Bluie West Seven Bluie West 7 or Grondal was a major U . S . naval operating facility ( naval base ) near Ivigtut in Arsuk Fjord , Greenland . In some form , it was in operation from 1940 to 1951 , although its formal establishment by the U . S . Navy was on 1 April 1943 . After 1942 , the proper name was Grønnedal ( Danish ) , or Green Valley ( English ) , but the base was also called Grondal ( “ groan dale ” ) by Americans . It was three miles east of the Ivigtut cryolite mine . The location ’ s local name in use today is Kangilinnguit . The Arsuk Fjord approach is accessible by sea year - round , though with occasional ice - breaking assistance , and is known as an exceptionally scenic area . Founding . During the initial period of U . S . humanitarian aid to Greenland ( 1940 ) , the cryolite mine at Ivigtut was identified as the only sensitive military target in need of protection . In addition , the Cryolite Company informed the U . S . that its workers were unreliable and might be a greater security risk than a German raider . To address an urgent Greenlandic request and to forestall similar British / Canadian plans while simultaneously avoiding the appearance of American intervention , a minimal force of 15 U . S . servicemen were given discharges and then hired by the Cryolite Company . For their use , in June 1940 the U . S . sold to the Greenland government an armaments package including one 3 ” naval gun and 55 rifles with ammunition . However , as early as November 1940 the State Department mentioned to the colonial governors the eventual need for a naval station in the vicinity . Plans were drawn up by the Navy Department over the winter , awaiting renewed American shipping access in March 1941 . In spring 1941 , after the Hull - Kauffmann agreement allowed U . S . militarization of Greenland , a proper naval base was sought nearby . At first , the mine village was itself used , as it had the best port facilities in Greenland . It was supplemented by a protected anchorage at Kungnat Bay ten miles west , near Arsuk village . By May 1942 , the Army took over protection of the mine , while the Navy operated in temporary quarters pending move to a nearby location . This site was known as Grønnedal from the green foliage there . In April 1942 , U . S . Coast Guard vessels began surveying the site for a tank farm and other buildings . By February , the Navy decided to expand to an Advanced Operating Facility with an initial complement of 64 men , and the base was inaugurated on 1 April 1943 . Major construction continued in 1943 , and Grondal , known then as Navy 26 , became an important naval support base . Operation . During the war , BW - 7 was the main node of an extensive naval infrastructure in the area . From the coast , ships would enter Arsuk Fjord at the Kajartalik ( island ) lighthouse , operational in June 1942 . They would pass close abeam ( or visit ) the small Eskimo village of Arsuk on the left , then enter Kungnat Bay where a number of vessels were usually anchored in the lee of Mt . Kungnait ( 4 , 600 ft ) . Ships could then proceed through a narrow channel ( large ships favoring a wider southern strait ) and past a coastal artillery post to Ivigtut Mine , or go on to Grondal . On the opposite side of the fjord were several support buildings for communications and area defense , including a coastal artillery site at a fort ( locally known as Christianshavn ) . Arsuk Glacier formed the head of the fjord . Amphibian aircraft slips were available at Kungnat Bay and Grondal , and several other protected places were usable for seaplanes ; however , the nearest air base was at BW - 1 ( Narsarsuaq ) about 100 miles east - south - east . An airfield for land planes at closer Kipisako ( BW - 2 ) in Coppermine Bay was surveyed and mapped , but not constructed . The naval facility ’ s purpose was to provide refueling and minor repairs , as well as to support convoy escort , coastal patrol , marine surveying , and construction in the area . It generally served smaller Coast Guard vessels , which operated in Greenland under Navy command , as well as requisitioned freighters carrying the essential cryolite cargo . In addition , Coast Guard PBY Catalina aircraft regularly operated from the ramp . A 1945 Navy report listed Grondal as having a camp for 16 officers and 130 enlisted men , a radio station and visual signal post , a 580 foot crib pier , two cruiser - type moorings , a 105 , 000 barrel tank farm , a 250 - pontoon drydock , 2 , 000 sq . ft . of ammunition storage , an emergency seaplane facility and numerous repair and maintenance buildings . Despite this , BW - 7 was far eclipsed by the Navy ’ s larger Greenland Patrol Headquarters established adjacent to the Army ’ s Greenland Base Command at BW - 1 ( Narsarssuak ) . The mine village itself had a pier and minor port facilities . The population there was about 100 - 150 Danish workers in addition to the mine guards and the later Army post . Greenland natives were not allowed in Ivigtut , but Americans freely encountered them at Arsuk next to Kungnat Bay . In 1945 , the U . S . State Department listed the extent of the Ivigtut Defense Area as two - fold : 6112N to 6115N and 4805W to 4811W , as well as 6113N to 6114N and 4815W to 4818W . Legacy . Grondal operated under U . S . Navy command until the replacement Greenland Base Treaty of 1951 stipulated its transfer to the Danish government at the same time as a new U . S . Defense Area was established at Thule . From that time Grønnedal was Headquarters Danish Forces in Greenland . In 2012 , the base was closed and residual military functions moved to Nuuk ( Godthaab ) , the capital of Greenland . See Kangilinnguit .