Fort Randall ( Alaska ) Fort Randall was a United States Army airfield established 1941 during World War II in what was then the Territory of Alaska . History . The airport was constructed during World War II as Fort Randall Army Airfield during the secret military buildup of the Territory of Alaska that began in 1941 . Disguised as civilian employees of the Blair Canning and Packing Company , United States Army personnel in civilian clothes were shipped to Cold Bay . Construction began in December 1941 , and the airfield was ready for operation by March 1942 . Because of the foresight of Alaskas military commanders , the new airfield , along with another new secret airfield , Cape Field at Umnak , was ready to contribute to the defense of Alaska against Imperial Japanese Navy air attack during the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942 . The airfield at Cold Bay remained operational throughout World War II . Known units assigned to Fort Randall Army Airfield ( AAF ) were : Fort Randall AAF was also used by the United States Navy during the Aleutian campaign . A two - gun 6 - inch ( 152 - mm ) naval gun battery was located at Grant Point . One gun is on display near the town dump . A four - gun 155 mm gun battery on Panama mount s was located at Mortensen ' s Lagoon at Thin Point . The HECP bunker still exists at Pride Lake . In the spring and summer of 1945 , Cold Bay was the site of the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II , Project Hula , in which the United States transferred 149 ships and craft to the Soviet Union and trained 12 , 000 Soviet personnel in their operation in anticipation of the Soviet Union entering the war against Japan . Fort Randall provided housing and classroom space for the instructors and trainees . At any given time , about 1 , 500 American personnel were at Cold Bay and Fort Randall during Project Hula . The airfield was named Thornbrough Air Force Base in 1948 for Captain George W . Thornbrough , a U . S . Army Air Forces B - 26 Marauder pilot . Captain Thornbrough fought during the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942 , bravely attacking a Japanese aircraft carrier that was launching strike aircraft at Dutch Harbor . Although his torpedo struck the carrier , it failed to explode . Captain Thornbrough returned to his airfield to refuel and rearm and then took off to rejoin the fight . The aircraft and entire crew were lost during their return from this mission , when they were unable to land at Cold Bay . The wreckage of Captain Thornbrough ' s aircraft was found 50 miles ( 80 km ) from Cold Bay on the north side of the Alaska Peninsula the following month . It was redesignated from Army Air Base ( AAB ) to an Air Force Base ( AFB ) on 28 March 1948 along with seven other Army Air Bases in Alaska . Its chief assets were a 10 , 000 - foot runway and a deep - water dock . It was controlled by the 5024th Air Base Squadron , Alaskan Air Command ( AAC ) . It was logistically supported by the 39th Air Depot Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base . Its mission became supporting Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) transport flights along the Great Circle Route from Japan , as well as supporting the 7th ( later 9th ) Weather Group which provided support for WB - 29 Superfortress flights of the 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Eielson AFB which operated over the Northern Pacific and Bearing Sea . Both the runway and dock have continued in service to this day serving as transportation hubs for airlines and shipping . The 5042d ABS was discontinued on 1 January 1950 per AAC General Order Number 198 , dated 13 December 1949 , due to budget restrictions . Control of the base was taken over directly by AAC . It was planned for inactivation ; however , the transport demands by MATS flying to Japan to support the Korean War delayed the inevitable closing of the base until 1 September 1953 by AAC General Order 66 . Between 1956 and 1958 , Cold Bay Airport was used as a logistics support base during the construction of Cold Bay Air Force Station , a Ground Control Intercept ( GCI ) station for Alaskan Air Command during the Cold War . Today , the airport is used by the USAF 611th Air Support Group , based at Elmendorf AFB to support the unattended Long Range Radar ( LRR ) site A - 08 just to the northwest of the airport .