Icelands strategic value is obvious. The ebb & flow of German ships to the atlantic,( not to mention an extra place for Raider captures ), The British landed in 40 & US in 41. Hitler did speak of landings with U-boats on Iceland, whether it was seriously studied by the Navy is question one. The Bigger question is, could it be done? Perhaps an airborne assault on the Brit base, in concert with a ship borne assault on the NW coast. The bay of Hunafloi is not too far from Reykyavik. Captured Norweigian ships could be sent above the Shetland patrol line, as most raiders were & beached at bay of Hunafloi,( Beached to be drained of fuel). Most likely in summer of 40 when Brits were engaged in BOB & weather - road conditions would be good. West Iceland does have connecting roads from town to town & has for a long time. If successful, anticipated allied attack to re-take Iceland would probably not take place til spring 41, when weather conditions improved, giving Germans 9-12 months to dig in & use Island operationally. Many feel Germany could not keep Iceland resupplied. Which is the next real question. Key factors are; if successful, the attackers would capture supplies of Brit defenders, some supplies would be brought by JU 52's, & some by U-boat, & some by Norweigian cargo ships. Some argue the Brits would sink supply vessels, but with local air control going to Germans, this is not as easy as one might think. & remember a standing patrol of troops,( Crete after its capture for example ), would need much less supply than an active army, a la Tunisia or Murmansk front. Nuff said, other thoughts are appreciated.

I think the Royal Navy would have sunk the cargo ships and end of that story.Sure it would have been a bloody war if the Germans had captured Iceland, but U-boats and Ju-52´s would not be enough to take supplies there, and U-boats are not meant to fight destroyers etc which means they would have been used in battles directed totally off their main use. taking and keeping Iceland would have been too risky and too expensive, and in the long run losing the men and equipment, U-boats etc would have been too great a loss. I´m sure they did have a plan but like the invasion of Ireland, not worth the trouble.

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That is a common point of view, but remember several raiders got through as well as German warships without too much trouble into atlantic. Radar was primitive in 1940 & df'ing was not fully developed at this time either. I wonder what the size of the British garrison actually was? I agree holding would be the difficult task compared to taking & supplying. Agreed on U-boats vs destroyers, but air power would would be the real opponent for destroyers.

Yep, the raiders did get through in the beginning but I have a feeling that by 1943 not many got through anymore if any. Maybe someone who knows actual numbers can help.

The Germans did have some troops/bases in the northern area on some islands. I suppose these were collecting weather data.

The FW Condor was quite a tough opponent and did cause havoc on merchant ships at some point more damage than the U-boats(?). The Germans for some reason did not develope this type of warfare ahead and as well there were Hurricanes or the type that could be launched from ships against them ( but could not be reused ).

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Indeed, almost none got through in 43, but Hitler had decided to not take unneccessary risks with surface ships after Bismarck disaster. The actual distance between Norway & Iceland is 760 miles, not as far as some might think. The invasion of Crete involved 469 JU 52's, but I think Crete had more defenders than Iceland would have. Again I don't have the numbers on brit troops that landed in 40. Shall have to do more research.

Here's a link with the history of Keflavik NAS

Here's a small excerpt,

The first US Military involvement in Iceland dates back to 1941, when Marines arrived after an agreement between the governments of Iceland, Great Britain and the United States. The forces were replacements for the British garrison that was stationed in Iceland after the British occupation in May of the previous year. In addition to their defense role, US forces constructed the Keflavik Airport as a refueling point for aircraft deliveries and cargo flights to Europe. Following World War II, all military personnel were withdrawn from the country as specified in the original agreement.

Just wondering if anybody's read Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising. In the novel the key to victory for the Soviets was the seizure of Iceland.

If the Germans were to seize Iceland they would have been in a similar position. Far away from home with no chance for re-supply. They would have been able to cause considerable damage to merchants with their FW Condors.

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