Amchitka Air Force Base is an abandoned Air Force Base located on
Amchitka, in the
Rat Islands
The Rat Islands ( ale, Qax̂um tanangis, russian: Крысьи острова) are a group of American volcanic islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska, between Buldir Island and the Near Islands group to its west, and Amchitka ...
group of the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...
in southwest
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
.
History
Aleutians campaign
The
Aleutian Islands Campaign was not considered a priority by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in late 1942. British
Prime Minister Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
stated that sending forces to attack the Japanese presence there was a diversion from the
North African Campaign and Admiral
Chester Nimitz
Chester William Nimitz (; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in C ...
saw it as a diversion from his operations in the Central Pacific. Commanders in Alaska, however, believed the Japanese presence in the Aleutians a threat to the
United States West Coast
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. ...
and once the islands were again in United States hands, forward bases could be established to attack
Japan from there.
[Chloe, John Hale, (1984), Top Cover for America. the Air Force in Alaska. 1920–1983, Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, ]
The establishment of
Adak Army Airfield
Adak may refer to:
Places
*Adak Island, one of the Aleutian Islands
**Adak, Alaska, a town on the above island
**Adak Airport, airport serving the town
*** Adak Army Airfield, original name of the airport (1942–c.1943)
***Davis Army Airfield, a ...
(Code Name A-2) in August 1942 gave the U.S. Army Air Forces a forward base from which to attack the Japanese forces on Kiska Island. Amchitka Island, being only 50 miles from Kiska and within range of occupied Attu Island was the next step in the American advance.
Enough forces were scraped together from existing units and American forces made an unopposed landing on Amchitka on January 12, 1943, although the destroyer grounded and sank with the loss of 14 lives.
![Amchitka Army Airfield January 1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Amchitka_Army_Airfield_January_1943.jpg)
Despite facing difficult weather conditions and continual bombing attacks from the Japanese, Army engineers managed to build a runway. As more troops were landed, heavy construction equipment was brought ashore. Frozen lakes were drained and the gravel scraped from their beds was used to lay down the bed for the runway. Navy Seabees also arrived and began to construct the harbor and dock facilities. Finally on 16 February, the construction of the runway at Amchitka (Code Name A-3) had progressed to the point where light fighters could be brought in.
18th Fighter Squadron 018 may refer to
*Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010
*Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden
*BMW 018, an experimental turboje ...
P-40 Warhawk
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
s began to arrive from Adak and surprised the Japanese by launching counter-attacks to their raids from Kiska. Two Japanese light bombers were shot down over the airfield in full view of the construction engineers. In addition to the P-40s, several
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...
s arrived.
The adverse weather conditions included much fog and this caused the loss of many aircraft. To counter this
Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO)
Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) (which was sometimes referred to as "Fog Intense Dispersal Operation" or "Fog, Intense Dispersal Of") was a system used for dispersing fog and pea soup fog (dense smog) from an airfield so that a ...
was installed on runway Baker (the bomber runway) and it became operational in mid-June 1944. It was used on several occasions, allowing successful take-off and landing in foggy conditions that would otherwise have prevented safe operations.
With its establishment, the Alaska Command was now away from their target,
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 require ...
.
The military eventually built numerous buildings, roads, and a total of three airstrips on the island,
some of which would later be renovated and used by the
Atomic Energy Commission in the 1960s.
At its peak, the occupancy of Amchitka Army Airfield reached 15,000 troops.
Known USAAF units assigned to Amchitka AAF were:
* HQ IX Bomber Command, 24 June – 4 September 1943
* HQ
343d Fighter Group, 25 July 1943 – 22 January 1944
*
11th Fighter Squadron
An international call prefix, international dial-out code or international direct dial code (IDD code) is a trunk prefix that indicates an international phone call. In the dialling sequence, the prefix precedes the country calling code (and, fur ...
, 27 March – 17 May 1943; 23 March 1944 – July 1945 (P-40 Warhawk)
*
18th Fighter Squadron 018 may refer to
*Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010
*Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden
*BMW 018, an experimental turboje ...
, 15 February 1943 – 28 March 1944 (P-40 Warhawk, 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 ...
, 12 March – 18 October 1943 (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 ...
, May–July 1943 (P-40 Warhawk, P-38 Lightning)
*
632d Bombardment Squadron 63 may refer to:
* 63 (number)
* one of the years 63 BC, AD 63, 1963, 2063
* +63, telephone country code in the Philippines
* Flight 63 (disambiguation)
* ''63'' (album), by Tree63
* ''63'' (mixtape), by Kool A.D.
* "Sixty Three", a song by Karm ...
(Dive), 19 July – 15 August 1943 (A-24 Banshee)
*
633d Bombardment Squadron (Dive), 19 July – 15 August 1943 (A-24 Banshee)
*
635th Bombardment Squadron
The 635th Bombardment Squadron is a disbanded United States Army Air Forces unit. The squadron was activated in March 1943 and equipped with light ground attack aircraft. In July 1943, the air echelon of the squadron deployed to the Aleutian I ...
(Dive), 19 July – 15 August 1943 (A-24 Banshee)
*
21st Bombardment Squadron
021 is:
* in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro)
* in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai.
