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Cape Field at Fort Glenn
(Umnak Island) |
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| Location: | Fort Glenn, Umnak Island, Alaska |
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| Built: | 1942 |
| Architect: | U.S. Army |
| Governing body: | State |
| NRHP Reference#: | 87001301 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | May 28, 1987[1] |
| Designated NHLD: | May 28, 1987[2] |
Cape Field at Fort Glenn also known as Umnak Airport, is a site significant for its role in World War II fighting. It "provided aerial defensive cover for the U.S. bases in Unalaska Bay"[2] and "is the most comprehensive and intact World War II base in the Aleutian Islands"[3] It is located on Umnak Island in the Aleutian Islands.
"Constructed between January and April 1942, Cape Field's first runway was then the U.S. Army's most westerly airfield in the Aleutian Islands."[2][3] "In June 1942 aircraft from Cape Field participated in a counterattack after the Japanese attacked the Dutch Harbor naval and army installations on nearby Amaknak Island."[3] It "also served as the initial forward base to launch bombing attacks on Japanese installations on Attu and Kiska" islands.[2]
"By the close of 1942, Fort Glenn had 10,579 personnel, but its role as an advanced air base had been supplanted by facilities on Adak Island farther to the west. Buildings, runways, and World War II artillery emplacements remain."[2][3] It was decommissioned in 1950.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.[2][4]
On Saturday July 12, 2008, nearby Mount Okmok, erupted, sending ash 50,000 feet in the air and forcing the evacuation of the ranch.[5]
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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