Ogliuga Island Army Air Field | Second World War 1939-1945, Army Air Field US, closed / former military

 Second World War 1939-1945, Army Air Field US, closed / former military

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Built by Seabees in 1943 and active until 1945. The site included a 100-by-3,000-foot emergency landing field, four parking areas, and living quarters. Additional facilities were established at this site including SCR-270 aircraft warning radar, airway radio communication, and a weather reporting station. A detachment from 119th Army Airways Communications System Squadron manned the airway radio station; its call sign was WUUB.

The soldiers stationed here were noted for being very unresponsive to radio traffic. Leonard Feinberg wrote in his book "Where the Williwaw Blows" that while every port reported ship movements and sightings to Adak, he never received a report from Ogliuga. He wrote that a Sergeant Kilden made a monthly trip to Ogliuga to drop off food and supplies. When Ogliuga never reported that his ship, the Begonia, was returning, it set off an intense defensive response when an unidentified craft was reported: all anti-aircraft manned their guns, scouting parties were sent out, a plane took to the air, and patrol craft took to the water. When one of the crew manning an anti-aircraft gun let off a shot out of boredom, more joined in the firing and the crew of a docked Liberty ship, thinking the island was under attack, became grounded when she tried to escape the harbor without tug support. A sub chaser eventually made contact with the Begonia and escorted her into Adak's harbor.

books.google.com/books?id=fE31tq-AcLoC
www.denix.osd.mil/awards/upload/ARMY_ER-IT_USACEAK_Narr...
absilcc.org/science/aiwg/Local%20Documents/Davis.2007.A...
absilcc.org/science/aiwg/Local%20Documents/Hanson.2007....