Erich Etienne
German geophysicist, polar explorer and pilot (1915–1942)
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Dr. Erich W. Etienne (24 February 1915 – 23 July 1942) was a German geophysicist, polar explorer and pilot.
Erich Etienne | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 February 1915 |
| Died | 23 July 1942 (aged 27) |
| Occupations | geophysicist, polar explorer, pilot |
| Years active | 1936–1942 |
Early life
Erich Etienne was born in Leipzig and studied geophysics in Leipzig and Exeter before going to the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship in 1934. He then took part in the Oxford University Greenland Expeditions of the Oxford University Exploration Club in 1936[1] and 1938.[2] In 1939 he received his doctorate under Ludwig Weickmann at the University of Leipzig.
Second World War
During the Second World War, Etienne became a pilot and flight meteorologist in the Luftwaffe. From the autumn of 1940 he was assigned as a weather observer and meteorological advisor to Wettererkundungsstaffel 5 based at Trondheim-Værnes. His doctoral supervisor Weickmann had previously been appointed chief meteorologist at Luftflotte 5. In September 1940 Etienne was assigned to the crew of a Heinkel He 115, which flew reconnaissance missions in preparations for the Axis landing at Jan Mayen island.
In 1941–1942 Etienne led Operation Bansö, a German effort to set up a staffed weather station on Spitsbergen.
Erich Etienne was killed after his Junkers Ju 88 was shot down on July 23, 1942 during a reconnaissance flight over Svalbard's capital Longyearbyen.
Publications
- 1940 Expeditionsbericht der Grönland-Expedition der Universität Oxford 1938. Veröffentlichungen des Geophysikalischen Instituts der Universität Leipzig, Serie 2, Bd. 13. (GND 363590579)
- 1940 Geophysikalische Arbeiten auf einer Grönland-Expedition. Borna-Leipzig. (GND 570149665)