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History of British Ocean Weather Ships


knocker

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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

A subject close to your heart k

how on earth anyone could volunteer to be tossed about on the Atlantic for days on end is something I will never understand, ivital though the task was prior to satellites and floating buoys.

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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.

Yes certainly sorts the men from the boys.

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

Well John I joined the Weather Reporter, seen sailing down the Clyde in photo, and stayed two years. I then came ashore just in time to spend the 62/3 winter on Salisbury Plain so when they wanted a volunteer to fill in for a month (as you know they were always desperate for volunteers), I jumped at it. The one month became twenty years.

post-12275-0-18529900-1439970359_thumb.j

Edited by knocker
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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

The 'boat' you show looks okay for a river but not for hurricane force Atlantic gales, makes me feel queasy looking at it!

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

They were converted frigates built for convoy duty so in many ways they were ideal although it must be said they did bounce around a lot and ploughed up and through 60-80 foot waves. Quite safe really unless the captain was barking which unfortunately a couple were but that's another story. I'm off to swing the lamps.

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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

IF I had managed to live through a trip I would have been a skeleton back in port, sea sick constantly so a great way to lose weight!

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

A rather drastic way to lose weight. We did have to bring a young lad back to dry land once he was so ill. Normally it either cleared up after a few days or you were in a canvas shroud, The last stitch..................................

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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

in a canvas shroud, The last stitch..................................


 

that would be me-happy on canals and rivers where I control how much and how quickly the boat goes up and down!

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  • 3 years later...
Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

THE O.W.S. "WEATHER OBSERVER" IS READY FOR  SEA This former Flower-class corvette, built in 1941 and known as the Marguerite," is one of four ex-submarine hunters converted into ocean weather -ships for the Meteorological Office of the Air Ministry. The Weather Observer is the first to be completed and, at the time of writing, she is preparing to take station off the west coast of Ireland. Altogether thirteen weather-ships will be anchored in the North Atlantic the United States, France, Holland, Belgium, Norway and Sweden co-operating with Great Britain in the maintenance of a service which will provide weather reports to the Powers concerned, provide navigational aids for  aircraft, take part in search and rescue services, and make oceanographical and other scientific observations. This special “Sphere” drawing by  Laurence Dunn shows the interior lay-out of the “Weather Observer," which has been fitted out at Sheerness. The crew of the Weather Observer consists of twelve officers, twenty petty officers and twenty ratings. Inset above

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The situation of the new Atlantic weather stations provide navigational aids for aircraft in flight, and make oceanographical and other scientific observations when I practicable. Surface and upper-air observations will be made at frequent intervals, day and night, and the results transmitted to the Meteorological Office at Dunstable by radio. For upper-air observations, radio-sonde and radar will be employed. The ships will also re-transmit  weather reports received from certain merchant ships.

THE O.W.S. "WEATHER OBSERVER" FITTING OUT AT SHEERNESS An artist's impression of the converted vessel in dock on the eve of her departure for sea trials. The superstructure is yellow, as that colour shows up more clearly than any other at sea

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The above was published in

The Sphere - Saturday 02 August 1947

Image © Illustrated London News Group

Edited by knocker
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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

THE FIRST OF THE OCEAN WEATHER SHIPS: The ex-Flower class corvette Marguerite, renamed the Weather Observer and christened last week by the Secretary of State for Air, seen lying in Shadwell Basin. London Docks, before leaving for her station off the coast of Ireland. She is one of thirteen weather-ships provided by ten nations which will be anchored in the Atlantic to provide the world with meteorological information and navigational aids. The Weather Observer has now started her first tour of duty off the IrishCoast

image.thumb.jpeg.ec2bc0d7343a50bbd139a861cb54a49a.jpeg

THE BALLOON GOES UP FROM THE WEATHER OBSERVER Officers of the weather ship examining the equipment which will be used in the Atlantic for taking meteorological observations

balloon.thumb.JPG.15d60921566cc481f41b2f411151ed50.JPG

The Sphere - Saturday 09 August 1947

Image © Illustrated London News Group

 

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

Interesting as I sailed on this ship in 1960

Weather Reporter

A New British Weather Ship Joins the Atlantic Forecasting Service

At Greenock on May 16, Lord Hurcomb renamed as Weather Reporter the former naval frigate, Oakham Castle, converted to meteorological purposes for this great international service. Two hundred delegates attended the ceremony from Eire and Israel, from Switzerland and Sweden, as well as the more obvious sufferers from cold fronts and shallow depressions but it is perhaps legitimate to note that Greenock was surely designed by Providence to be the base of our British Weather Ships. This is rather a Scottish joke; but Greenock, a fine man-made harbour within the great natural harbour of the Firth of Clyde, is as notorious for its average annual rainfall of 60-odd inches as is Aberdeen for parsimony.

The Sphere - Saturday 31 May 1958

Image © Illustrated London News Group

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