What was the Lena River Delta U-boat base in the Arctic used for?
Upvote:12
tl;dr
No such base has ever existed.
Let's look at the map
The "port distance" between Kiel and Archangel is 1951 nautical miles, between Kiel and Murmansk - 1584 nautical miles.
The air distance between Murmansk and Tiksi (Lena delta) is 1744.66 nmi.
Yes, a German Type IX submarine with a range of 12knmi can go there and back. Can it actually carry there concrete, fuel drums, workers, heavy equipment &c &c &c? Not really.
Moreover, one look at the map is enough to realize that a Krigsmarine base there would serve no purpose. It is too far to be used against the Arctic convoys. There are no targets in the area. Pacific is also too far. Add to this the harsh climate (to put it mildly - ocean actually freezes and the base is unreachable 9 months of the year) and the question becomes moot.
Yes, but the rumors are so persistent!
My guess is that it all started with oil drums. USSR swiped in Germany everything if could carry. They probably took the fuel drums and brought them to Tiksi (and many other places). Some of them might have been stolen by the locals, who then, quite naturally, claim to have fished them out of the river. Then the rumor mill takes over - someone would claim to have seen Nazi coins or uniforms or submarine pens...
At any rate, I think the Lena base is as real as the Secret Nazi Base in Antarctica or on the Moon.
PS: Don't confuse this mythical base with automatic and manned weather stations. Lena delta is too far to be useful as such.
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