Battle of Dutch Harbor
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Dutch Harbor took place on 3-4 June 1942, and was a minor air and naval battle of the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II
between Imperial Japanese Navy
and United States Army
and Navy
forces.
strike force under Kakuji Kakuta
launched air attacks over two days against the Dutch Harbor Naval Base and Fort Mears
in Dutch Harbor, Alaska
. The attacks inflicted moderate damage on the U.S. base. Shortly thereafter, Japanese naval forces under Boshiro Hosogaya
invaded and occupied Attu
and Kiska
islands in the Aleutians.
, comprising the light carriers and , plus escort ships, sailed to 180 mi (156.4 nmi; 289.7 km) southwest of Dutch Harbor to launch air strikes at the facility to support a Japanese offensive in the Aleutians and in the central Pacific at Midway
. The Japanese planned to occupy islands in the Aleutians in order to extend their defensive perimeter in the north Pacific to make it more difficult for the U.S. to attack Japan from that area. Dutch Harbor was ringed with anti aircraft artillery batteries from the 206th Coast Artillery (Anti Aircraft), Arkansas National Guard
,. The 206th CA (AA) was deployed to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska in August 1941 and had been on station for approximately four months when the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor
on 7 December. The 206th CA was equipped with the 3 in (76.2 mm) M1918 Gun (an older model with a vertical range of 26902 ft (8,199.7 m)), 0.5 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
s, and 60 in (152.4 cm) Sperry
searchlight
s. The 206th had one radar in position at Dutch Harbor at the time of the attack.
and longitude
, Admiral Kakuta ordered his aircraft carriers to launch their strike which was made up of 12 fighter
s, 10 high-level bomber
s, and 12 dive bomber
s which took off from the two small carriers in the freezing weather to strike at Dutch Harbor.
The planes arrived over the harbor at 04:07, and attacked the town′s radio station
and oil storage tanks causing some damage. Many members of the 206th were awakened on 3 June by the sound of bombs and gunfire. While the unit had been on alert for an attack for many days, there was no specific warning of the attack before the Japanese planes arrived over Dutch Harbor. With no clear direction from headquarters, other than an initial cease fire order which was quickly withdrawn, gun crews from every battery quickly realized the danger, ran to their guns stationed around the harbor and began to return fire. In addition to their 3 in (76.2 mm) guns, 37 mm (1.46 in) guns and 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, members of the unit fired their rifles and one even claimed to have hurled a wrench at a low-flying enemy plane. Several members reported being able to clearly see the faces of the Japanese aviators as they made repeated runs over the island. The highest casualties on the first day occurred when bombs struck barracks 864 and 866 in Fort Mears, killing 17 men of the 37th Infantry and eight from the 151st Engineers.
When all the Japanese planes were recovered, there were erroneous reports of enemy ships in the vicinity, but search planes found no ships within the area. During the search, four Nakajima E8N
2 "Dave" two-seat reconnaissance plane
s—launched from the heavy cruiser
s and —encountered U.S. fighters searching for the departing Japanese squadron
.
Aerial combat ensued and two of the reconnaissance aircraft were shot down and their two-man crews were captured by a U.S. patrol boat, while the two others were damaged. The two remaining Japanese planes managed to return to their ships, only to crash-land in the water. The crews of both were rescued. The first day of the Dutch Harbor air raid inflicted very little damage on the U.S. forces in the area.
The Japanese attack was entirely ineffective as a diversion, since the Americans knew that the main Japanese offensive was to be at Midway island. On the second day, the Japanese carriers steamed to less than 100 mi (86.9 nmi; 160.9 km) south of Dutch Harbor to launch a second attack.
The 206th CA spent much of the night of 3/4 June moving guns down off the mountain tops surrounding the harbor down into the city of Unalaska and into harbor facilities themselves. This was partially as a deception and partially to defend against an expected land invasion. Civilian contractors offered to help and were put to work filling sandbags to protect the new gun positions.
At 16:00 on 4 June, a second airstrike of nine fighters, 11 dive bombers, and six level bombers took off and less than an hour later attacked the U.S. facilities at Dutch Harbor again. More targets were damaged including some grounded aircraft, an army barracks
, oil storage tanks, aircraft hangar, and a few merchant ships in the port. When the Japanese returned on 4 June, the Zero fighters concentrated on strafing the gun positions while their bombers destroyed the fuel tanks located at the harbor. After hitting the fuel tanks, the enemy dive-bombers and high-level bombers concentrated on the ships in the harbor, Fillmore and Gillis. Driven away from these two targets by intense anti-aircraft fire, they finally succeeded in destroying the Northwestern which, because of its large size they mistakenly believed was a warship. Northwestern was actually a transport ship which was beached and its power plant was being used to produce steam and electricity for the shore installations.
Two Japanese dive bombers and one fighter, damaged by anti-aircraft fire, failed to return to their carriers. On the way back, the Japanese planes encountered an air patrol of six Curtiss P-40 fighters over Otter Point. A short aerial battle ensued which resulted in the loss of one Japanese fighter and two level bombers. Four out of the six U.S. fighters were lost as well.
Throughout the battle, U.S. Army soldier
s—including members of the 206th Coast Artillery, Arkansas National Guard
, and U.S. Marines
—fought on the ground manning the several different anti-aircraft gun
emplacements. Some fired their rifles from the trenches.
, about 20 mi (17.4 nmi; 32.2 km) northeast of Dutch Harbor. Although the pilot was killed, the plane was not seriously damaged. This Zero—known as the "Akutan Zero
"—was recovered by American forces, inspected, and repaired. The recovery was an important technical intelligence gain for U.S., as it showed the strengths and weaknesses of the Zero′s design.
The following day, Admiral Kakuta received orders to break off further attacks and head for the central Pacific to support the Combined Fleet
which was retreating after being defeated at Midway. Two days later, a small Japanese invasion force landed and occupied two of the Aleutian islands, Attu and Kiska, without further incident.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
between Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
and United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
forces.
Overview
In this battle, a Japanese aircraft carrierAircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
strike force under Kakuji Kakuta
Kakuji Kakuta
, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He is noted for his role in commanding Japanese naval aviation units in the Pacific War.-Biography:...
launched air attacks over two days against the Dutch Harbor Naval Base and Fort Mears
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears are the two military installations built next to each other in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, by the United States in response to the growing war threat with Japan. A 1938 Navy board recommended the construction which began in July 1940. The first army...
in Dutch Harbor, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The attacks inflicted moderate damage on the U.S. base. Shortly thereafter, Japanese naval forces under Boshiro Hosogaya
Boshiro Hosogaya
, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.-Biography:Hosogaya was born to a farming family in Nozawa, Nagano prefecture in 1888. He graduated from the 36th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1908. He was ranked 16th in a class of 191 cadets. As a midshipman, he...
invaded and occupied Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
and Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
islands in the Aleutians.
Background
On 3 June, a Japanese light carrier strike force, under the command of Rear Admiral Kakuji KakutaKakuji Kakuta
, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He is noted for his role in commanding Japanese naval aviation units in the Pacific War.-Biography:...
, comprising the light carriers and , plus escort ships, sailed to 180 mi (156.4 nmi; 289.7 km) southwest of Dutch Harbor to launch air strikes at the facility to support a Japanese offensive in the Aleutians and in the central Pacific at Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
. The Japanese planned to occupy islands in the Aleutians in order to extend their defensive perimeter in the north Pacific to make it more difficult for the U.S. to attack Japan from that area. Dutch Harbor was ringed with anti aircraft artillery batteries from the 206th Coast Artillery (Anti Aircraft), Arkansas National Guard
Arkansas National Guard
The Arkansas National Guard comprises both Army and Air components. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status...
,. The 206th CA (AA) was deployed to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska in August 1941 and had been on station for approximately four months when the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 7 December. The 206th CA was equipped with the 3 in (76.2 mm) M1918 Gun (an older model with a vertical range of 26902 ft (8,199.7 m)), 0.5 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s, and 60 in (152.4 cm) Sperry
Sperry Corporation
Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the twentieth century...
searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s. The 206th had one radar in position at Dutch Harbor at the time of the attack.
Battle
Shortly before dawn at 02:58, given the geographic latitudeLatitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
and longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
, Admiral Kakuta ordered his aircraft carriers to launch their strike which was made up of 12 fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
s, 10 high-level bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s, and 12 dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s which took off from the two small carriers in the freezing weather to strike at Dutch Harbor.
The planes arrived over the harbor at 04:07, and attacked the town′s radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
and oil storage tanks causing some damage. Many members of the 206th were awakened on 3 June by the sound of bombs and gunfire. While the unit had been on alert for an attack for many days, there was no specific warning of the attack before the Japanese planes arrived over Dutch Harbor. With no clear direction from headquarters, other than an initial cease fire order which was quickly withdrawn, gun crews from every battery quickly realized the danger, ran to their guns stationed around the harbor and began to return fire. In addition to their 3 in (76.2 mm) guns, 37 mm (1.46 in) guns and 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, members of the unit fired their rifles and one even claimed to have hurled a wrench at a low-flying enemy plane. Several members reported being able to clearly see the faces of the Japanese aviators as they made repeated runs over the island. The highest casualties on the first day occurred when bombs struck barracks 864 and 866 in Fort Mears, killing 17 men of the 37th Infantry and eight from the 151st Engineers.
