Cape Sarichef Airport
Encyclopedia
Cape Sarichef Airport was a small landing strip located on the western end of Unimak Island
in the Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state
of Alaska
. It was used to supply and support a United States Coast Guard
LORAN
station and U.S. Air Force DEW Line site during the Cold War
.
It is now a private-use facility owned by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and managed by the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
.
Cape Sarichef was named in 1816 by Russia
n explorer Otto von Kotzebue
after Admiral Gavril Sarychev
of the Imperial Russian Navy
.
s:
United States Air Force
Distant Early Warning Line
radar station. The station was operated by Detachment 3, 714th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron based at Cold Bay Air Force Station
, near Cold Bay, Alaska
. The radar station was inactivated in September 1969, ending military use of the airport. The Air Force remediated the site around 2000, removing all abandoned military structures and returning the site to a natural condition.
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Unimak Island
Unimak Island is the largest island in the Aleutian Islands chain of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the easternmost island in the Aleutians and, with an area of 1,571.41 mi² , the ninth largest island in the United States and the 134th largest island in the world. It is home to Mount...
in the Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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...
. It was used to supply and support a United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
LORAN
LORAN
LORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters in multiple deployment to determine the location and speed of the receiver....
station and U.S. Air Force DEW Line site during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
It is now a private-use facility owned by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and managed by the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is the smallest of the National Wildlife Refuges located in the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies on the northwest coastal side of central Aleutians East Borough. Most of the refuge was designated as Wilderness in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands...
.
Cape Sarichef was named in 1816 by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n explorer Otto von Kotzebue
Otto von Kotzebue
Otto von Kotzebue was a Baltic German navigator in Russian service....
after Admiral Gavril Sarychev
Gavril Sarychev
Gavril Andreyevich Sarychev , spelt "Sarichef" in the United States, was a Russian navigator, hydrographer, admiral and Honorable Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg.Sarychev started his career in the Imperial Russian Navy in 1775...
of the Imperial Russian Navy
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
.
Facilities
Cape Sarichef Airport has two runwayRunway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s:
- Runway 16/34: 3,500 x 120 ft. (1,067 x 37 m), Surface: GravelGravelGravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
- Runway 6/24: 1,900 x 90 ft. (579 x 27 m), Surface: Gravel
History
The airport was built in 1958 to support Cape Sarichef Air Force Station, a Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Distant Early Warning Line
Distant Early Warning Line
The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...
radar station. The station was operated by Detachment 3, 714th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron based at Cold Bay Air Force Station
Cold Bay Air Force Station
Cold Bay Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located southwest of Anchorage, Alaska....
, near Cold Bay, Alaska
Cold Bay, Alaska
Cold Bay is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.Cold Bay is one of the main commercial centers of the Alaska Peninsula, and is home to Cold Bay Airport.-History:...
. The radar station was inactivated in September 1969, ending military use of the airport. The Air Force remediated the site around 2000, removing all abandoned military structures and returning the site to a natural condition.
External links
- Izembek National Wildlife Refuge (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Alaska)
- Alaska FAA airport diagram (GIFGIFThe Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
)
- Resources for this airport:
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