center of a 10-mile square, and can tell the trans-Atlantic planes their position in a 200-mile square around the station. In this respect it can be mentioned that Station Charlie is the busiest of all the weather observation stations, because it lies directly in the path of the most-travelled trans-Atlantic commercial air routes.
The benefits of this international network of weather observation ships are of multitudinous value, such as better weather reports on an ever-important ocean area, better navigational aids, safer flying, and fewer lives lost at sea. However, the most significant results of the network are that it clearly demonstrates that nations of the world really can cooperate effectively to the benefit of all mankind.