The first soundings.
There are no concrete data in connection with the first experimental aerologic sounding carried out in Cuba, although some references coming from secondary sources were published afterwards.
Therefore, starting from the available information —including here the little that it was pointed out by the newspapers of the Capital—, it has been made clear that the first aerologic experiments realized in Cuba were carried out in 1922 by means of pilot globes released from a ship at the bay of Havana. The first reference comes from a work published by Tabío (1936) that made a succinct review of that first attempt in an article published in the Bulletin of the National Observatory. That information comprises only a paragraph.
Previously, the only observations of this nature had been made by two German scientists, Doctors Alfred Wegener (...) and Erich Kuhlbrodt (...) from the steamer Saksenwald [sic] at the Port of Havana... (Tabío, 1936).
We have carried out a meticulous research in the newspapers of the time, trying to verify the fact, but the results have been scanty. The little that we found amounts to a communication on the arrival of the ship mentioned by Tabío. According to our investigation, the history went as follows:
In the second dozen of April of 1922 a merchant ship entered in Cuban water, the Sachsenwald, of German flag. The ship had weighed anchor off Hamburg, possibly at the end of March or in the first days of April, On the journey she made ports on the Atlantic Ocean. There were two scientists aboard that had the responsibility of developing a program of atmospheric and marine meteorology studies in the tropical area for the Deutsche Seewarte (German meteorological service). As part of their equipment, they carried a theodolite and a stock of pilot globes dedicated to the realization of aerologic studies.
The Sachsenwald arrived to the Bay of Havana on April 14 1922. About her the “Diario de la Marina” tell us, pointing out through a concise note: News of the Port. Coming from Hamburg, via ports of the south coast of Cuba, the German vapor Sachsenwald arrived yesterday bringing general cargo (D. De la M., April 15).
This information, not very explicit by itself, allows us on the other hand to confirm the data of Tabío, although it is obvious that for those who made the report of the movements at the jetty, the entrance of the ship didn't have any special significance.
As it has already been said, Doctors Alfred Lothar Wegener and Erich Kulhbrodt traveled in the ship; the first one was meteorology professor at the University of Hamburg and the second an specialist of the Deutsche Seewarte.
By means of another Havana’s newspaper (El Avisador Comercial, April 17) we know that on Monday April 17 the Sachsenwald was still moored at San José's jetties in discharge and load operations. On the 19 probably weighed anchor off Havana towards Matanzas, to continue later toward Cárdenas's bay, place at which she arrived on Wednesday 21 carrying general load consigned to Arrechavaleta, Amézaga and Company (D. De la M., April 22).
The aforementioned data allow us to set the dates of permanency of the Sachsenwald at Havana between the days 14 and 18 of April 1922. Assisting to these dates, and according to data contained in the Bulletin of the National Observatory (Millás, 1926), it is possible to state that on Tuesday April 18 1922, at 16:45 local time, the German investigators made the launching of the first two pilot globes at the bay of Havana.
In accordance with the mentioned testimony, two launchings were carried out: one using a paper globe, and the second with a rubber spheroid that was followed optically until an altitude calculated in 6 250 m. The ascendant speed of this globe was estimated in 4,16 m.s—1. Both devices were filled with Hydrogen and they were prepared to lift a counterbalance of 315 g.
However, as J. C. Millás expressed “... these are isolated, rather than continuous observations, and they don't allow to draw conclusions, since they don't allow to fix relationships with other variables for the same places (loc cit).
It is little what we know and a lot what we ignore, so there are questions without answer so important as what the results of the soundings were and if globes were only launched in Havana or also in other Cuban ports. These two questions don't have definitive answer.
We should point out that from final of the XIX century there had been carried out, favored by diverse countries, oceanographic expeditions directed to achieve a better knowledge of the mechanisms of ocean-atmosphere interaction. During the XX century these expeditions were numerous. Among them we can point out those carried out by the Prince of Monaco between the years 1885 and 1922, and those of the French ship “Jacques Cartier.” The campaigns of the American scientific ship “Carnegie” (1928-1929) and those of the German ship “Meteor” (1925-1927).
As it is logical to expect, the German meteorologists held an exchange with their Cuban homologous and they visited, on April 19, the headquarters of the national meteorological service.