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the sun never sets on the British Empire

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During World War II, Operation Tabarin was a small British expedition launched from the UK in 1943 to the Antarctic to establish permanently-occupied bases. Reasons for the expedition There were several reasons for Tabarin. Prior to the start of the war, German aircraft had dropped markers with swastikas across Queen Maud Land in an attempt to create a territorial claim. In 1943, British personnel from HMS Carnarvon Castle removed Argentinean flags from Deception Island. There were also concerns within the Foreign Office about the direction of United States' post-war activity in the region. So, one reason was to establish solid British claims to various uninhabited islands and parts of Antarctica, reinforced by Argentinean sympathies toward Germany. Secondly, there was a need to deny opportunities to the enemy. Germany was known to use remote islands as rendezvous points and as shelters for raiders, U-boats and supply ships. Also, in 1941, there had been a fear that Japan might attempt to seize the Falkland Islands, either as a base or hand them to Argentina, thus gaining political advantage for the Axis and denying their use to Britain. Deception Island, in the British South Shetland Islands, possessed a sheltered anchorage with an old Norwegian whaling station. In 1941, the British (aboard HMS Queen of Bermuda) had taken the precaution of destroying coal dumps and oil tanks there, to prevent their possible use by the Germans. It has also been suggested that the operation may have partially been a disinformation exercise, nominally to detect suspected German naval replenishment activity - information which was, in fact, being obtained from the cracking of the Enigma machine. Whether or not this was the case may be revealed when the remaining government files are released.

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