Elmendorf Air Force Base Air Depot Historic District (AK-10)

152 Pages·2016·52.58 MB·English

ALASKA AIR DEPOT HALS AK-10
(Alaska Air Depot Historic District) HALS AK-10
(Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson JBER)
Anchorage
Anchorage
Alaska
WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA
REDUCED COPIES OF MEASURED DRAWINGS
HISTORIC AMERICAN LANDSCAPES SURVEY
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240-0001
HISTORIC AMERICAN LANDSCAPES SURVEY
ALASKA AIR DEPOT
(Alaska Air Depot Historic District, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson JBER)
HALS AK-10
Location: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Anchorage, Alaska.
The site is located at the southern edge of JBER-Elmendorf,
southwest of the residential area and west of the transitional
zone.
Decimal Degrees Coordinates (NAD 27):
Corner Point Latitude Longitude
A 61.248113 -149.824696
B 61.234663 -149.823489
C 61.234372 -149.837442
D 61.247821 -149.838655
Present Owner: United States (U.S.) Department of the Air Force (USAF)
Present Occupant: USAF
Present Use: Alaska Command (ALCOM) Headquarters, North American
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Alaska Region, 11th
Air Force (11 AF), 3 Wing (3 WG), and 673d Air Base Wing
(673 ABW)
Significance: Built during World War Two (WWII) to support the Alaska
Theater in the Aleutian Campaign, the Alaska Air Depot was the
result of the rapid and intense efforts of the U.S. Army Air Corps
to plan and construct a central maintenance and repair hub for
all aircraft operated in Alaska by the 11 AF. Designated the
“most important unit located at Elmendorf Field” during WWII,
the depot was a concentration of buildings, taxiways,
revetments, and a runway that served both maintenance and
storage functions, greatly improving the efficiency of plane
maintenance for the Alaskan Theater.1 The depot was also
1 Linda Cook, Karen Bretz, Brian Coffey, Anna Lee Hewko, Frank Broderick, F. Broderick, Elmendorf Air
Force Base, Volume I, Historic Context of World War II Buildings and Structures, (United States
Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1999).
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used during the Cold War to support and maintain intercept
aircraft.
The depot is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP) under Criterion A for its association with the military
operations of the Aleutian Campaign, and as a front-line setting
for military activities throughout the latter part of WWII. The
depot is nationally significant as a critical component of U.S.
military history for its key role in national defense as a regional
hub for aircraft maintenance, supply distribution to other
Alaskan bases, and equipment testing and modification for cold
weather operations. The depot was the only base in Alaska
where high-level aircraft maintenance of any type could be
performed.2 The depot also made use of several Butler
Buildings, (temporary steel structures designed by Butler
Manufacturing Company and adapted for military use) during
WWII reflecting the need for easily and quickly constructed
structures. The Butler Buildings at the depot feature various
additions and modifications illustrating several typical ways in
which the structures were used by the military. The period of
significance for the depot begins in 1943, with the depot’s
construction, and extends to the end of WWII in 1945. Currently,
20 buildings, one runway, taxiways, and revetments constructed
during WWII constitute the Alaska Air Depot Historic District.
Many of the WWII Alaska Air Depot buildings continued to serve
the Alaska Air Command’s interceptor capabilities during the
Cold War. Alaska’s close proximity to the Soviet Union made it
the perfect location from which to mount early warning – and
interception if necessary – of a Soviet air attack. From its role in
WWII, the depot was already poised to provide repair and
maintenance services for interceptor aircraft stationed at
Alaska’s forward operating bases (FOBs). Twelve WWII depot
buildings continued service during the Cold War: 10306, 10286,
9311, 9268, 8288, 8286, 8306, 8326, 8317, 7301, 7309, and
6263; however, the development of new technology
2 Cook et al., Elmendorf Air Force Base, Volume I, Historic Context of World War II Buildings and
Structures, p. 52.
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necessitated the expansion or addition of a few structures,
including a jet engine test cell and expanded corrosion-control
facilities. At the time the Cold War Alaska Air Depot buildings
were evaluated for NRHP-eligibility, the buildings were found to
be ineligible either because the buildings were 50 years old or
less or because they did not significantly contribute to Cold War
missions; however, one building constructed during the Cold
War Era – Building 6265 – is individually eligible for the NRHP
for its association with the interceptor mission of the Cold War.