* in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and ...
, 18 February – July 1943, (LB-30, B-24 Liberator)
*
36th Bombardment Squadron, 4 May – 13 September 1943 (B-24 Liberator)
*
73d Bombardment Squadron
: ''See 73d Bombardment Squadron (World War II) for the United States Army Air Forces World War II squadron''
The 73d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4241st Strategic Wing, based a ...
, March–April 1943; June – 30 August 1943 (B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder)
*
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" ...
, 11 September 1943 – 11 February 1944 (B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder)
*
404th Bombardment Squadron, 4 June 1943 – 26 February 1944 (B-24 Liberator)
![18th Fighter Squadron P-40 Amchatka Alaska Mar 1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/18th_Fighter_Squadron_P-40_Amchatka_Alaska_Mar_1943.jpg)
With the establishment of an American base on Amchitka, the Japanese forces on
Kiska Island
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 require ...
were put into an untenable situation. The
Battle of the Komandorski Islands, fought on 27 March 1943, sealed their fate. The Japanese, in an attempt to reinforce and resupply their garrison on Attu had dispatched three transports which were escorted by nine warships. They were intercepted by United States Naval forces which consisted of One heavy and one light cruisers along with four destroyers. The battle at first was being won by the Japanese, however the Japanese commander lost his nerve when he feared American bombers on Amchitka, based on intercepted American radio signals, were preparing to attack. He ordered his fleet to return to Japan. However, his fears proved groundless as the American aircraft were being prepared for a raid on Kiska island. Without unloading the bombers and adding external tanks, the
73d Bombardment Squadron
: ''See 73d Bombardment Squadron (World War II) for the United States Army Air Forces World War II squadron''
The 73d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4241st Strategic Wing, based a ...
B-25 Mitchells and
B-26 Marauders on Amchitka would have insufficient range to attack the Japanese in the battle area. This amounted to a strategic defeat, as it ended Japanese attempts to resupply the Aleutian garrisons. The Japanese, however, did manage to send a few destroyers and submarines into their bases on Kiska and Attu with supplies and additional troops. The fact was, for all intents and purposes, was that the Americans had essentially isolated the Japanese forces in the Aleutians and their days were numbered.
![21st Bomb Squadron B-24 Liberator Amchitka Alaska Mar 1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/21st_Bomb_Squadron_B-24_Liberator_Amchitka_Alaska_Mar_1943.jpg)
From its bases on Amchitka and Adak,
Eleventh Air Force conducted continual bombing raids on the Japanese on Kiska and Attu. Long-range
B-24 Liberator heavy bombers were moved down from mainland Alaskan bases to operate in the Aleutians which enabled Air Force commanders to send the bombers with full loads to Attu, while the B-25 and B-26 medium bombers attacked Kiska several times each day. Between 1 April and 11 May, the Eleventh Air Force bombers and fighters, joined by PBYs of Navy Fleet Wing Four reached its highest peak of operational activity during its bombing campaign. Most attacks were directed against Kiska because of Attu being weathered in. The close proximity of Amchitka allowed the fighters to participate in the attacks and run low-level sweeps over the Japanese positioned on Kiska. P-38 Lightnings also carried two 500-pound or occasionally one 1,000-pound bomb and employing glide-bombing tactics went after specific targets such as hangars and fuel tanks; the B-24 bombers dropped their loads on wide area targets. Fighters also carried out attacks using 20-pound fragmentation and incendiary bombs.
Air support for the
Battle of Attu
The Battle of Attu (codenamed Operation Landcrab), which took place on 11–30 May 1943, was a battle fought between forces of the United States, aided by Canadian reconnaissance and fighter-bomber support, and Japan on Attu Island off the coas ...
, which took place from 11 to 30 May 1943, was carried out from Amchitka. The battle, which lasted for more than two weeks, ended when most of the Japanese defenders were killed in brutal hand-to-hand combat after a final banzai charge broke through American lines.
![A-24 Banshees Amchatka Alaska August 1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/A-24_Banshees_Amchatka_Alaska_August_1943.jpg)
Air attacks on the Japanese on Kiska continued from Adak and Amchitka, with the culmination being the unopposed United States landing on Kiska on 15 August. Due to the heavy casualties suffered at Attu Island, planners were expecting another costly operation. However, incessant and continual air attacks since April had reduced the Japanese forces defenses considerably and the Japanese tactical planners had realized the isolated island was no longer defensible and evacuated the island.
The
Aleutian Islands campaign was successfully completed on August 24, 1943.
In that month, a strategic intercept station was established on the island, which remained until February 1945.
Most combat squadrons were withdrawn by early 1944, the 11th Fighter Squadron becoming the headquarters garrison of the base until the end of the war. The mission of Amchitka AAB was that of a communications facility and also refueling for support and combat aircraft headed to and from
Alexai Point Army Airfield
Alexai Point Army Airfield is an abandoned World War II airfield with two runways laid across Alexai Point on Attu Island, Alaska. The remains of the Seabee built airbase are located about 4 miles east of the closed Casco Cove Coast Guard Statio ...
on Attu and
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 ...
where long-range B-24 Liberator bombing attacks were carried out on
Sakhalin
Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...
and the
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 ...
of northern Japan.
