Leo Gburek (18 April 1910 in Bismarckhütte – 17 January 1941 in

Fair Isle Fair Isle ( ; ), sometimes Fairisle, is the southernmost Shetland island, situated roughly from the Shetland Mainland and about from North Ronaldsay (the most northerly island of Orkney). The entire archipelago lies off the northernmost coa ...

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

) was a German

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

and a member of the Third German Antarctic Expedition 1938/39.

Life

Leo Gburek attended the

Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' () generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primar ...

and Oberrealschule in Beuthen. In 1929 he began a study of

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. In the summer months of 1937 and 1938 he took part in expeditions to

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...

, where he undertook geomagnetic surveys. There he met Ernst Herrmann, who was also a member of the third German Antarctic Expedition led by Alfred Ritscher. Due to his polar experience Gburek was selected in October 1938 to join this expedition. His responsibilities included geomagnetic measurements on the Antarctic continent. A group of rocky elevations on the ice sheet was named by the expedition leader ''Gburekspitzen ( Gburek Peaks)''. At the beginning of World War II Gburek was conscripted and served as a weather observer in the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

in weather reconnaissance squadron Wekusta 1 / Ob.dL. In January 1941, his plane was shot down over the Shetland Islands during a reconnaissance flight and he was killed, aged 30, during the crash landing at Vaasetter,

.The Last Flight – Heinz Thurz
(Luftwaffe pilot's accounts of the last mission), retrieved 25 July 2015 He was buried on 20 January 1941 in the cemetery of Fair Isle but, along with his colleague Georg Nentwig who also died in the crash, he was later reburied at the

Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery The Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery () is on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, England. The cemetery contains nearly 5,000 burials from both the First and Second World War. The burials are mainly German and Austrian nationals with a very small ...

, Staffordshire, England.

Publications

* "Geophysikalischer Arbeitsbericht". In: ''Vorbericht über die Deutsche Antarktische Expedition 1938/39. Annalen der Hydrographie und Maritimen Meteorologie'' VIII (1939), Beiheft, S. 21–23. * "Erdmagnetische Messungen, Eisuntersuchungen, Strahlungsmessungen und Kernzählungen". In: A. Ritscher (Hrsg.) ''Deutsche Antarktische Expedition 1938/39. Wissenschaftliche und fliegerische Ergebnisse''. Band 2, Mundus, Hamburg 1954–1958, S. 97–100.

References

External links

Walter Hesse: ''Zum 10jährigen Todestag von Leo Gburek''.
Polarforschung Band 21, S. 32. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gburek, Leo 1910 births 1941 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Scotland Burials at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery German geophysicists German polar explorers Leipzig University alumni Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941