Historians: Terri Asendorf Hyde, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Phyllys Callina, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Architect: Casey Martin, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Project Information: This Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) report is
being prepared as a mitigation approach to planned conversion
of the area that now comprises the Alaska Air Depot into
community space.3 As funds and conditions allow, many of the
structures originally built as temporary structures – such as the
Butler Buildings and hangars – will be demolished. JBER, in
consultation with the Alaska State Historic Preservation Officer,
determined a Level II report including digital photography to be
an appropriate level of mitigation. The recording project was
performed under contract with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) for JBER, under the direction of the Alaska
State Historic Preservation Officer and the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation. The historical reports and photographs
were prepared by Jacobs Engineering Group. Terri Asendorf
Hyde served as historian, and Katherine Martin served as
architect.
3 Douglas Kullen and Bruce T. Verhaaren, “Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plan Joint Base
Elmendorf-Richardson 2013-2017,” (Prepared by Argonne National Laboratory, 2012).
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I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION
I.a. Physical History
I.a.i. Date of Erection
Construction of the Alaska Air Depot was authorized by the Western Defense
Command in July 1943; however, construction did not commence until October
1943 due to delays in supply procurement and personnel availability. The
buildings, taxiways, revetments, and runway that comprised the Alaska Air Depot
were erected at Elmendorf Air Force Base – now a portion of Joint Base
Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) – between October 1943 and August 1944.4 The
last of the depot’s shops moved into their new facilities in September 1944, at
which time the depot began to function as designed until WWII ended in
August 1945.
I.a.ii. Designer
A colonel of the USACE, Richard Park, stationed in the U.S. Engineer Office in
Seattle, Washington, designed the Alaska Air Depot.
I.a.iii. Builder, Contractor, Suppliers, Laborers
The USACE constructed the Alaska Air Depot facilities and infrastructure.
I.a.iv. Original and Subsequent Owners, Occupants
U.S. Army; U.S. Air Force
I.a.v. Original Plans and Construction
Between 1943 and 1944, 28 buildings were constructed to form the Alaska Air
Depot.
I.a.vi. Alterations and Additions
Fourteen additional buildings were constructed during the Cold War period
between 1948 and 1989. Five buildings were demolished between 1997 and
2004.
I.b. Historical Context
I.b.i. Introduction to the Historic District
The original air depots in Alaska were sub-depots to the Sacramento Air Depot.
These sub-depots – located at Ladd Field in Fairbanks and Elmendorf Field at
Fort Richardson in Anchorage – were centers for aircraft maintenance and
4 Cook et al., Elmendorf Air Force Base, Volume I, Historic Context of World War II Buildings and
Structures.
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testing, while major repairs and supplies were managed out of
Sacramento, California. This system worked fine when there were only 18 aircraft
operating in Alaska in the early years of WWII. However, when the Alaska fleet
ballooned to 369 aircraft in 1943, after the U.S. entered WWII and Japan had
initiated attacks on the Aleutian Islands, the system became cumbersome and
unreliable. To respond to Japanese attacks and maintain front-line defense
capabilities, these aircraft needed to be accessible and fully operational 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, meaning that a full-scale air depot was needed in
Alaska. This was first attempted at Ladd Field in 1942 when the responsibilities
of distributing parts and supplies to Elmendorf Field and increased maintenance
were transferred from Sacramento to Ladd; however, the Lend-Lease program
was established at Ladd at the same time, and the air depot at Ladd Field could
not handle both programs.5 Two months later, operations were reorganized again
to move the air depot to Fort Richardson’s Elmendorf Field. By March 1943, the
Alaska Air Depot was officially operating at Elmendorf Field and remained in
service through WWII, devoted to supporting the 11 AF in the Alaska Theater. It
was one of 12 WWII air depots located in the U.S., the only location in the Alaska
Theater providing fourth-echelon support, and a critical location for cold weather
testing and modification of aircraft. It was determined to be a NRHP-eligible
historical district in 1999.