Amchitka Air Force Base
On 1 July 1947 the Aleutian Section of
Alaskan Air Command
Alaskan Air Command (AAC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command originally established in 1942 under the United States Army Air Forces. Its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise dire ...
was inactivated and Amchitka AAF was reassigned to
Strategic Air Command. Under SAC control, the field's mission was to provide refueling to SAC long range aircraft and to
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces.
It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...
(Later
MATS) cargo flights between
Japan and the
Continental United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
. The base also compiled data by the 11th Weather Squadron,
Air Weather Service, and assisted in Air Rescue and Recovery missions. The base had one
C-47 permanently assigned. It was re designated Amchitka Air Force Base with the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947. SAC Operations ceased at Amchitka in February 1949 when the base was put into a caretaker status. On 31 December 1949 the base was closed due to insufficient personnel and staff. The Army closed its communications facility at Amchitka in August 1950.
On 31 December 1950 the 2107th Air Weather Group pulled the last of its personnel out of Amchitka and the facility was abandoned.
AFHRA Document 00496942
/ref>
The site later hosted an Air Force White Alice
The White Alice Communications System (WACS, "White Alice" colloquially) was a United States Air Force telecommunication network with 80 radio stations constructed in Alaska during the Cold War. It used tropospheric scatter for over-the-horizon l ...
telecommunication system in 1959 to 1961, and a temporary relay station in the 1960s and 1970s.
Current status
Amchitka Air Force Base today is largely intact, although abandoned in most part for the past sixty years. Runways, taxiways, aircraft parking dispersal revetments remain along with a large support base with deteriorating buildings. Due to its remote location, it rests undisturbed with ice and snow covering the base most of the year, exposed to the elements in the short summers. It is almost constantly under a cloud cover and fog generally obscures the area.
The main World War II runway (07/23) was extended to 8,000 feet by SAC after the war to accommodate B-29s and MATS intercontinental transports . A 6,000 ft secondary, crosswind runway was later constructed . It appears that SAC or MATS received funding for a third 7,000-foot runway to the north side of the main airfield after the war .
To the south of the main World War II runway are numerous taxiways and a large number of aircraft revetments, likely dating from the Aleutian Campaign . The aircraft parking is dispersed over a wide area almost to the south shore of the island connected by a taxiway and road network. As the airfield was attacked on several occasions by Japanese aircraft, the wide dispersal was needed for defense. Under the snow cover likely are a large number of anti-aircraft artillery sites, the remains of ammo dumps and other facilities. To the east of the secondary crosswind runway are a series of personnel billeting or aircraft technical sites and what appears to be a port facility .
To the north of the main World War II runway are a large number of roads and what appear to be Quonset huts. Also the remains of temporary World War II aircraft maintenance hangars are visible in the snow. Many personnel billeting sites consisting again of Quonset hut are dispersed to the north and east of the main runway, along the south side of an inlet
To the north of the 3d runway is likely the location of the postwar SAC/MATS Amchitka Air Force Base. In the mid-1960s, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) used Amchitka for a series of underground nuclear tests. The large number of access roads and Quonset huts are intermixed with new facilities built in the 1960s by the AEC which apparently used the old AFB as its main base station. Along with the numerous huts are a significant number of permanent buildings, large aircraft hangars and a substantial port facility . The northern extend of the base likely goes north to , south of which is an intermixing of former Air Force buildings and AEC structures. It was an expansive and large base consisting of several hundred buildings, all of which remains largely intact and abandoned. No evidence of an Air Traffic Control Tower has been located. The postwar White Alice Site appears to be at
A new 5,000 ft airfield (01/19) was constructed at and the #3 Air Force runway was refurbished in the 1960s. The AEC built a series of roads, base camp facilities and support buildings for the nuclear workers over the south part of the island in a similar manner to the Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site (N2S2 or NNSS), known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the ...
. A total of three nuclear tests, Long Shot
In photography, filmmaking and video production, a wide shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or long shot) is a shot that typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surro ...
, (1965) , Milrow (1969) , and Cannikin (1971) were performed, spurring the Don't Make A Wave Committee
The Don't Make a Wave Committee was the name of the anti-nuclear organization which later evolved into Greenpeace, a global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to protest ...
environmental protests.
The AEC withdrew from the island in 1973 and their facilities were abandoned. The remnants of the AEC facilities are visible over a wide area, generally north of the former AFB. The Department of Energy continues to monitor the site as part of their remediation program. This is expected to continue until 2025, after which the site is intended to become a restricted access wildlife preserve.
In popular culture
* In the 1955 motion picture Strategic Air Command, Amchitka AFB is noted as a refueling stop for B-47
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircr ...
Bombers being deployed from the United States to Japan.
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. .
*
Bibliography
* Geoffrey Williams: ''Flying Through Fire. FIDO - The Fogbuster of World War Two'' (Grange Books, London, UK, 1996, ).
{{USAAF 11th Air Force World War II
Installations of the United States Air Force in Alaska
Military installations closed in 1949
Airports in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska