WesWorld

A nice looking bird in Chilean colours too.

I thought so, too. I made a few changes to Bruce's drawing (smoothed a few lines and angles) but generally it's the same aircraft. There are probably not going to be too many changes in Chilean production (although I'd considered switching it to an Atlantean turbojet engine), aside from using a lot of locally-sourced parts.

Handelsblatt, Tuesday, 4 February 1947

Deutsche-Amerikansiche Petroleum has placed orders with the Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard for construction of three massive 26,000 ton deadweight oil tankers for delivery in 1948-49. These ships are expected to be employed in moving crude oil from the Middle East to refineries here.


London, The German Embassy, Wednesday, 5 February 1947

The London’s unremitting cold and snow left Schellenburg thinking of Dostoevsky’s The House of the Dead – the embassy, while a haven of comfort had the feeling of a prison. The only joys he had was reading the accounts of British difficulties in coping with the terrible weather and the insights they gave him on the British psyche.

The growing shortage of coal was a growing theme in many of London’s papers – there were numerous anecdotal accounts of mismanagement at mines and coal depots across the country – though Schellenburg thought the linkage of these and the Government’s vesting of the coal mines was forced. There had been questions in Parliament, but that too was to be expected – the Tory leadership was ever-ready to castigate the Labour Party for what they deemed ‘failures’.

Of greater interest was the report from Walser, one of the ‘Baker Street Irregulars’, to whom Schellenburg had detailed the watching of the adventurer Sidney Stanley. Mister Stanley and his circle of friends were proving to be a useful source of information – political if non-military – and Walser had been instructed to continue his brief. Stanley’s latest scheme was to ‘fix’ the approval of the floatation of public company by the Capital Issues Committee, something easier said than done these days. Schellenburg mulled this information over in his mind… and he could see potential.


Kieler Nachrichten, Thursday, 6 February 1947

The light cruiser Regensburg was completed today at the Deutsche Werke yards here, and will embark on trials. Her sister, the light cruiser Stettin, completed her operational training yesterday and has formally joined the fleet.

Militär-Wochenblatt, Friday, 7 February 1947



Berlin, The Turkish Embassy, Saturday, 8 February 1947

Major Memduh Tagmac, military attaché, drafted the cable with enthusiasm. Earlier in the week he had been given the opportunity to view the demonstration of the Ardelt firm’s new light tank prototype and found himself thoroughly impressed. Fast, manoeuvrable, and well-armed, he saw it as the perfect vehicle with which to modernize his army’s tank fleet. The decision, of course, did not rest with him; which is why he was so excited with the proposal made by the manufacturer.

They wished to offer a prototype for testing in Turkey, in mountainous and near-desert terrain, in order to determine how well their vehicle would perform in such conditions. Of course, this would permit the senior decision-makers to see the potential of the vehicle – and perhaps reach the same conclusions as he did. In transmitting the proposal to Ankara he could but hope that a favourable decision would be reached soon.


Stockholm, The German Embassy, Sunday, 9 February 1947

For Major Hans Wagner it was quite clear that the change of leadership within the Abwehr meant that the agency was moving in new directions. Directives from Berlin ordered him to continue to focus on Nordish experiments with atomic power; he was to expand his surveillance of senior Nordish military officers – not only those known to be associated with the atomic arms programme but those engaged in other technologies as well; his budget had been increased substantially, and the first tranche of secret service funds had been brought by courier from Berlin two days ago. It was clear that under Generalmajor Gehlen the Abwehr was moving from passive to active intelligence gathering; a move Wagner considered overdue.

Muharraq Aerodrome, Bahrain, Monday, 10 February 1947

Alexander Klaws wore several hats – as agent for the DDG Hansa his principal duty was to see to the needs of the freighters of the line, which called about twice a month, seeing to the delivery of outward cargos from Germany and helping to arrange homeward shipments; this did not take that much of his time. He represented several German firms that supplied materials for the growing petroleum industry of the small Arab emirate, but that too did not require every hour of attention. He was honorary German consul – which counted for little save when he had to intervene in disputes on behalf of the occasional drunken German sailor. He had much spare time, and he had spent much of it as an amateur archaeologist, investigating the antiquities of the island. What brought him to the aerodrome today was the anticipated arrival of two professional archaeologists from the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, to whom Klaws had sent several letters citing the prospects to be investigated.