I.b.ii. America Enters WWII
The interwar period – between the end of World War I (WWI) and beginning of
WWII – was characterized by instability among European and Mediterranean
countries and peace treaties among world powers as the countries involved in
WWI struggled to recover from loss of life and resources and economic and
political changes. Japan began to cause concern when it withdrew from the
Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 in 1934 and proceeded to build up its naval
capacity.6 Relations between the U.S. and Japan deteriorated to an adversarial
state when Japan attacked China in 1931, in spite of Japan’s membership in the
Kellogg-Briand Pact, an agreement to not engage in pursuits of war.7
The U.S. responded by enacting progressively restrictive embargos on exports of
oil and metals from the U.S. to Japan throughout 1939 and 1940. As Japan
continued war campaigns in China and expanded their pursuits into Southeast
5 Kathy Price and Glenda Lesondak, “The World War II Heritage of Ladd Field, Fairbanks, Alaska,” (U.S.
Army Garrison Alaska, May 2004), p.57.
6 Stetson Conn, Rose C. Engelman, and Byron Fairchild, “Guarding the United States and its Outposts,”
(Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 2000), p. 224.
7 Frederick R. Dickinson, World War I and the Triumph of a New Japan, 1919-1930, (Cambridge
University Press, 2013), p. 76.
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Asia, the U.S. began military construction in Alaska and Hawaii to protect Pacific
possessions and establish a front-line defense against a potential Japanese
threat.8 The Navy and Army also played a critical role in spurring pre-WWII
military development in Alaska. Between 1938 and 1939, the Army – tasked to
support naval defense – and the Navy urged the establishment of seaplane and
submarine bases in Alaska at Sitka, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor, as well as a
series of air bases throughout Alaska. Considering the growing uncertainty
regarding Japan and the development of the long-range bomber that made air
attacks on the U.S. from Japan and the Asian continent a real threat, the War
Department concurred and developed a comprehensive plan for military build-up
in Alaska. Development began with the construction of the Army Air Corps bases
at Ladd Field in Fairbanks in 1939 and Elmendorf Field – as part of the Fort
Richardson Army base – in Anchorage in 1940, followed closely by a series of
airfields across the state protected by local garrisons.9
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 provoked the U.S. to
declare war upon Japan immediately. Three days later, Germany and Italy
declared war on the U.S. Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and China joined the
U.S. in forming the Allied powers to fight the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and
Japan. Japanese military advancement across the Pacific created an urgent
need for construction related to combat operations.10 Thus, the U.S. accelerated
military construction in Alaska so the Territory would be the dominant hub of
military activity in the Pacific Rim.
I.b.iii. Alaska Becomes a Theater of Operations
Throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, a war involving Alaska seemed a remote
possibility. Before the 1930s, U.S. military presence in the Alaska Territory was
limited to standard exploration, law enforcement, and peacetime levels of
defense, with a build-up of military presence around the 1920s for law
enforcement during the Gold Rush. Subsequently, the number of military
personnel dwindled as Gold Rush activities slowed and WWI demanded the
military’s attention and resources. In 1939, military forces in the Alaska Territory
were at a low, with skeletal Navy patrols and one manned military post: Fort
8 Deborah C. Whelan, Leo Hirrel, William T. Dod, J. Hampton Tucker, and Katherine Grandine. Historic
Context for Department of Defense Facilities World War II Permanent Construction. (U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Baltimore, 1997), p. 61.
9 Lisa Mighetto and Carla Homstad, “Engineering in the Far North: A History of the U.S. Army Engineer
District in Alaska,” (Historical Research Associates, Inc., Seattle, 1997).
10 Whelan et al., Historic Context for Department of Defense Facilities World War II Permanent
Construction.
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Seward in Haines, Alaska, staffed with 200 men.11 The U.S. government
generally perceived Alaska as merely difficult to access and navigate, and of no
strategic value.12
The U.S. quickly realized, though, the strategic importance of Alaska in its close
proximity to the Soviet Union and Japan. Alaska would serve a critical role in the
transporting of supplies from the U.S. to the Soviet Union for the Lend-Lease
program and a pivotal role in U.S. national defense against Japan. The need to
strengthen America’s defensive positions in the Pacific Rim was a major national
defense priority, and wartime construction in Alaska increased at a rapid pace.
