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Memo written by the commanding officer of Patrol Wing Four to the head of the Northwestern Sea Frontier command (also known as Commandant, 13th Naval District at the time) regarding the following photographs, all taken on June 4th, the second day of the attack. When the below photos are examined it is apparent that most of them are captioned correctly but that the number sequence does not follow the timeline of events during the attack. I have reordered them as best as I can to reflect the sequence of events. |
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View of Fort Mears from the Hog Island at some point during or after the attack on June 3rd. This may have been an area of Quonset huts at the western edge of the base. No mention of bombs dropping in this area is made for June 4th. |
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PW4-197
June 4th; First hit on the Navy dock; note settling water column in center of photo. Note also the huge fireball behind the spray column as the oil tanks at Rocky Point Tank Farm are hit. The bomb that hit the pier did not explode but did damage some planking and a piling. The damage can be seen here. |
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PW4-198
The column of smoke from the oil tanks reaches higher and forms a small mushroom as two aircraft (circled in this photo) fly nearby. This picture was shot shortly after 1800 (6:00 PM), and most of the photos on the page were the results of a flight of eleven D3A "Val" dive bombers making individual attack runs on targets. |
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PW4-184
Bombs hit the water around the air station's pier. One hit the edge (see photo PW4-197) but did not explode and two hit the water nearby. Oil Tanks Hit at the Rocky Point Tank Farm burn in the background. |
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PW4-195
The tower of smoke casts a dark shadow on the harbor as the water spray from near hits in the harbor are falling back to the surface in this shot. The Northwestern has not yet been hit. |
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PW4-186
Caption reads: "Bomb hitting in front of the command post. This one was only 20 feet from the command hut and left a fine
excavation in which it is planned to place a similar hut for EPW-4." The crater this explosion left can be seen in the
right-hand side of this photo taken after the
attack. |
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PW4-182
Bombing of the S.S. Northwestern on June 4th. One bomb struck the port bow and set the ship's superstructure on fire; a warehouse
adjacent to the shore may have been set afire in the same blast or by burning debris from the ship raining down on it from an
unfavorable wind. The low, thin, smoke is from US Anti-aircraft guns. |
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PW4-183
From a different vantage point; the bow of the Northwestern afire and the Siems-Drake Puget Sound warehouse roof smouldering after a bomb hit the port bow of the Northwestern. |
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PW4-185
A few minutes later, S.S Northwestern's deck is now mostly afire or smouldering and flames leap from the roof of the warehouse next
to it. Behind the flames is a small tank farm that did not burn due to the dedicated efforts of local personnel to protect them. |
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PW4-187
Towering clouds of smoke rise from the SS Northwestern and oil tanks at Rocky Point Tank Farm. The armored power station that was to replace the Northwestern is on the right side of the photograph. |
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PW4-192
Caption reads: This was a 4 bomb stick aimed at radio receiving station. 4 large craters through mast area
but no damage. Operator working Kodiak (PW-4) "broke" - 2 minutes came back with "Excuse - that one knocked me off chair" and went on
with his message." Note SOC observation aircraft in front of incomplete hangar. |
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PW4-194
Bomb Hitting Hanger at Dutch Harbor. Notice debris in air; bomb exploded in the
overhead inside hanger and effectively destroyed a PBY Catalina that was undergoing repair following a strafing attack the previous day. |
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PW4-196
The smoke begins to clear after the hangar is bombed. This one wrecked the PBY which had been shot up the day before and which was
within hours of being ready for action again. The mechanics managed to salvage much needed spare parts despite the damage this
caused. |
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PW4-194
Smoke has cleared from hangar; note large hole in roof and continued smoke from anti-aircraft fire. |
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PW4-202
Command Hut at DutchHarbor from the edge of the seaplane base tarmac |
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PW4-203
Japanese planes over radio towers. These would be either D3A Val dive bombers or A6M Zeros as the B5N Kates made high-level bombing runs. |
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PW4-205
Picture quot reads, "37mm Gun after hit looking towards Command Hut at Dutch Harbor. One 500 lb bomb did this. Blew gun over
bluff, wrecked dug out, killed one man." |
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PW4-204
This may be the bomb hit that killed Lt. Greiner and the three sailors that were with him (their names were not listed). The explosion is centered on the gun that another photo states was the one that was hit. |
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PW4-201
Oil Tanks burning from the hill above them. |
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PW4-200
Bombed truck at the rear of barracks. This was not a direct hit; Blast & Fragments did this from 20 feet away. (It is unclear if they are referring to Army, Navy, or Marine Corps barracks, but it is likely to be the Army barracks at Fort Mears as no damage was listed to either the Navy or Marine Corps' barracks) |
