Casco Cove Coast Guard Station

Casco Cove Coast Guard Station LORAN Station Attu
Closure of Casco Cove Coast Guard Station, August 2010
IATA: none – ICAO: PAAT
Summary
Airport type		Coast Guard Air Station
Elevation AMSL		88 ft / 26 m
Coordinates		52°49′57″N 173°10′31″E / 52.8325°N 173.17528°E / 52.8325; 173.17528 (Casco Cove Coast Guard Station)
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
02/20	5,998	1,828	Asphalt (Closed)

Casco Cove CGS

Location of Casco Cove Coast Guard Station, Alaska

Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ICAO: PAAT, TC LID: ATU) is a former military airport located 1,481 miles (2,383 km) west of Anchorage, Alaska, on the Aleutian Island of Attu. It was closed on 27 August 2010.

Overview

The Casco Cove Airport was a LORAN navigation station operated by the United States Coast guard. The Coast Guard personnel lived in a group quarters facility. There were no families stationed at Attu. All services needed for staff in this facility are available. Electricity is provided by U.S. Coast Guard Generator. Auxiliary health care is provided by U.S.C.G. emergency medical staff.

Casco Cove is one of the most isolated and remote airports in the United States. Flying into and taking off from the airport was hazardous, as the weather is characterized by persistently overcast skies, high winds, and frequent cyclonic storms. Winter squalls produce wind gusts in excess of 100 knots. During the summer, extensive fog forms over the Bering Sea and North Pacific.

The island is protected as part of the National Parks Trust territory and few people visit the island or area, as it is restricted. Gun emplacements for over twenty guns are still present around the airfield.

History

The airport was built by the United States Army in November, 1943 as Casco Cove Army Airfield. It was a base of operations for Eleventh Air Force to conduct long range bombardments of the Kurile Islands, Northern Japan and operations against Japanese shipping in the north Pacific.

Known World War II units assigned were:

• 54th Fighter Squadron (P-38 Lightning), 20 November 1943-8 March 1946
• 18th Fighter Squadron (P-38 Lightning), 28 March 1944-6 November 1945

Other Eleventh Air Force units were assigned temporarily as needed. It was closed by the USAAF in 1946. The Coast Guard activated the station in August 1949.

Accidents and incidents

On 1 January 1945 2nd Lt. Robert L. Nesmith flying from Alexai Point, crashed his Lockheed P-38G-10-LO Lightning in Temnac Valley, just west of Attu Station, while on a low-level training mission over Attu. This aircraft was recovered in 1999 and is now static-restored and on display at Elmendorf AFB.^[1]

See also

• Alaska World War II Army Airfields

References

	United States Coast Guard portal
	Military of the United States portal
	World War II portal

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

1. ^ "P-38G-10-LO Lightning Serial Number 42-13400 Nose 95.". Pacific Wrecks. October 17, 2009. http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-38/42-13400.html. Retrieved July 17, 2010. 

• AurNavLOAWD
• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0-89201-097-5

External links

• LORAN Station Attu: The Last Place on Earth