Hans Bessig and Rolf Hachmann craned their necks to get a view of the island from the windows of their BOAC Marathon. After numerous changes of aircraft they were on the last leg of their journey, and Bahrain stood out in sharp relief from the azure waters of the Persian Gulf. Both were recent graduates of the University of Marburg, and their assignment to conduct a survey of the antiquities of this backwater was their first chance to make a name in the world of archaeology. Bahrain was nearly a tabula rasa; who knew what might be found?

The Marathon set down lightly and taxied to the apron; there were few passengers aboard, and the two Germans collected their luggage and made their way to the customs shed. Here they were met by Herr Klaws, who shepherded them through the formalities and led them to his car, a heavy four-wheel-drive Mercedes that Klaws drove himself.

He took the new arrivals to the best hotel in the town of Manama, the capital – which was not saying much; it was clean if Spartan, and the whir of fans to circulate the air was ever present.

“Take a few hours to rest,” Klaws explained, “and I will call on you late this afternoon, before sundown. Then I can show you why I’ve urged you to come.”

Klaws was as good as his word, and the sun sinking lower in the west as their Mercedes made its way along the track out of the town. They followed the shoreline until they reached the ruins of an old fort. “From the time of the Portuguese, the Arabs say,” announced their host. Then they turned and crested a dune…



Bessig and Hachmann were slack-jawed in amazement. They knew that they were coming to examine burial mounds, but these seemed to stretch forever.


London, Fenchurch Street, Tuesday, 11 February 1947

As commercial attaché of the German Embassy Otto von Bolschwing’s duties often took him to the Financial District, and even the bitter cold of winter could not keep him from the most necessary of these visits; and today was such a day. Having completed his tasks he was making his way back towards the embassy in Belgravia, but passing the Fenchurch Street Station he thought he recognised a beggar sitting by the roadside. The man was swaddled against the cold as best he might, but the few pedestrians going about their business paid him little heed. Von Bolschwing walked over to the beggar, fumbling in his pocket for a few coins, which he dropped in the bowl that lay in the snow alongside the beggar.

“Thank you Mister Bolschwing,” said the beggar, much to the German’s surprise. “Thank you very much.”

Von Bolschwing peered at the man, his face covered with a bushy beard and his cheeks ruddy from the cold. “Aston,” he responded; “is that you?”

“Yes guvnor,” Aston answered, “it is me. I’ve fallen a bit on hard times since I left your service. But better days are coming – or so the Government says”. The sarcasm of his last remark was bitter.

“Here,” von Bolschwing continued. “Let me buy you a cup of tea… I suspect you could use one”. Aston did not argue as the attaché helped him stand and waited while Aston swept the coppers from his bowl into his pocket. They entered the railway station and von Bolschwing led the way to the ABC tea shop therein; despite Aston’s dishevelled appearance they were allowed a table. The server brought two hot cups of tea and, at von Bolschwing’s request, a sandwich and a slice of lunch cake. Aston cradled his cup of tea in his hands, warming his fingers that had nearly frozen from the winter weather.

In the next half-hour the old porter told his story, and as Aston went on von Bolschwing found himself feeling more and more like a father-confessor. He had no idea of the true reason for Aston’s departure – as far as he knew it was due to staff reductions. Aston confounded him by confessing that he had spied – in a low-level and serendipitous way – for the British security services.

“You were right to let me go,” he said. “You trusted me, and treated me well. Patriotism, they said to me, we’ll look after you, they promised. Bah.”

After leaving the embassy’s employ Aston had found work at the Hungarian embassy, where, he confessed, he had continued to spy for Britain. Then one day the Hungarians had sacked him – “I guess they tumbled to me” was all Aston said. Since that point he had found himself without a job, and – with no access to anything of value – the security services had cut their ties to him. That was months ago; now he was reduced to begging.

