Thornbrough Air Force Base

Thornbrough Air Force Base
AMSL		101 ft / 31 m
Coordinates	55°12′19″N 162°43′28″W / 55.20528°N 162.72444°W / 55.20528; -162.72444
Map
Thornbrough AFB Location of airport in Alaska
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 15/33 10,180 3,103 Asphalt 8/26 6,235 1,900 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 9,210

Thornbrough Air Force Base is a former facility of the

The airport was constructed during World War II as Fort Randall Army Airfield during the secret military buildup of the Territory of Alaska that began in 1941. Originally, the equipment was supposed to construct McGrath Army Airbase, but the ground had frozen by the time that the equipment arrived.^[1] Disguised as civilian employees of the Blair Canning and Packing Company, United States Army personnel in civilian clothes were shipped to Cold Bay. Construction began in December 1941, and the airfield was ready for operation by March 1942. Because of the foresight of Alaska's military commanders, the new airfield, along with another new secret airfield, Cape Field at Umnak, was ready to contribute to the defense of Alaska against Imperial Japanese Navy air attack during the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942. The airfield at Cold Bay remained operational throughout World War II.

Known units assigned to Fort Randall Army Airfield (AAF) were:

• 73d Bombardment Squadron
  , numerous short dates, 1942–1943
• 344th Fighter Squadron, numerous short dates, 1942–1943
• 54th Fighter Squadron, June–July 1942
• 11th Fighter Squadron
  , May–September 1942

Fort Randall AAF was also used by the

In the spring and summer of 1945, Cold Bay was the site of the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II, Project Hula, in which the United States transferred 149 ships and craft to the Soviet Union and trained 12,000 Soviet personnel in their operation in anticipation of the Soviet Union entering the war against Japan. Fort Randall provided housing and classroom space for the instructors and trainees. At any given time, about 1,500 American personnel were at Cold Bay and Fort Randall during Project Hula.^[2] The area to the southeast of the Fort Randall Air Air Field runways was known as "Navy Town". In addition to housing, this area also included a theater, hospital and a runway.

The airfield was named Thornbrough Air Force Base in 1948 for

The 5042d ABS was discontinued on 1 January 1950 per AAC General Order Number 198, dated 13 December 1949, due to budget restrictions. Control of the base was taken over directly by AAC. It was planned for inactivation; however, the transport demands by MATS flying to Japan to support the Korean War delayed the inevitable closing of the base until 1 September 1953 by AAC General Order 66.

Between 1956 and 1958, Cold Bay Airport was used as a logistics support base during the construction of

See also

• Alaska World War II Army Airfields
• Alaskan Air Command
• Eleventh Air Force

References