Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-07-03
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON,
Star Aviation Editor.

= Star Aviation Editor.
JUNEAU, Alaska (By airmair). -
Defense of the Aleutian Island
I chain, stretched out into the North
! Pacific toward Japan and Siberia,
! has been entrusted to the United
. States Navy, which now is about to
begin the construction of two great
: naval aviation bases at Kodiak and
Unalaska.
These strong military outposts will
guard the principal approaches by
sea to Alaska and will stand as a
strong threat against naval agrees
sion along the Great Circle route be-
tween Japan and the Northwestern
States of the United States. The
Army is constructing two air bases.
! one at Anchorage and one-the only
one across the great Coast Range in
the Alaskan interior-at Fairbanks.
The Civil Aeronautics Board, just
transferred into the Commerce De-
partment, is cooperating with the
two military services by constructing
a strategic network of airways and
radio range beacons capable of serv-
ing the requirements both of mill
tary and civil aviation, the backbone
Of Alaskan transportation.
The four Army and Navy air
bases form strongly located stra-
tegic net from Fairbanks, in the
Alaskan interior, to the Gulf of
Alaska and out the Aleutians as
nearly to their southwestern end as
practicable. The next base below
Fairbanks is the huge Army air base
at Anchorage, most pretentious of all
the Alaskan defense projects, al
ready under construction. The dis
lance between the two is 800 miles.
Location of Bases.
The first of the Navy bases, on
Kodiak Island, is about $50 miles
from Anchorage. The final naval
outpost, a new project entirely, is
at Unalaska,s on Dutch Harbor.
where naval patrol test flights have
had their terminus during recent
years and from which experimental
operations and Photographic mis-
eions have been conducted.
Kodiak and Unalaska are two OF
the naval bases recommended to
Congrass by the Hepburn board,
created last fiscal year by the Navy
Department to study the whole
question of naval bases and sta
tons required for adequate defense.
The Navy asked Congress for SOL
10000 in cash for expenditure dur
ing the fiscal year which has just
begun, toward q limit of cost of
$112, 10O,0O0 with which to finance
developments recommended by the
Hepburn board and already author
lied by Congress.
There has been some preliminary
construction at Kodiak, which has
formed temporary shore base for
patrol aviation operations. For adj
ditional aviation shore facilities at
Kodiak during the 1941 fiscal year,
now just begun, the Navy proposes
to spend 81, 0D0. 600 of Public Works
ALLEGATION funds and $1,000 900 cash
for expansion of the existing base
facilities. including buildings and
accessories and acquisition of land.
Big Outlay Proposed.
For acquisition of land and for
buildings and accessories at Una
laska, the Navy proposes to spend
during the current fiscal year ST.
100000 of public works funds and
$l,500.o0o Of new appropriations.
1t has been estimated that "a
months will be required for con-
struction of both these bases and
that 100000 will be required an
nually for maintenance and opera
ton of the Kodiak station and $145,-
600 annually for the Unalaska base.
Members of Congress, who had ex-
pressed some doubt as to the wisdom
OF building the isolated Unalaska
base, partially on the ground that
1t might be construed as an un-
friendly gesture by the Japanese,
were told by Rear Admiral John H.
Towers, chief of the Navy Bureau
OF Aeronautics:
"Unalaska is a small outlying
base. If we are to cover that whole
Alaskan area, it is essential, espe-
cially if we do not have tenders
available to tend the planes there at
all times, and that would be shoe
string way to run it. I think we
should have that base"
Defense for Cities.
Speaking of the construction of
the Army and Navy bases in Alaska,
Territorial Governor Ernest H.
Gruening said: 1T seems to me that
the people of the United States, in
all of the 48 States, are very for
tunate in having these outlying
areas where a potential enemy
could be stopped long before he
could come in and drop bombs on
the great cities of the country, and
1t seems to me it would be the part
Of wisdom to defend these outlying
spots and catch the invader when
he is hundreds of miles from the big
cities"
The fallacy of believing that
strong Navy bases at Honolulu or
AAA bilS 1Aa1APkIlllCo COu1u plOCStb OuT
entire Pacific frontier from an ag-
gressive enemy has been pointed out
by Anthony j. Di1nond, Alaskan
Delegate to Congress, who said:
Some people seem to think that
as long as we control the Hawaiian
Islands We control the entire Pacific,
but that is erroneous unless we have
q superior fleet in the Pacific. If
our fleet should be in the Atlantic
and the Panama Canal blocked,
then the Notifications in Alaska
would he indispensable for the
safety of the United States, because,
although some might be willing to
surrender the few people in Alaska
to the enemy. we must remember
that any foreign power in Alaska
Is within striking distance of the
United States, almost as close to the
United States as the Germans are
to Scapa Flow. So, if the United
States is to be really safe, we ought