Von Bolschwing was not trained for intelligence work. Like all Foreign Service officers he had been schooled in the elements of operational security but this was far outside his sphere. Yet he knew enough that Aston’s information might be worth much to Schellenburg. He proposed that Aston return with him to the embassy where he could properly explain matters.

“I’ve not much else to lose,” Aston admitted. “Why not?”

They took a taxi from the station to the embassy; a possible extravagance, but one which matched in von Bolschwing’s mind the seriousness of the situation.


Aircraft Carrier Karl der Große, 8 dgs, 23 min North, 37 dgs, 56 min West, Wednesday, 12 February 1947

Vizeadmiral Friedrich Ruge greeted the sighting report of the frigates Graz and Salzburg with their supply ships with some relief. His ships had been at sea exercising for more than fifty days, and his orders called for them to remain on station at least a further thirty days. The destroyers and other small ships needed fuelling ever few days, and even their regular stores were drawing down. The Werra’s holds would fill those needs, and the presence of other fuel ships would allow him to detach one or two others to take on fuel at Recife or Dakar.

London, The German Embassy, Thursday, 13 February 1947

Walter Schellenburg laid his pen aside and read back over the draft of his report. The arrival of the former porter Aston at von Bolschwing’s side had first surprised, and then shocked him once he heard the man’s story. He had never been certain that Aston had in fact carried out espionage work while employed at the embassy – his insistence in firing the man was in his mind a preventive act; now he knew the extent of his efforts. Fortunately Aston never had access to seriously sensitive information, the man was a low-level “sweeper”; but as any intelligence operative knew, enough crumbs could be put together to make a picture. After debriefing the man for several hours Schellenburg at least now knew what Aston had revealed of the embassy routine, as well as how his British handlers operated. The information was illuminating, and it formed a major part of his report.

As for Aston himself – Schellenburg saw he had no further use for him once he had revealed what he knew. He could see no way of using him against the British security services – who had made a cardinal error in cutting their ties with him. Nevertheless, Schellenburg was loath to burn bridges unnecessarily. He gave Aston one hundred pounds – a small fortune to a man in Aston’s circumstances – and arranged to get the man out of London and home to Manchester, using one of his ‘Baker Street Irregulars’ to handle the details.


Manama, Bahrain, Friday, 14 February 1947

For archaeologists Hans Bessig and Rolf Hachmann their first days in Bahrain had been filled with activity – not so much as hands-on field work but in formalities and examining all that was known of the antiquities of the country. Tuesday had seen a formal call upon the ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa – something required by custom for all visitors. Having explained the purpose of their visit Sheikh Salman had shown great interest, and wished them well in their endeavours. Wednesday had seen them meeting with the ruler’s political advisor, Sir Charles Belgrave – an Englishman in the ruler’s employ – who oversaw day-to-day details of government and development. He too proved cooperative, giving the required permits for them to conduct an initial survey of Bahrain’s antiquities.

However, most of their time had been expended reading what could be found on the subject of Bahrain’s history, particularly its history from before the rise of Islam in the 7th Century. The origin of the grave mounds of Bahrain were a mystery – to the Arabs they were “from the time of the Portuguese”, the late 16th Century, a patent improbability. The first European to report them, the Dane Carsten Niebuhr, described the mounds but had not carried out any excavations to answer the question. It was not until 1925 that the Scotsman Ernest Mackay had come to Bahrain to dig some fifty of the mounds, and published his detailed work nearly twenty years before. He had developed the hypothesis that Bahrain had for centuries been a necropolis for the peoples living on the mainland of Arabia.

Their host Klaws, however, had come across a report written in 1879 by a Captain Durand of the British Army, who had surveyed the island and noted a number of sites of potentially archaeological importance. He had also recovered a stone bearing a cuneiform inscription, mentioning a temple of the god Enzak – a Sumerian deity recorded as the tutelary god of a legendary land called ‘Dilmun’. Archaeologists had no idea where this land was located, or even if it existed. But Klaws, Bessig, and Hachmann were growing in their belief that ‘Dilmun’ was a real place, and it could be found here in Bahrain.

