Ernst Weber

Kapitän zur See Ernst Faehrmann Weber, Jr. (7 October 1905-8 January 1975) was the first chairman of and one of the principal founders of the USSDF. Born in Hamburg, Germany, he eventually rose to the rank of Kapitän zur See (Captain at Sea) in the German Kriegsmarine during World War II, and commanded U-boat Carloman, a test-bed for various advanced scientific experiments. After the war, he was brought to the United States as part of Project Paperclip, where he eventually joined the USSDF and became its first Chairman until his death in 1975.

Early Life
Born in Hamburg, Germany on the 7th of October, 1905, to wealthy parents Edith and Ernst, Sr. Weber would lead a privileged childhood in the lap of luxury. However, after the end of the First World War, and the onset of the Great Depression, Weber's parents lost much of their wealth, and Weber was forced to take a job. He worked as an accountant at a small science lab throughout the 1920s. However, in 1935, as the new fascist German government spread, Weber would continue his family tradition and would join the German military.

Die Glocke
In late 1935, Weber was assigned to serve as a scientific consultant on the experimental German super weapon Die Glocke. He would quickly rise through the ranks of the project due to his fortitude and intelligence, until in 1938, when he was a senior project manager, and one of the project's foremost experts. During this time, he would also meet wealthy German woman, Adelheid, whom he would become wed to in 1939.

Carloman
After the outbreak of outright hostilities with the Allied powers, Ernst was assigned to the Kriegsmarine, and would be promoted directly to the rank of Kapitän zur See. This was so that he could assume command of the German U-Boat Carloman, so he could oversee the variety of illicit experiments on board, as the Carloman was used as essentially a test bed for new German weapons and experiments. While serving on the Carolman, Weber would become intimately familiar with the workings of many German weapons and experiments. However, at the end of the war, the German government would fall to the Allies, and Ernst's future was thrown into uncertainty.