WesWorld

Quoted from "The Rock Doctor"

OOC: Given Meteor's proximity to a Bharati military base, she'll probably see some patrol aircraft and/or a patrol vessel while she's there.

That's fine. Her crew will wave, take photographs to send home to grandpa. Her findings will be published in scientific journals once she gets home - likely mid 1945, so sometime in 1946 the papers should be available.

Berliner Abendpost, Friday, 10 November 1944

The Reichstag concluded its debate on the proposed revisions to the criminal code and voted to adopt the recommendations and proposals of the Government.


Kieler Nachrichten, Saturday, 11 November 1944

The decommissioned submarine U-24 was expended today in a training exercise involving elements of the Sixth Escort Group.


Oberösterreichische Rundschau, Sunday, 12 November 1944

Militär-Wochenblatt, Monday, 13 November 1944

The Army Ordnance Office has reached the decision to procure the Rheinmetall Rh-40 private-venture field howitzer as the 10.5cm leichte Feldhaubitze 44 (leFH44). This lightweight weapon will replace the leFH18 in the active divisions of the Heer. Low-rate initial production is expected to commence early next year.


Dakar, Senegal, Tuesday, 14 November 1944

The support tanker Spessart eased her way up the channel to the harbour under the watchful eye of the French pilot. Newly-frocked Korvettenkapitän Rudolf Eberling stood beside him, assuring that there was no confusion in the instructions to the quartermaster or other members of the Spessart's crew. The last thing Eberling wished was to have his heavily laden tanker go aground in a French naval base.

The pilot safely guided the Spessart to her assigned mooring, and the deck crew dropped her anchor. Despite the calendar the heat was an oppressive thirty degrees, tempered only by the breeze. While Eberling prepared to go ashore to pay his respects to the prefect maritime the crew began to rig awnings everywhere on deck, for they knew that the Spessart would be here for some time.


Eisenbahn Kurier, Wednesday, 15 November 1944

Heavy cruiser Graf Spee, Wilhelmshaven, Thursday, 16 November 1944

Konteradmiral Hans Langsdorff sat in his flag cabin, scanning the final report on the post-refit trials of the cruiser Prinz Eugen; a few minor oversights required attention, and she was now fully operational. He smiled; all of his ships had cycled through refits in the last year, upgrading their antiaircraft outfits and their electronic systems. There was a knock at the door.

"Come," he answered.

A staff lieutenant entered and saluted. "Herr Admiral," he began, "a message from Fleet Command," and proffered a sealed envelope.

Langsdorff took the envelope. "Thank you," he replied. "Dismissed." And with that his visitor departed.

He opened it, and found therein another sealed envelope with a covering letter. He was directed to prepare his squadron for sea, and rendezvous with other vessels in the North Sea for extended deployment. Further instructions were contained in the sealed orders in the inner envelope, which he was to open at sea.

Langsdorff read the letter a second time before placing the sealed orders in his personal safe. He then went to the bridge and ordered his captains to report aboard immediately.


Nachrichten für Außenhandel, Friday, 17 November 1944

Nordseewerke Emden AG has announced that it has booked orders from the Donegal Bay Fishing Company of Ireland for construction of two specialised fish cannery vessels. It is the intent of the Irish firm to employ them in support of its fishing fleet in the North Atlantic. The vessels are expected to be delivered in late spring of next year.


Hamburger Abendblatt, Saturday, 19 November 1944

Heavy cruiser Graf Spee, The North Sea, Sunday, 19 November 1944

Konteradmiral Hans Langsdorff stood on the bridge wing of the Graf Spee, looking aft to see the ships of his command form up - the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper, Admiral Scheer, and Prinz Eugen, the big replenishment ship Donau, and two slim corvettes, the Jaguar and Löwe, detached from the Sixth Escort Group. They were headed west, in the general direction of the Channel - but Langsdorff had not yet opened his sealed orders.

"Continue on our present course," he ordered, and thereupon repaired to his day cabin. He asked the Graf Spee's captain, Praetorious, to join him, and waited for the latter to arrive.

Langsdorff took from his safe the sealed orders and proffered the envelope to Praetorious. "You will note that the seals are intact," Langsdorff inquired.

"Yes Herr Admiral," Praetorious replied. "I do."

"Then let us see where we are to go," said Langsdorff with a smile. He tore open the envelope and pulled out a sheaf of papers, and began to read them.