In the next weeks they would hope to find sufficient evidence to convince the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut to fund a proper expedition in the autumn that would explore their hypothesis.


Sächsische Zeitung, Saturday, 15 February 1947

Speaking at the dedication of the recently completed Schwartzheide synthetic oil plant Chancellor Adenauer gave a major speech today, laying out the Free Democratic Party’s goals in this election year. Extolling the prosperity brought to the working class and the country as a whole in the course of the last eight years he promised that his Government would continue to expand jobs, education, and health and medical services in all parts of the nation. The Schwartzheide plant, which brings several thousand jobs to the Lusatian region, was but a part of this promise, he explained. The Chancellor’s remarks were well received by the crowd, who responded with enthusiastic applause.

Kieler Nachrichten, Sunday, 16 February 1947

The small support tanker Traisen completed her conversion here and has embarked upon her post-conversion trials. She is expected to take up her duties in mid-March. She is the first of four such vessels to be converted.


London, The German Embassy, Monday, 17 February 1947

Walter Schellenburg read through London’s morning papers and noted the shrillness of the mounting criticism of the British Government’s response to the unprecedented winter storms. The Daily Mail ran an editorial excoriating Shinwell, the Minister of Power, for what it described as a “consistently belated” response to the growing crisis. His decision to plunge the nation into five hours of enforced darkness by cutting electric power to only nineteen hours a day drew considerable opprobrium – not only from the Daily Mail, but from The Times, The Observer, and other national and provincial newspapers. Even those newspapers that normally supported the Labour Party spoke out against it for the hardship wrought on the working classes in major urban centres.

Finishing with the newspapers he returned to the report from Walser, his link to the adventurer Sidney Stanley. Through the latter Walser had discovered that the Bank of England was deeply concerned about the additional pressure that the winter’s weather would have on the sagging exchange rate of sterling, while the Board of Trade feared the adverse impact of power cuts and transportation disruptions on Britain’s vital exports. Moreover, a major row seemed to be brewing within the British Cabinet over who should take the blame for the situation. Walser also reported that Stanley, for his own part, was providing gifts and promising other favours to members of the Government to influence their actions.

“A very serious matter,” Schellenburg remarked aloud.


Berliner Morgenpost, Tuesday, 18 February 1947

The first pre-production examples of the Heer’s new infantry carrier, the Schützenpanzer "Buffel", were delivered today to Panzergrenadier Division 14 at Jüterbog for troop testing.

Manama, Bahrain, Wednesday, 19 February 1947

After five days of exploration Bessig and Hachmann returned to the capital of Bahrain and began to write up their notes. “Exploration”, in this case, amounted to little more than a cursory cataloguing of potential sites for proper excavation. In addition to the thousands of grave mounds they had found a number of indications of settlements of unknown age – certainly pre-Islamic – as well as the ruins of the old Portuguese fort whose top-most layers were strewn with shards of Ming-period Chinese ceramics. There was no doubt that much could be discovered here; the questions were whether the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut would fund a proper expedition, and whether the Bahrain Government would grant permission for it.


Berliner Morgenpost, Thursday, 20 February 1947

A party of twelve officers of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force had arrived at the Fluglehrerschule der Luftwaffe at Brandenburg-Briest to begin flight instructor training on modern combat aircraft.


Nachrichten für Außenhandel, Friday, 21 February 1947

The unprecedented winter weather in Great Britain is placing severe hardship on the British economy but offers economic opportunity for producers elsewhere in Europe and in other parts of the world. Disruption of transport and power cuts have curtailed the output of many factories in Britain, providing opportunities for European manufacturers to fulfil orders from Britain’s colonies that cannot be met by the mother country, and to penetrate markets previously dominated by British manufacturers. British agriculture has been crippled, with root crops freezing in the ground and the loss of other food stocks due to the cold; this will be a boon to the market-gardeners of France and Iberia, who are enjoying mild winter weather, and meat and grain prices quoted in Argentina have already risen due to anticipated shortages in the British market.

