Fort Randall (Alaska)
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Thornbrough Air Force Base is a former facility of the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
in
Cold Bay Cold Bay (,; Sugpiaq: ''Pualu'') is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 108, but at the 2020 census this had reduced to 50. Cold Bay is one of the main commercial centers of t ...
,
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. Following its closure, it was redeveloped into
Cold Bay Airport Cold Bay Airport is a state owned, public use airport located in Cold Bay, a city in the Aleutians East Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. First built as a United States Army Air Forces airfield during World War II, it is one of the main a ...
.


History

The airport was constructed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as Fort Randall Army Airfield during the secret military buildup of the
Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an Organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The ...
that began in 1941. Originally, the equipment was supposed to construct McGrath Army Airbase, but the ground had frozen by the time that the equipment arrived. Disguised as civilian employees of the Blair Canning and Packing Company,
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
personnel in civilian clothes were shipped to Cold Bay. Construction began in December 1941, and the airfield was ready for operation by March 1942. Because of the foresight of Alaskas military commanders, the new airfield, along with another new secret airfield, Cape Field at
Umnak Umnak (; ) is one of the Fox Islands (Alaska), Fox Islands of the Aleutian Islands. With of land area, it is the third largest island in the Aleutian archipelago and the List of islands of the United States by area, 19th largest island in the Unit ...
, was ready to contribute to the defense of Alaska against
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
air attack during the
Battle of Dutch Harbor The Battle of Dutch Harbor took place on 3-4 June 1942, when the Imperial Japanese Navy launched two aircraft carrier raids on the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and U.S. Army Fort Mears at Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island, opening the Aleutia ...
in June 1942. The airfield at Cold Bay remained operational throughout World War II. Known units assigned to Fort Randall Army Airfield (AAF) were: * 73d Bombardment Squadron, numerous short dates, 1942–1943 * 344th Fighter Squadron, numerous short dates, 1942–1943 * 54th Fighter Squadron, June–July 1942 * 11th Fighter Squadron, May–September 1942 Fort Randall AAF was also used by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during the Aleutian campaign. A two-gun 6-inch (152-mm) naval gun battery was located at Grant Point. One gun is on display near the town dump. A four-gun 155 mm gun battery on
Panama mount The Panama Mount is a form of gun mount for fixed coastal artillery developed by the U.S. Army in Panama during the 1920s. Widely used during the buildup to and during World War II by the United States military, it was typically equipped with ...
s was located at Mortensen's Lagoon at Thin Point. The HECP bunker still exists at Pride Lake. In the spring and summer of 1945, Cold Bay was the site of the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II,
Project Hula Project Hula was a secret program during World War II in which the United States transferred naval vessels to the Soviet Union in anticipation of the Soviets eventually joining the war against Japan, specifically in preparation for planned So ...
, in which the United States transferred 149 ships and craft to the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and trained 12,000 Soviet personnel in their operation in anticipation of the Soviet Union entering the war against Japan. Fort Randall provided housing and classroom space for the instructors and trainees. At any given time, about 1,500 American personnel were at Cold Bay and Fort Randall during Project Hula.Russell, Richard A., ''Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan'', Washington, D.C.:
Naval Historical Center The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard ...
, 1997, , pp. 1, 13, 16, 35.
The area to the southeast of the Fort Randall Air Air Field runways was known as "Navy Town". In addition to housing, this area also included a theater, hospital and a runway. The airfield was named Thornbrough Air Force Base in 1948 for
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
George W. Thornbrough, a U.S. Army Air Forces
B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
pilot. Captain Thornbrough fought during the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942, bravely attacking a Japanese
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
that was launching strike aircraft at
Dutch Harbor Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June, 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked it just seven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. To this day, ...
. Although his
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
struck the carrier, it failed to explode. Captain Thornbrough returned to his airfield to refuel and rearm and then took off to rejoin the fight. The aircraft and entire crew were lost during their return from this mission, when they were unable to land at Cold Bay. The wreckage of Captain Thornbrough's aircraft was found 50 miles (80 km) from Cold Bay on the north side of the Alaska Peninsula the following month. It was redesignated from Army Air Base (AAB) to an
Air Force Base An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...
(AFB) on 28 March 1948 along with seven other Army Air Bases in Alaska. Its chief assets were a 10,000-foot runway and a deep-water dock. It was controlled by the 5024th Air Base Squadron,
Alaskan Air Command The 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 di ...
(AAC). It was logistically supported by the 39th Air Depot Wing at
Elmendorf Air Force Base 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 ( ...
. Its mission became supporting
Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NA ...
(MATS) transport flights along the
Great Circle Route Great-circle navigation or orthodromic navigation (related to orthodromic course; ) is the practice of navigation, navigating a vessel (a ship or aircraft) along a great circle. Such routes yield the shortest distance between two points on the ...
from Japan, as well as supporting the 7th (later 9th) Weather Group which provided support for WB-29 Superfortress flights of the 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at
Eielson AFB Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska. It was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field and redesignated Eielson A ...
which operated over the Northern Pacific and Bering Sea. Both the runway and dock have continued in service to this day serving as transportation hubs for airlines and shipping. The 5042d ABS was discontinued on 1 January 1950 per AAC General Order Number 198, dated 13 December 1949, due to budget restrictions. Control of the base was taken over directly by AAC. It was planned for inactivation; however, the transport demands by MATS flying to Japan to support the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
delayed the inevitable closing of the base until 1 September 1953 by AAC General Order 66. Between 1956 and 1958, Cold Bay Airport was used as a logistics support base during the construction of
Cold Bay Air Force Station Cold Bay Air Force Station (AAC ID: F-26, LRR ID: A-08, DEW ID: COB-MAIN) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The ground control intercept (GCI) station F-26 w ...
, a Ground Control Intercept (GCI) station for Alaskan Air Command during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. Today, the airport is used by the USAF
611th Air Support Group __NOTOC__ Year 611 ( DCXI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 611 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe f ...
, based 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 ( ...
to support the unattended Long Range Radar (LRR) site A-08 just to the northwest of the airport.


See also

* Alaska World War II Army Airfields *
Alaskan Air Command The 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 di ...
*
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 headquart ...


References

* * Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Maurer, Maurer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.


External links

* * * * * * ;Military history
The Thousand Mile War



A History of the Air Force Heritage in Alaska




{{USAAF 11th Air Force World War II Installations of the United States Air Force in Alaska Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Alaska WAAS reference stations Historic American Buildings Survey in Alaska Military installations closed in 1953 1953 disestablishments in Alaska