| Record Group 80 at the US National Archives is titled "General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1798-1947" and subgroup "80-G" is known as "General Photographic File of the Department of Navy, 1943 - 1958" (although many of the photos are before 1943). Below are images from 80-G I have stumbled across during my research. 80-G contains images submitted by many different commands and there is no cohesive order, so I have chosen to order roughly by date and then by 80-G number where appropriate. |
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| June 3rd, 1942 |
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80-G-215475:
A US Army soldier watches from a trench as barracks and warehouses at Fort Mears burn on June 3rd, 1942. The buildings are near the preset day Grand Aleutian Hotel and a total of 25 men from two units were killed and about another 25 wounded on the first day of the battle. The aftermath can be seen in photos 80-G-215460 and. |
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80-G-619:
Fires at Fort Mears on June 3rd as seen from the hill between it and the Naval Air Station. This attack was carried out by B5N "Kate" bombers from the carrier Ryujo and was the second flight to hit the area that day. |
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80-G-215486:
Fresh dirt strewn across the hill and road from a bomb crater approximately 200 yards east of Ft. Mears on June 3rd, 1942. This appears to be near the intersection of present-day Biorka and Chernofski Drives, looking west down Biorka towards the intersection with Kashega Drive. This was one of six bombs that overshot Fort Mears. |
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80-G-603:
Bombed out US Army truck on Biorka Drive after the last flight of the first day's attack. The driver of this truck was killed but was the only casualty from this bomb, which hit the compacted road about 25 feet in front of the truck. |
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80-G-607:
Bomb crater after the first day's attack. The truck from the previous photo is visible - this is at the old intersection of Biorka Drive and Driftwood Way. The later was re-routed later and intersects further up the hill from this point today. |
| June 4th, 1942 |
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80-G-215483:
An A6M Zero flies over the harbor behind a water tank on June 4. This second-day attack consisted of 15 Zero fighters, 11 Val dive bombers, and six Kate horizontal bombers. |
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80-G-12076:
Marines wait in slit trenches in waves as oil from the Rocky Point tank farm burns in the background. That would put the time of this photo as some point after 1600 on June 4. |
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80-G-212073:
Large splashes in the water of Dutch Harbor mark where Japanese bombs fell around 1620 on June 4. The three bombers that dropped these bombs were flying high above broken clouds and the smoke from the Rocky Point tank farm and it is thought that this made aiming difficult. |
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80-G-612:
Light colored smoke from the burning S.S. Northwestern in the foreground on the second day of the attack with dark fuel oil fire smoke from the Rocky Point tank farm in the background as 22,000 barrels of fuel oil delivered three days before burns. |
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80-G-12079:
A bomb explodes at the base of Mt. Ballyhoo just uphill from the hangar at the airfield. This explosion hit a 20mm gun emplacement, killing four of the five Navy personell manning it. See 80-G-215476 for a photograph shot of this location afterwards. This was the last Japanese run during the attack. |
| Aftermath |
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80-G-215475:
Bomb damage to the Navy Dock on June 6, 1942. This was hit on June 4 and was likely aimed at the nearby S.S. Northwestern. |
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80-G-583:
View of the port forward side of S.S Northwestern on June 6, 1942, showing bomb and fire damage from June 4. The platform on the left is actually in the water; there is so much floating debris from the attack that it looks like dirt at the base |
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80-G-599:
The east corner of the Indian Affairs Hospital in Unalaska had the walls ripped away by a bomb strike delivered by a Val dive bomber from the Japanese aircraft carrier Junyo on June 4th. This building was roughly at the intersection of West Broadway Avenue and Franks Alleyway near the current Alyeska Seafoods facility. |
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80-G-601:
Another view of the east corner of the Indian Affairs Building at Unalaska after the attack — this view is looking Northwest. The building was used as a hospital but was vacant and not in use at the time of the attack. |
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80-G-12036:
Remains of a warehouse operated by Siems-Drake Puget Sound, which was set fire by the nearby S.S Northwestern. The camouflage tarp-covered fuel tanks beyond were constructed of wood and only saved by the dedication of local personell.
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80-G-586:
Bomb damage on a hill side looking over East Point Road towards the seaplane ramp and Army docks at the South-Eastern shore of Mt. Ballyhoo. Note the inverted wreckage of a vehicle sillouetted against the water near the people right of center. There were protected aviation fuel tanks off the left side of this photograph and a new power generating plant off camera to the right and it is likely this bomb was meant for one or the other. |
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80-G-597:
Bomb damage on the roof of Naval Air Station Dutch Harbor's sole airplane hangar on June 6, 1942, two days after the attack. This section of the hangar roof was angled up with windows to allow daylight in. The hangar was still under construction and this area had yet to be covered by corrugated steel sheets. |
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80-G-596:
A close up of a torn and twisted structural bomb-damaged section of the roof of NAS Dutch Harbor's hangar on June 6, 1942. This view is looking down from the roof surface. The bomb that hit the hangar detonated in the hangar space before hitting the floor and created a fifty foot hole in the roof as well as further damaging a PBY Catalina that had been strafed the previous day. |
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80-G-600:
Looking down at the hangar floor through the hole caused by a Japanese bomb. One of the main support columns can be seen surrounded by roof plank wreckage on the right and pieces of the corrugated metal roofing are visible on the floor below. |
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80-G-598:
View from the floor of the hangar looking up at the damage. The lack of steel sheeting on top of the wood planks probably made it easier for the force of the explsion to vent without distorting the structure as much as it could have. |
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80-G-589:
Shattered glass in the windows of the CPO quarters are left after a near miss during the attack on June 3. One of the Navy Base's tall radio towers are in view, with a smaller pole with a ship's bell at the base of it next to the radio station apartment house. Photo taken June 6, 1942. |
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80-G-215452:
NAS Dutch Harbor command hut on June 8, 1942. The official caption for this photos lists Captain Anderson at left and Commander Paul Foley in the center, but 80-G-215453 below labels the officer on the very right as Captain Anderson. |
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80-G-215453:
Lt. Anderson, Captain Anderson, and Commanding Officer of Patrol Squadron 41 (VP-41) Commander Foley in the command hut on June 8, 1942. |
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80-G-215454:
Commander Charles Phleger, Naval Air Station Commander Captain William Updegraff, and Lt. Anderson in the command hut on June 8, 1942. |
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80-G-215460:
View looking south towards damaged phone lines and a burned out US Army warehouse on June 27, about three weeks after the attack. This is roughly where the Grand Aleutian hotel stands today. This building is one of those seen in flames in 80-G-215475 |
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80-G-215463:
Bomb damaged US Army building in this photograph looking towards Mt. Ballyhoo. This photo was most likely shot in the same area that 80-G-215460 was. |
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80-G-215461:
Building new armored command hut, June 27, 1942. The S.S. Northwestern can be seen beyond the hill and the skeleton of the bombed hangar in the distance. The dark smudge on the edge of the dock is where a Japanese bomb hit but did not explode. |
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80-G-215476:
Chief Boatswain's Mate "Bombproof" Smith was the sole survivor of a gun crew of five manning a 20mm gun that was hit around 1630 on June 4. His battery commander, Lt. (jg) Ken Greiner had DE-37, USS Greiner named in his honor. I have not been able to determine CBM Smith's first name or anything else of his history. |