Dithmarscher Landeszeitung, Saturday, 22 February 1947

Zerstörergeschwader 74 has begun conversion to the new Focke Wulf Fw340 jet fighter aircraft.


Die Welt am Sonntag, Sunday, 23 February 1947



Manama, Bahrain, Monday, 24 February 1947

Archaeologists Bessig and Hachmann prepared to depart Bahrain with happy hearts. At least in their minds they had found sufficient evidence to warrant years of field work in the region – their task now was to convince the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut to fund the work. In a meeting with Sir Charles Belgrave – the Political Advisor – they had obtained preliminary approval for a German archaeological expedition, though of course a formal application would have to be submitted. Consul Klaws was confident that local logistical support could be arranged for a modest-sized expedition, and indicated that he would begin to informally organise such; this was very good news, as the digging season was only six months away.

Don't you mean Vice-Admiral Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch? Surprises me that you are not using an image of the USS Salem for the Graf Spee.

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Don't you mean Vice-Admiral Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch? Surprises me that you are not using an image of the USS Salem for the Graf Spee. :)

I am uncertain how to take that comment Walter. I will presume it to be an attempt at humor. :P

Since we are gaming an alternate history, sometimes we need to permit allowances to illustrate the spirit of the game.

Aircraft Carrier Karl der Große, 0 dgs, 20 min South, 19 dgs, 4 min West, Tuesday, 25 February 1947

Seetakt had reported a contact, a single aircraft approaching from the south, which prompted Admiral Ruge to come to the flag bridge. “It is likely a patrol aircraft from Ascension Island checking to see what we are up to” he concluded. He directed that a flight from the task force’s combat air patrol be directed to intercept and escort their visitor.

The task force itself was exercising its strike squadrons today, with one of the destroyers towing a target at high speed while aircraft in rotation attempted to hit the platform. The weather here in the tropics was perfect for such evolutions, and for aerial gunnery. Given the terrible weather covering much of northern Europe this winter Ruge as very happy that his ships were at sea in tropical waters. Training would have been impossible in either the Baltic or the North Sea.

His crews were also gaining much practice in underway replenishment, whether fuelling from the tankers or transferring dry stores by jackstay. The shuffling of supply ships though drove his logistics officers to distraction, for despite the arrival of additional support vessels the need to detach them at frequent intervals was a concern. And his orders called for him to remain on at sea until the winter weather at home abated. Something would have to be done.


Berlin, The Ministry of Economics, Wednesday, 26 February 1947

The latest cable from the ambassador in Kaunas filled Otto von Hapsburg with some hope that matters in Lithuania might at last be improving. The Lithuanian authorities had finally given approval to a proposal for teams of specialists from the Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst to assist in formation of rural cooperatives for dairy farmers. The goal would be to improve the skill sets of individual farmers, invest in improved equipment, and move towards developing upmarket dairy products for export, such as cheese, rather than raw milk of indifferent quality. He hoped that the involvement of German specialists might avoid the funds ‘disappearing’ into the pockets of Lithuania’s bureaucrats.

Berlin, The Turkish Embassy, Thursday, 27 February 1947

Tagmac was quite relieved that his government had responded positively to the German request to conduct trials of the new Ardelt light tank in the high country of Anatolia; not only would it test the qualities of the vehicle, but it would afford the senior decision-makers of the Turkish Army the opportunity to see it for themselves. He had read reports of a military build-up in Syria, and he feared destabilisation of Turkey’s position in its eastern provinces. Hot-heads in Damascus, or in Baghdad, might do something foolish, and Ankara needed to be prepared to respond.

Der Tagesspiegel, Friday, 28 February 1947

After constructing more than fourteen-hundred units the Daimler Benz works at Marienfelde completed its last example of the Standardpanzer Panther for the Heer today. The factory will undergo retooling to engage in production of UNIMOG motor trucks to meet rising civil and military demand. Production of the Panther medium tank continues at the Friedrich Krupp Grusonwerk at Magdeburg-Buckau and the Eisenwerke Oberdonau, Linz.

