 In 1935, Lieutenant Colonel Konrad Goltz of the German Air Force ("Luftwaffe"), a supply officer based at the port of Kiel, was given the task of organizing the "Seenotdienst" (Sea Rescue Service), an air-sea rescue organization focusing on the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.Goltz gained coordination with aircraft units of the "Kriegsmarine" as well as with civilian lifeboat societies.Early in 1939, with the growing probability of war against Great Britain, the "Luftwaffe" carried out large-scale rescue exercises over water.