Basis Nord Basis Nord was a proposed secret German naval base in Zapadnaya Litsa Bay , west of Murmansk provided by the Soviet Union . The base was part of a partnership that developed between Germany and the Soviet Union following German - Soviet Non - Aggression treaty of 1939 , along with a broad economic agreement of 1940 . In 1939 , the Soviet Union agreed to supply the base location to Germany for the purpose of supporting U - boats and commerce raiding . Germany sent supply ships that were anchored in the bay , no Kriegsmarine fighting vessels have been resupplied . Germany ' s April 1940 invasion of Norway thereafter rendered the base unnecessary . In 2008 , Basis Nord featured in a prominent BBC - PBS investigative history series , " " , and a book of the same name by Laurence Rees in 2009 . Background . During the summer of 1939 , after conducting negotiations with both a British – French group and Germany regarding potential military and political agreements , the Soviet Union chose Germany , resulting in an August 19 German – Soviet Trade Agreement providing for the trade of certain German military and civilian equipment in exchange for Soviet raw materials and the August 23 Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact , which contained secret protocols dividing the states of Northern and Eastern Europe into German and Soviet " spheres of influence . " One week after the Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact ' s signing , the partition of Poland commenced with the German invasion of western Poland , followed by the Soviet Union ' s invasion of Eastern Poland on September 17 , which included coordination with German forces . Negotiations . In late 1939 , both countries began discussions of creating a larger economic agreement than the 1939 German – Soviet Trade Agreement . From the start of those negotiations , the Soviet Union made clear that it was willing to exchange its strategic maritime position for technology . The Soviets were willing to provide a northern base to the Germans , but not a busy seaport because it would provide an open indication of Soviet assistance of Germany , indicating that it was a co - belligerent . In October , the Soviets initially offered to provide a base to the west of Murmansk , which the Germans noted lacked anchorage shelter and facilities . The Soviets modified the offer to then undeveloped Zapadnaya Litsa , in the Motovsky Gulf on the Litsa Fjord at the westernmost point of the Kola Peninsula , which the Germans accepted . Base Operations . Need for secrecy . While it made secret agreements with Germany for territorial division and military aid , the Soviet Union attempted to maintain a thin cloak of neutrality . As such , several options for the Soviet supply of German raiding ships that operated at the edge of international law were considered , such as having the German ships feign the capture of Soviet supply vessels as a " prize " ( and then releasing them after the Germans retrieved supplies ) or placing supplies at a transshipment point where the Germans would later retrieve them . The base at Zapadnaya Litsa , called " Basis Nord " , had advantages with regard to secrecy . It was surrounded by Russian territory and closed to all foreign and Soviet domestic shipping , so that no one could see operations taking place . Its entrance also prevented observation from the open sea . Initial base conditions . Germany knew that overt German fortification of Basis Nord was a political impossibility . The base at that time was entirely undeveloped , with no communications by rail or road and lacked access to potable water . Murmansk ( 120 kilometers away ) had access to White Sea - Baltic Canal , but when the Germans arrived , Murmansk had not yet been developed and Gulag forced labor was still present constructing Soviet facilities . Germany initially procured the necessary supplies for its U - boats to use at the base and sent them first to Murmansk . It used the merchant ships " Cordillera " ( 12 , 055 grt ) , " Phoenicia " ( 4124 grt ) and the " Sachsenwald " ( 650 grt ) for these purposes . All three ships had been interned at Murmansk since the beginning of the war . The " Cordillera " returned to Murmansk almost immediately in December 1939 , and then traveled to Hamburg in February 1940 . The Soviet Union ' s Arctic Fleet Command was informed by Moscow that the Germans were to be able to use the base to support their blockade of the British Isles . However , British submarine HMS " Salmon " sank " U - 36 " , the initial submarine Germany sent to scout Basis Nord , in the Norwegian Sea , though the British did not know " U - 36 " mission . " U - 38 " later accomplished the scouting task despite the interference by the Soviet torpedo boats and coast guard ships . Rumors . In December 1939 , western European media began to publish reported rumors of a northern German submarine base operating in the Soviet Union . Danish newspaper " Nationaltidende " , French magazine " Paris Soir " and a French radio station reported rumors of a German submarine base , though they incorrectly identified the location . Germany dismissed the reports as unfounded rumors . Similar rumors surfaced in March 1940 in the " Stockholm Daily Press " . Invasion of Norway . In April 1940 , Germany invaded Norway to attain a base for naval raiding in the North Atlantic , and to secure shipments of iron - ore from Sweden through the port of Narvik . Although the ships used were not launched from Basis Nord , the supply ship " Jan Wellem " , important for Narvik operations was sent from Basis Nord . No German U - boats or surface warships were supplied out of Basis Nord . On May 1 , 1940 , the Soviets provided a better anchorage point for Basis Nord at nearby Iokanga Bay . However , the German capture of Norway decreased the need for operations at Basis Nord , and it became more important as a symbol of cooperation than a base for significant operation . In April 1940 , the Soviet Union withdrew its promises given with regard to Basis Nord .