Münchener Post, Saturday, 1 March 1947

Political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann and journalist Erich Peter Neumann have established a research organisation to be known as the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach (Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research). The organisation will conduct public opinion polls for private customers and carry out other market research activities.


Die Welt am Sonntag, Sunday, 2 March 1947



London, The German Embassy, Monday, 3 March 1947

Schellenburg composed his report to Berlin carefully by candlelight – the coal crisis of the British winter had reduced the embassy to such straights. Power shortages cascaded through British industry and – according to information obtained through Sidney Stanley – the Bank of England feared that total industrial output for the year might fall by more than ten percent. Food shortages were beginning to bite, and the questions being asked of the Government in Parliament were pointed in the extreme. The British seemed to be trusting to an early winter to rescue them from their predicament.

He had received an inquiry from the new Abteilung VI of the Abwehr. It requested investigation into the work being undertaken by a number of British physicists; the same sort of inquiry he had done months ago regarding Nordish researchers operating in British universities. He wondered if the two lines of investigation were related.

The North Sea, Tuesday, 4 March 1947

The gale-force winds whipped the waters around them to froth, but the frigates Dillingen and Rottweil shepherded their charges, three tankers and two other supply ships, seaward at a slow ten knots. Station keeping was important, and Seetakt watches aboard all the ships strained to assure that none of the ships came too close to another; navigation lights burned brightly even in the daylight – visibility was terrible. The formation clawed its way northward, towards the open Atlantic; they would be in this gale for hours.


London, The German Embassy, Wednesday, 5 March 1947

The embassy was snow-bound; outside the snow fell thickly, blanketing the city and choking roads and railways. There was little routine business to transact, and the ambassador, Prince Bismarck, found himself with much time in which to think – and his mind was filled with questions.

“Will the Labour Government survive? Their majority is a narrow one, and certainly by summer there will be more than a few by-elections. The mood of the people is swinging in favour of the Conservatives. What might this mean for Germany?”

“The King is still childless; that leaves his brother, the Duke of York, as heir presumptive, and he is well provided with children. What might happen should the King pass unexpectedly? The King was quite friendly towards Germany – his brother?”

“The Palestine Problem… it is one more Imperial albatross around Britain’s neck. The Government seems to have no exit strategy and the settler population seems to grow more restive by the day. The mailed fist seems not to be working; will they try to negotiate a settlement? If so, how might it impact Germany?”

These and other concerns flitted through his mind. The cold, the dark, and the silence of the falling snow held no answers for him…


Marburg, Thursday, 6 March 1947

Hans Bessig and Rolf Hachmann finally had the opportunity to sit down and prepare their funding application to the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut for a programme of field work in Bahrain. There was so little known of the Dilmun civilisation – some scholars considered it mythical – and their initial survey offering so many opportunities that it was difficult to determine where to begin. Their timeframe for preparing the application was tight – the due date was the first of April. Still, they were hopeful, and as notebooks and sketchpads were broken out to stimulate the thoughts of the two archaeologists words flowed onto paper.

Aircraft Carrier Karl der Große, 7 dgs, 41 min South, 4 dgs, 15 min West, Friday, 7 March 1947

Having detached several of his oilers to rendezvous with tankers chartered by the Etappendienst, Ruge had shifted his task force to the southwest into the waters of the Bight of Biafra. There were plenty of contacts with patrolling British and South African aircraft here, which was to be expected. It provided training opportunities for his Seetakt personnel and afforded his pilots a chance to play cat-and-mouse.

The news that the Admiralstab had sent additional supply ships to support him had eased his concerns, though he wondered how swiftly they might reach southern waters – the weather reports he received told of terrible conditions in the North Atlantic.


Kronen Zeitung, Saturday, 8 March 1947

Chancellor Adenauer has been campaigning through the Austrian provinces and spoke yesterday at Wels. “Our policies have opened up commerce throughout the Danube Basin,” he said during remarks delivered there. “Unemployment is at its lowest levels in ten years, our exports have risen, and the standard of living for our citizens has been sustained.” Political observers project that the Free Democratic Party will maintain a handy majority in the Reichstag.


