Kiska Army Airfield
Encyclopedia
Kiska Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located on Kiska
, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
.
. In addition to the land airfield, a seaplane base was also built by the Japanese. Thousands of US and some Canadian troops landed on 15 August. The Japanese garrison of 5,183 troops and civilians were evacuated from the island on July 23 under the cover of fog.
After the island was secured, the airfield was used by some transient USAAF aircraft until the end of the war, but no permanent aircraft were assigned and the facility was abandoned after the war.
Today, dumps of US and Japanese material are numerous. Right-hand drive Japanese truck frames are piled up, along with zero engines and other evidence of Japanese occupation. Extensive support structures are in place, such as a water hydrant. Evidence of US troop occupation remains in both standing structures and collapsed ones. US dump sites containing numerous 3-inch shells and other debris; and aircraft wreckage, one of which may be a B-17.
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 :...
, Aleutian Islands, 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...
.
History
The airfield on Kiska island was built by the occupying Japanese forces in 1942 after the Battle of Dutch HarborBattle of Dutch Harbor
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.-Overview:...
. In addition to the land airfield, a seaplane base was also built by the Japanese. Thousands of US and some Canadian troops landed on 15 August. The Japanese garrison of 5,183 troops and civilians were evacuated from the island on July 23 under the cover of fog.
After the island was secured, the airfield was used by some transient USAAF aircraft until the end of the war, but no permanent aircraft were assigned and the facility was abandoned after the war.
Today, dumps of US and Japanese material are numerous. Right-hand drive Japanese truck frames are piled up, along with zero engines and other evidence of Japanese occupation. Extensive support structures are in place, such as a water hydrant. Evidence of US troop occupation remains in both standing structures and collapsed ones. US dump sites containing numerous 3-inch shells and other debris; and aircraft wreckage, one of which may be a B-17.