When all the Japanese planes were recovered, there were erroneous reports of enemy ships in the vicinity, but search planes found no ships within the area. During the search, four Nakajima E8N
Nakajima E8N
|-See also:-References:*Francillon, R.J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0 370 00033 1....
2 "Dave" two-seat reconnaissance plane
Reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...
s—launched from the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s and —encountered U.S. fighters searching for the departing Japanese squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
.
Aerial combat ensued and two of the reconnaissance aircraft were shot down and their two-man crews were captured by a U.S. patrol boat, while the two others were damaged. The two remaining Japanese planes managed to return to their ships, only to crash-land in the water. The crews of both were rescued. The first day of the Dutch Harbor air raid inflicted very little damage on the U.S. forces in the area.
The Japanese attack was entirely ineffective as a diversion, since the Americans knew that the main Japanese offensive was to be at Midway island. On the second day, the Japanese carriers steamed to less than 100 mi (86.9 nmi; 160.9 km) south of Dutch Harbor to launch a second attack.
The 206th CA spent much of the night of 3/4 June moving guns down off the mountain tops surrounding the harbor down into the city of Unalaska and into harbor facilities themselves. This was partially as a deception and partially to defend against an expected land invasion. Civilian contractors offered to help and were put to work filling sandbags to protect the new gun positions.
At 16:00 on 4 June, a second airstrike of nine fighters, 11 dive bombers, and six level bombers took off and less than an hour later attacked the U.S. facilities at Dutch Harbor again. More targets were damaged including some grounded aircraft, an army barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
, oil storage tanks, aircraft hangar, and a few merchant ships in the port. When the Japanese returned on 4 June, the Zero fighters concentrated on strafing the gun positions while their bombers destroyed the fuel tanks located at the harbor. After hitting the fuel tanks, the enemy dive-bombers and high-level bombers concentrated on the ships in the harbor, Fillmore and Gillis. Driven away from these two targets by intense anti-aircraft fire, they finally succeeded in destroying the Northwestern which, because of its large size they mistakenly believed was a warship. Northwestern was actually a transport ship which was beached and its power plant was being used to produce steam and electricity for the shore installations.
Two Japanese dive bombers and one fighter, damaged by anti-aircraft fire, failed to return to their carriers. On the way back, the Japanese planes encountered an air patrol of six Curtiss P-40 fighters over Otter Point. A short aerial battle ensued which resulted in the loss of one Japanese fighter and two level bombers. Four out of the six U.S. fighters were lost as well.
Throughout the battle, U.S. Army soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s—including members of the 206th Coast Artillery, Arkansas National Guard
Arkansas National Guard
The Arkansas National Guard comprises both Army and Air components. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status...
, and U.S. Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
—fought on the ground manning the several different anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
emplacements. Some fired their rifles from the trenches.
Aftermath
During the 4 June raid, one above-mentioned Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero was damaged by ground fire and crash-landed on Akutan IslandAkutan Island
Akutan Island is an island in the Fox Islands group of the eastern Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. The island is approximately 18 mi in length. It contains the Mount Akutan volcano, which had a major lava eruption in 1979...
, about 20 mi (17.4 nmi; 32.2 km) northeast of Dutch Harbor. Although the pilot was killed, the plane was not seriously damaged. This Zero—known as the "Akutan Zero
Akutan Zero
The Akutan Zero, also known as Koga's Zero and the Aleutian Zero, was a type 0 model 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Japanese fighter plane that crash-landed on Akutan Island, Alaska Territory, during World War II. It was captured intact by the Americans in July 1942 and became the first flyable Zero...
"—was recovered by American forces, inspected, and repaired. The recovery was an important technical intelligence gain for U.S., as it showed the strengths and weaknesses of the Zero′s design.
The following day, Admiral Kakuta received orders to break off further attacks and head for the central Pacific to support the Combined Fleet
Combined Fleet
The was the main ocean-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Combined Fleet was not a standing force, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime....
which was retreating after being defeated at Midway. Two days later, a small Japanese invasion force landed and occupied two of the Aleutian islands, Attu and Kiska, without further incident.
External links
- Air Raid on Dutch Harbor & Fort Mears - photos & documents
- Logistics Problems on Attu by Robert E. Burks.
- Aleutian Islands Chronology
- Aleutian Islands War
- Red White Black & Blue - feature documentary about The Battle of Attu in the Aleutians during World War II
- Soldiers of the 184th Infantry, 7th ID in the Pacific, 1943-1945