Wettererkundungsstaffeln (also known as Wekusta or Westa) were flying units of the Luftwaffe of squadron strength used for weather reconnaissance.
For the planning and conduct of military operations, the ability to produce accurate weather forecasts can be a decisive factor.
However, international weather data required for this purpose were not readily available to the German military at the time of the Second World War.
The weather aircraft were organised into special squadrons and were usually directly subordinate to the Luftwaffe or Luftwaffenführungskommando.
[1] Notes:The squadron identification code painted on the side of the aircraft was based on the standardized Geschwaderkennung four-place alphanumeric characters used by the Luftwaffe's combat wing and group-sized units, two characters on either side of the Balkenkreuz national insignia.