More from CHUCK MYLES (1068-1989) on this mysterious German base on the Russian coast; this is continued from KTB #103.

"ZAPADNAYA LITSA became known by the Germans as BASIS NORD and was ready for use by blockade runners from 1 December, 1939. During the winter of 1939-1940 there were lengthy Soviet-German negotiations over the use of the Arctic sea route for German convoys to and from Japan. Only one German ship, the auxiliary cruiser KOMET (Schiff 45) undertook the two-month passage from west to east in July- August 1940 with the assistance of several Soviet ice breakers.

With the occupation of Norway in 1940, the Germans no longer had a need for the bases on the Kola peninsula. Admiral Raeder made it a point to telegraph his thanks to Admiral Kuznetsov for the use of the bases. "It should be noted that in this time of close relationship between Germany and the Soviet Union, there were attempts by Stalin to obtain aircraft and warships from Germany. The heavy cruiser LUTZOW was sold to the Soviets and towed to Leningrad in April 1940 but was never completed. There is also some evidence that the German Navy wished to obtain submarines from the Soviets, but Hitler rejected that proposal on 10 October 1939, fearing that the boats would not be useful and wishing to avoid showing any signs of military weakness to the Soviets."

More on this interesting part of World War II history next month in KTB #105. Pretty soon, we will need a roster to tell who was friends with whom, and who was fighting with whom.