Allied Norway could create an anti-submarine barrier

An Allied or strongly pro-Allied neutral Norway could have supported Coastal Command patrols across the northern approaches. Once aircraft carried surface-search radar, overlapping flights between Scotland and Norway might have created a broad zone in which U-boats could not safely surface and recharge. Bases farther north would also have strengthened anti-submarine coverage for Arctic convoys and could have made supply to the Soviet Union easier, although any landward transit still depended on Swedish permission. German possession of Norway therefore affected the Battle of the Atlantic far beyond the campaign's local land fighting.