Submarine Haifisch, 63 dgs, 34 min North, 8 dgs, 34 min East, Sunday, 9 March 1947

The U-boat’s electronic displays showed nothing but routine commercial traffic, and that was reduced to the most necessary given the heavy weather battering the surface. Haifisch had been on station for two weeks now, patrolling the entrances to Trondheimsfjord, having taken over from U-107 at the end of February. The Nordish fleet was wisely staying in port, and the submarine’s commander noted in his log that all was quiet.

Hamburger Abendblatt, Monday, 10 March 1947

The minesweepers Rappensee and Heidensee were launched in the Deschimag yards here this morning. Work on them continues at the yard’s fitting-out wharf, while the now-vacant slipways are prepared for the next pair of vessels to follow them.


Frigate Dillingen, 60 dgs, 5 min North, 10 dgs, 45 min West, Tuesday, 11 March 1947

The Dillingen led the column of German vessels out into the waters of the open Atlantic, riding out the long swells as best she could. Her sister Rottweil brought up the rear of the column, with the heavily laden vessels of the Eighth Supply Group intervening. For the moment their course was more west than south as they rode out the worst of the gale. The forecast called for moderation in the next few days, a promise that many aboard the vessels prayed was true.


Handelsblatt, Wednesday, 12 March 1947

Reederei Johann M. K. Blumenthal has placed contracts with the Nordseewerke Emden for construction of three 7,100 GRT motor cargo vessels suitable for world-wide employment. These will be the firm’s largest vessels to date and the first powered by diesel engines.

London, The German Embassy, Thursday, 13 March 1947

For Walter Schellenburg winter snows blanketing Britain seemed without precedent, as if a new Ice Age had dawned. Outside his windows the wind howled, and in a few hours the embassy was due to have its electricity turned off for a few hours – a ‘conservation measure’. Most of the friends he had made in Britain had much to say about the situation – and very little favourable to the Labour Government. There was talk of mismanagement at the coalfields, of industrial action by miners, of profiteering, of shortages, and general grumbling. His own sources, formal and semi-formal, said much the same thing – according to Walser the adventurer Stanley had even ‘bought’ himself a member of the Government for the bargain price of a warm winter coat.

The weather had also precluded active investigation of the request from Abwehr Headquarters for detailed information on the state of British research into nuclear physics; it was just impossible to travel and matters of that sort could not be trusted to the telephone, even if one assumed that the British Security Service had not tapped them. For Schellenburg, like most of the residents of the British Isles, spring could not come too soon.


Rheinische Post, Friday, 14 March 1947

A delegation of officials from the Defence Ministry and officers of the Marineflieger toured the Dornier Works at Friedrichshafen yesterday to examine the mock-up of the Dornier Do335 naval fighter aircraft and perform a detailed design review. No official announcement was forthcoming but company sources speaking on condition of anonymity indicated that the delegation was pleased with the results.


Eisenbahn Kurier, Saturday, 15 March 1947

Emder Zeitung, Sunday, 16 March 1947

The small support tanker Traisen arrived here today to take on cargo for Heligoland. The Traisen recently completed her operational training and working-up.


Offenbach am Main, Offices of the Deutscher Wetterdienst, Monday, 17 March 1947

Gerhard Kaufhold charted the weather data from stations across the North Sea littoral and from weather ships in the North Atlantic, and the picture was grim. The gales that now lashed the British Isles and had made the North Sea a maelstrom would persist for several days at least. The reports coming in suggested coastal flooding would be extensive. He drafted a memorandum suggesting that activation of the Technische Hilfswerke would be necessary to combat the coming crisis.


Berlin, Abwehr Headquarters, Tuesday, 18 March 1947

General Gehlen might have doubts as to the accuracy of his intel, the Gloster Ace shown in the bottom photo does not exist in Wesworld.
Nice piece otherwise though.