"Our orders send us to South America," Langsdorff announced. "To Rio, again."

"The men will enjoy that Herr Admiral," replied Praetorious.


The German Consulate, Krakow, Poland, Monday, 20 November 1944

The smartly-dressed businessman arrived at the consulate by taxi; he paid off the fare and quickly mounted the three steps to the door. Upon entering he gave his card to the attendant, asking to speak with the vice-consul for commercial affairs. The visitor was asked to take a seat while the vice-consul was sought, and he did so, sitting patiently, as a salesman on a call might do.

"Herr Braun," said the vice consul as he entered the foyer. "I was expecting you. Will you please come with me?"

"Of course," replied the visitor. He rose and followed the vice-consul into the inner offices of the consulate.

A moment later they entered the vice-consul's office; he shut the door behind them.

"What brings you to Krakow Schellenburg?" asked Keller, the vice consul for commercial affairs - the local Abwehr resident.


Hamburger Abendblatt, Tuesday, 21 November 1944

The minesweepers Hallstättersee and Wörthersee were launched in the Deschimag yards here today, the latest of the Mondsee class minesweepers-escorts under construction for the Kriegsmarine. Their completion is expected later this spring.

Krakow (Poland), Tuesday, 22 November 1944

The two Germans, the vice consul for commercial affairs and the smartly-dressed businessman, sat in a convenient corner of the restaurant Wierzynek in the city's Old Town. The establishment, one of the oldest in the city, was a place all visitors to the city came at least once. Thus it was that the two "Niemcy" were accorded no special notice as they sat quietly.

"That's him in the corner table opposite us," whispered Keller, indicating a large friendly-faced fellow of middle years sharing jokes with a table of companions. Occasional ripples of laughter rolled across the room.

Schellenburg looked quickly to fix in his mind the face of Jan Pajak, "the Spider", the Polish spymaster he was determined to outwit. "He does not seem particularly intimidating does he?"

"But he is smart," replied Keller. "Despite all our surveillance we have never been able to trace his contacts across the frontier. He must employ a veritable army of stringers and cut-outs to limit his exposure."

"Do we know the identity of any of them?" asked Schellenburg.

"A few, but they do not seem to go anywhere near the frontier either," Keller answered.

"Lonkowski says he dealt through an agent in Kattowitz named Bialetzki; do you have any people there who could find him?" A plan was forming in Schellenburg's mind.

"In Kattowitz?" said Keller with a laugh. "That would be no trouble at all..."


Kieler Nachrichten, Wednesday, 23 November 1944

The naval shipyards were crowded with visitors today to witness the completion of no fewer than six fine frigates for the Kriegsmarine - the Klagenfurt, the Dillingen, the Rottweil, the Datteln, the Graz and the Salzburg - all of which have now embarked on their post-construction trials and working up. Similar ceremonies in Memel, Cuxhaven, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven saw the completion of six other vessels of this type. Their arrival marks another milestone in the growth of Kriegsmarine.


Hamburger Abendblatt, Thursday, 24 November 1944

The chartered freighter Argenfels departed today, bound for Peru, bearing among other items twenty-five surplus tanks from Heer stocks consigned to the Peruvian Government.

Emder Zeitung, Saturday, 25 November 1944

The support tankers Eider and Trave have completed their post-conversion trials and have been declared operational. For the time being they are in port here pending their initial assignments.


Katowice (Poland), Sunday, 26 November 1944

The well-dressed businessman whose papers identified him as "Adam Bremmer" did not look or sound out-of-place in this German city in what was now Polish Upper Silesia; the decisions of the victorious Allied following the Great War were not of interest to Walter Schellenburg, save insofar as they provided a ready pool of ethnic German operatives for the Abwehr to recruit and make use of. The local Abwehr apparatus had no difficulty in identifying Anton Bialetzki, the contact to whom the captured agent Lonkowski had forwarded his reports.

Bialetzki ran a small shop that catered to the city's business population; located not far from the train station it sold cigarettes and other tobacco products, newspapers, periodicals and similar small goods to all and sundry who passed by. The amount of traffic would make surveillance difficult, but not impossible. Schellenburg, in the guise of "Adam Bremmer" had visited the shop in person to assess the problem - discovering in the process that Bialetzki used his shop as an accommodation address. Schellenburg would need allies - and the local Abwehr stringer, Pieck, could provide them.