Due to the vast physical expanse of Alaska, its lack of extensive road or rail
networks, and its physical separation from the contiguous states, it was clear that
air transport had to be a significant component of any military plans. The
U.S. Army developed an extensive network of airfields in Alaska between 1940
and 1943 that included combat, staging, emergency landing, and dispersion
fields.13 Combat airfields were those from which missions engaging the enemy
were flown. Ladd Field, Elmendorf Field, and Fort Morrow Airfield (Kodiak) were
the earliest combat airfields, with the other Alaskan combat airfields being
constructed along the Aleutian Islands between 1942 and 1943 as part of the
Aleutian Campaign. Staging airfields directly supported combat airfields with
supplies and personnel, while dispersion airfields were checkpoints for supplies
en route from one airfield to another. The staging and dispersion airfields
constructed all over Alaska were primarily constructed as part of the Northwest
Staging Route for the Lend-Lease program, and provided defense support as
needed. The airfields in Southeast Alaska, such as those at Annette Island and
Cordova, were particularly important pieces of the supply chain between
Elmendorf Field and supply hubs in the contiguous states. Alaska had one
emergency landing strip at Gakona.
Construction of these early airfields and their associated Army installations, were
managed by the Army Quartermaster Corps. In January 1941, the War
Department placed responsibility for all military construction in Alaska with the
USACE, Seattle District, which managed Army Corps activity in Alaska. (The
11 Cook et al., Elmendorf Air Force Base, Volume I, Historic Context of World War II Buildings and
Structures.
12 Conn et al., “Guarding the United States and its Outposts,” p. 223.
13 Joel L. Klein, James L. Nolan, Jannette Warren Findley, William A. Brenner, Richard E. Gillespie, and
John Vitter, “World War II in Alaska: A Historic and Resources Management Plan,” (Prepared by
Envirosphere Company for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska), p. 4-34.
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USACE, Alaska District, was not formed until 1946.)14 Also in 1941, the Alaska
Defense Command (ADC), led by Colonel Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., was
established as the command formation of the U.S. Army responsible for
coordinating the defense of Alaska and implementing military expansion.15
Construction of Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Field began in June 1940, under
the direction of Major Colonel E.M. George.16
In January 1942, the Alaskan Air Force was activated at Elmendorf Field under
ADC, consolidating the disparate American air units in Alaska under one central
command structure to manage the Army Air Forces in Alaska.17 One month later,
the Alaskan Air Force was re-designated the 11 AF.18 A War Department
directive made the 11 AF part of the Western Defense Command (WDC), which
included nine western states and the entire Alaskan territory.19 The WDC was
responsible for coordinating defense of the U.S. Pacific Coast and training
soldiers for deployment overseas; it also had jurisdiction over the ADC until
November 1943. While the WDC structure provided organization for Pacific
military operations, the areas covered – Hawaii and other Pacific islands, the
western contiguous U.S. states, and Alaska – were too diverse to allow the Army
to create comprehensive, integrated ground defense plans. 20ADC was dissolved
on October 1943 and replaced with the Alaskan Department, making the Alaskan
command its own entity, independent of the WDC.21 Colonel Davis, in charge of
the 11 AF immediately became responsible for the maintenance and
administration of all U.S. Army aircraft used in Alaska, which by the end of WWII
included 369 planes distributed throughout 16 bases within a 3,000-mile area.22
At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, he commanded approximately 2,300
officers and soldiers in four units.
In June 1942, Japanese forces landed on Kiska and Attu after bombing Dutch
Harbor and Fort Mears on Amaknak Island. The proximity of the Aleutian Islands
to both Japan and the U.S. made them valuable to both countries. In response,
14 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “District Flashback,” Arctic Engineer, Winter-Spring (2012): 16.
15 Conn et al., “Guarding the United States and its Outposts.”
16 Cook et al., Elmendorf Air Force Base, Volume I, Historic Context of World War II Buildings and
Structures, p. 24.
17 Lane et al., “Nike Hercules Missile Battery: Site Summit (ANC-00789).”
18 Eleventh Air Force History JBER Fact Sheet.
19 Cook et al., Elmendorf Air Force Base, Volume I, Historic Context of World War II Buildings and
Structures, p. 40.
20 Conn et al., “Guarding the United States and its Outposts,” p. 232.
21 Ibid., p. 267.
22 Cook et al., Elmendorf Air Force Base, Volume I, Historic Context of World War II Buildings and
Structures, p. 50.