Alexai Point Army Airfield is an abandoned
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
airfield
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
with two runways laid across Alexai Point on
Attu Island
Attu ( ale, Atan, russian: Атту, link=no) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is the westernmost point of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabite ...
, Alaska. The remains of the
Seabee
United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...
built airbase are located about 4 miles east of the closed
Casco Cove Coast Guard Station, directly across Massacre Bay.
History
On the morning of 11 May 1943, American forces went ashore on Japanese-occupied
Attu in the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
. The Japanese, who knew the Americans were coming, had pulled back from their shoreline positions and moved to defensive positions on higher ground above the fog.
[Chloe, John Hale, (1984), Top Cover for America. the Air Force in Alaska. 1920–1983, Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, ]
On 30 May 1943, before the battle for Attu was completely over, the building of Alexai Point Airfield was initiated using
Marsden Matting
Marston Mat, more properly called pierced (or perforated) steel planking (PSP), is standardized, perforated steel matting material developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the r ...
to pave the runways.
[Conn, Stetson, Rose C. Engelman, and Byron Fairchild. Guarding the United States and Its Outposts. New York: University Press Of The Pacific, 2002. Print.] Navy Seabees also began construction of an airfield at
Casco Cove for Naval Air units. Also, on 28 May, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu. The following day, Army Engineers came ashore on
Shemya
Shemya or Simiya ( ale, Samiyax̂) is a small island in the Semichi Islands group of the Near Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at . It has a land area of , and is about southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. It is ...
to begin construction of another, much longer runway suitable for bombers.
The first landing at Alexai Point Airfield was made by an
Eleventh Air Force
The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquarte ...
C-47 arriving on 8 June 1943 to deliver fighter crews to Alexai Point, and to evacuate wounded soldiers. Shortly afterwards, P-40 Warhawks from the 344th Fighter Squadron arrived to provide air cover over the island.
USAAF units assigned to Alexai Point Army Airfield were:
*
18th Fighter Squadron, March 28, 1944 – November 6, 1945 (P-38 Lightning)
*
54th Fighter Squadron
The 54th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 3d Operations Group, being stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It was inactivated on 28 April 2000.
History World War II
Activated ...
, November 20, 1943- March 8, 1946 (P-38 Lightning)
*
344th Fighter Squadron
The 344th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 343d Fighter Group stationed at Shemya Army Airfield, Alaska Territory.
History
Activated as a P-40 Warhawk fighter squadron in Alaska during ...
, June 12 - December 1943 (P-40 Warhawk)
*
77th Bombardment Squadron #REDIRECTSecret Agent 077
Secret Agent 077 is a fictional superspy, lead character in a trilogy of Eurospy films starring Ken Clark as Dick Malloy (or Maloy).p.274 Blake, Matt & Deal, David ''The Eurospy Guide'' 2004 Luminary Press However "077" ...
, July–September 1943; Feb 11, 1944-October 19, 1945 (B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder)
Initially used for carrying out bombardment operations over
Kiska
Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...
Island during June and July 1943, Alexai Point and the new
Shemya Army Airfield
Eareckson Air Station , formerly Shemya Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
The airport was closed as an active Air Force Station on 1 July 1994. Howev ...
became forward bases for operations against the Kurile Islands of northern Japan, after the end of the
Aleutian Islands Campaign in late August. Alexai Point became home of very long-range (VLR) P-38 Lightning squadrons, providing fighter escort for
B-24 Liberators bombers based at Shemya.
By mid-July fighters from Alexai Point Airfield had made their first strike against Japan, a raid against the northern
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
.
[
With the end of the war in 1945, combat units were gradually withdrawn; the 11th Weather Squadron and the 713th Air Warning Radar Squadron remained until June 1946 when the base was closed. The facility was abandoned, with most structures dismantled, the usable buildings being reassembled at Naval Air Station Attu.]
Accidents and incidents
On January 1, 1945, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Nesmith flying from Alexai Point, crashed his Lockheed P-38G-10-LO Lightning in Temnac Valley, just west of Attu Station while on a low-level training mission over Attu. The aircraft was nominated to be added to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
but instead was recovered in 1999 and static-restored for display at Elmendorf AFB
Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II.
It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command (AL ...
.["Pacific Wrecks - P-38G-10-LO Lightning Serial Number 42-13400 Nose 95." PACIFIC WRECKS. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2010. .]
See also
* Alaska World War II Army Airfields
References
*
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
External links
Image
of a sign "Welcome to Alexai Point, Unincorporated, The Home of the Army's Northwestern-Most Airfield."
Image
of a sign "Good Bye You Are Now Leaving Alexai Point Hurry Back."
Photos
taken during 1944 at Alexai Point.
{{USAAF 11th Air Force World War II
Aleutian Islands campaign
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Alaska
Airports in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska
Military installations closed in 1946
1943 establishments in Alaska
1946 disestablishments in Alaska
Attu Island