The pair of boot-blacks who had their perch outside Bialetzki's shop were the first to be brought into the effort - for a few zlotys a day they would keep watch on the comings and goings of visitors to the shop - who was a regular, and who was not. The postman was recruited - he would be on the watch for any letters posted from abroad, or from Pajak in Krakow. Schellenburg considered tapping the shop's telephone, but deferred that for the moment, in the hopes that less intrusive methods might give them the lead he sought.

Having arranged surveillance in Kattowitz, "Adam Bremmer" took a cross-border local train back into Germany, whence Walter Schellenburg made haste to Berlin to arrange for Lonkowski to mail an overdue letter...


Handelsblatt, Monday, 27 November 1944

Dakar, Senegal, Tuesday, 28 November 1944

For Korvettenkapitän Rudolf Eberling and the men of the tanker Spessart their sojourn in Dakar had proved uneventful thus far. One of the greatest dangers of detached service was boredom, and Eberling was determined to keep his men fit and alert. His French hosts understood the problem equally, and the prefect-maritime had opened the recreational facilities of the port to the German sailors, arranging football matches and other such diversions as much for his own personnel as for Eberling's. For his part Eberling set up French language classes for his crewmen, for even knowledge of broken French would make communication easier with the locals here.

Hot year round and dusty in the summer months Dakar boasted places of relief - sandy beaches and the cool public gardens - and mercifully few dockside taverns to tempt the wayward sailor into trouble. For these small things Eberling gave thanks.


Katowice (Poland), Wednesday, 29 November 1944

The bell above the door of shopkeeper Anton Bialetzki's establishment rang, announcing the morning visit of the postman. Bialetzki looked up from behind his counter and greeted the postman, who grunted in response - as he usually did. The postman was of German extraction, Bialetzki of Polish - and in Katowice those two co-existed but did not mix well. It was a fact of life. Taking a thick wad of letters from his bag the postman dropped them on the counter and departed. It was normal routine.

Bialetzki picked up the letters and sorted through them. He accepted mail for a number of his neighbours, and kept a small set of pigeon-holes behind his counter into which he placed them. One letter addressed to him caught his eye - the foreign stamp and return address proclaimed its importance. He had not seen one like this for some weeks, and he did not open it. Instead he took from beneath his counter a larger envelope into which he placed the unopened letter, sealed it, and wrote upon it a Krakow address. Later that evening he would drop it off personally at the central post office.


Frankfurter Zeitung, Thursday, 30 November 1944

In a statement issued today Chancellor Adenauer has deplored the rising tide of violence sweeping over the Middle East. Citing the recent assassination of Lord Moyne in Cairo and the attempted assassination of Sir Harold MacMichael in Palestine some months ago the Chancellor reiterated Germany's commitment to assisting in a peaceful solution to the so-called Palestine Question. All efforts would be made to thwart terrorist activities operating within German jurisdiction.

Wien, Friday, 1 December 1944

Disaster strikes in the latest number of the comic-magazin Von der Heydte, Auf Dem Salzsee (On the Salt Sea). En route to Tarakan the patrol vessel on which the hero is transported is caught by a sudden storm and sunk. Von der Heydte finds himself free of Dutch custody but alone in a small raft. Can he survive and find his way to safety?


Emder Zeitung, Saturday, 2 December 1944

Ceremonies yesterday at the Wilhelmshaven dockyard marked the completion of the offshore patrol vessels Roter Löwe and Goldener Löwe. These specially-outfitted vessels are intended to patrol the North Atlantic, reporting on icebergs and rendering assistance to shipping and fishing vessels. They are expected to enter service next summer, following their trials and initial working up.


Berliner Tageblatt, Sunday, 3 December 1944

The Alkett firm has delivered the first of the pre-production Aufklärungspanzer Luchs light reconnaissance vehicles to the garrison at Jüterbog for troop testing. The vehicle is intended to replace the long-serving Panzerkampfwagen II in the reconnaissance role and may be adapted to a variety of other tasks.

Krakow (Poland), Monday, 4 December 1944

Jan Pajak read the letter through a second time and put it down. In its journey from Breslau it had passed through several hands, the last belonging to his stringer in Katowice. Pajak had developed the secret ink that revealed the message from his operative, Lonkowski, who explained the hiatus in his reporting. Lonkowski had suffered an attack of appendicitis, and had been in hospital, and he was still recovering. He would resume reporting as soon as possible.

Pajak frowned. Was it possible? Of course - Lonkowski had always complained about his delicate stomach. Yet it demanded confirmation. "The Spider" drafted a friendly reply to Lonkowski; he also drafted a directive to another operative, setting in motion the verification of Lonkowski's story.


Berliner Abendpost, Tuesday, 5 December 1944

The Ministry of Defence announced that it had authorised construction of prototypes of the Dornier Do335 and Focke Wulf Fw340 jet fighter aircraft.


Handelsblatt, Wednesday, 6 December 1944

Guanabara Bay, Brazil, Thursday, 7 December 1944

The Graf Spee and her sisters exchanged salutes with the batteries guarding the entrance to the bay, and once within exchanged salutes again with the vessels of the Imperial Brazilian Navy drawn up to receive them. Sailors manned the sides of the German ships at strict attention. For Hans Langsdorff the scene was almost familiar but the thrill of representing the nation abroad filled him once again. The city of Rio de Janeiro lay on the western shore of the bay, the cities of Niteroi and Sao Goncalo on the eastern. The German ships followed the Brazilian destroyer chosen to escort them to their anchorage where they would rest, enjoying the warmth of summer, far from their home in Wilhelmshaven.


Kieler Nachrichten, Friday, 8 December 1944

The fleet oilers Jeverland and Wendland completed their post-conversion working up trials yesterday and have jointed the fleet at Bremerhaven.


Hamburger Abendblatt, Saturday, 9 December 1944

Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Sunday, 10 December 1944

Sundays were busy days at the Customs Station, with locals on both side of the border crossing to and fro to visit relatives separated by the decisions of the Versailles authorities a generation ago. For all the attempts of both Polish and German Governments, the memories of separation were kept fresh by the necessity for passports and transit documents, inspections of baggage and so forth.

For Stanislaw Lewczynski these irritations were familiar enough. He had made the border crossing from Poland to Germany many times on business and on pleasure, sometimes combining both. Other than his small suitcase he carried no luggage - and the harried customs inspector found nothing amiss; nor would he have done so on a thorough search. Lewczynski carried what he needed inside his head. His task was simple; journey to Breslau - which he had done many times as a salesman - and find the agent Lonkowski, verifying his story of being in hospital. "The Spider" wanted to be certain.


Sächsische Zeitung, Monday, 11 December 1944


Guanabara Bay, Brazil, Tuesday, 12 December 1944

The chartered tanker Parnassos made her way alongside the big replenishment ship Donau and was nudged into position by a couple of tugs. The Donau, having transferred her cargo of fuel oil into the ships of the task force now needed to take on fuel for the next part of her journey. The Etappendienst, the Kriegsmarine's overseas supply service, had made excellent arrangements - fuel from the Parnassos, fresh meat and vegetables procured from commercial establishments ashore, dry and frozen stores to replace those consumed on the voyage from Wilhelmshaven. When the task force sailed it would be well-fuelled and well-victualed.

United Press International, Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, 13 December 1944

The German naval squadron that has visited here for the last week has made its way to sea, leaving behind it a powerful impression of the strength of the new Germany. It is reported that the squadron is continuing its cruise to Argentina, where it will call at Bahia Blanca.


Elbinger Volksstimme, Thursday, 14 December 1944

The newly commissioned fleet tender Lothar von Trotha arrived here today following completion of her post-conversion trials. The ship is the latest of a class of multi-purpose fleet auxiliaries to enter service with the Kriegsmarine.


Berliner Abendpost, Friday, 15 December 1944

The Defence Ministry confirmed today that a small quantity of Gotha Go229 aircraft has been ordered by the Luftwaffe to fulfil its need for long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The first of these aircraft is expected to enter service by June of next year. The Go229, designed by the brothers Werner and Reimar Horten, incorporates novel approaches to aerodynamics and the new BMW reaction jet engine.

France asks please for a demonstrator!

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

France asks please for a demonstrator!

That could take a while - there's only one prototype in existence at the moment, with two more test aircraft under construction. Perhaps by spring we can cut one loose for a visit to Limoges.

Spring or summer will be fine.

You can drop one off at Farnborough anytime!

Quoted from "Hood"

You can drop one off at Farnborough anytime!

But I did, but no one noticed. Stealth you know...