World War II On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of
Attu. The following day, United States Army Engineers came ashore to begin construction of a runway suitable for
B-29 Superfortress bombers. Tents were erected, a rudimentary electrical system, radios and some rough streets were laid down. A 10,000-foot runway was constructed, along with two 5,000-foot cross runways. The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew
B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft
AT-7, which was used for navigator training. The
344th Fighter Squadron flew both
P-40 Warhawks and
P-38 Lightnings. In addition, a North American
AT-6 was utilized for pilot training. One
RB-34, a
UC-64A and numerous
TB-26s were flown by the 15th Tow Target Squadron that was stationed on Shemya. The Navy assigned one squadron of
Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateers, which were single tail versions of the twin tail B-24. Many administrative and cargo aircraft, such as the
C-47 "Gooney Bird" flew in and out of Shemya during the war. The dispersal aircraft standings were placed in the area to the north of the main runway. With the successful completion of the
Aleutian Campaign in August 1943,
Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese
Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya. The Japanese had established a sizable defense complex on the northernmost islands, with most installations being located on
Paramushiro, the largest island in the chain. It supported three airfields and the Imperial Japanese Army Kashiwabra Staging Area. In addition, it was the headquarters for the Imperial Japanese Navy Fifth Fleet, located on
Kataoka.
Airline service In later years during the 1970s through to the 1990s, passenger and cargo service into the airfield was operated by
Reeve Aleutian Airways flying
Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops and
Boeing 727-100 jetliners with service to and from
Anchorage via several intermediate stops at other locations in the Aleutian Island chain. The Reeve operated Electra propjets and 727 jets were both configured as
combi aircraft and were capable of transporting mixed loads of passengers and freight on their respective main decks.
Cold War In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities. Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later
Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB. The 5040th Air Base Squadron was activated on 15 July 1958 to provide base support. The stations initial use was that of a long range weather station, with
WB-50D Superfortresses being flown from the base by the MATS 7th Weather Group,
Air Weather Service. It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for
B-52 Stratofortress bombers and
KC-135 tankers as part of
Operation Chrome Dome. SAC would have the tankers rotated to Shemya where they were re-fueled prior to taking off and refueling the loitering B-52s over Alaska which would loiter outside the Soviet Union to provide rapid first strike or retaliation capability in case of nuclear war. Shemya also supported various SAC
Boeing RC-135 "Rivet" reconnaissance aircraft flying along the Soviet Pacific Coast with on-board sensors which enable the crew to detect, identify and geolocate signals throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron in October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported. Shemya was re-designated from an Air Force Station to an Air Force Base on 21 June 1968. In 1966 the
Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base. ADC organized the
16th Surveillance Squadron with
AN/FPS-17 Detection and AN/FPS-80 Tracking Radars to monitor Soviet missile tests on the Kamchatka Peninsula and to support the Air Force Spacetrack System. Soviet fishing trawlers were a common sight in the offshore waters of the island, monitoring the squadron's activities. In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called
COBRA DANE on Shemya. Cobra Dane replaced the AN/FPS-17 and AN/FPS-80 radars with a more powerful
AN/FPS-108 phased-array radar. Cobra Dane was declared operational on 1 August 1977. Its primary mission is intelligence gathering in support of verification of the
SALT II arms limitation agreement. The station was also used by SAC
Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and
theater ballistic missile proliferation. The aircraft used were extensively modified
C-135Bs. In August 1988, at least one
Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for
anti-ballistic missile testing. Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the
Aerospace Defense Command to the
Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979. It was transferred to the
Air Force Space Command on 1 May 1983. During the 1980s the facilities on Shemya were upgraded. Many of the old World War II structures were replaced with modern buildings and new facilities were built.
From 1992 On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the 673d Air Base Group (673 ABG), subordinate to the
Eleventh Air Force (11AF) of
Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). The 673d and the base were subsequently reassigned from Eleventh Air Force to the
11th Air Control Wing (11 ACW). The Cobra Dane radar was integrated into the Joint-Service DOD Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). The air station also serves as a diversion airport for civilian aircraft which encounter an emergency while travelling across the Pacific Ocean. • On 6 April 1993
China Eastern Airlines Flight 583 was authorized to make an emergency landing on the airbase. The staff of the airbase provided humanitarian aid to the passengers and crews of the flight, and transferred the wounded to Anchorage. • On 1 July 1994, the 11th Air Control Wing was inactivated and the 673 ABG was reassigned back to Eleventh Air Force. The 673d Air Base Group provided base support to various tenant units assigned to other Air Force commands, such as the Air Force Space Command and other agencies involved in intelligence gathering activities directed by the National Command Authority. • On 24 December 2018, Delta Air Lines Flight 128 from Beijing to Seattle diverted to Eareckson Air Station after pilots were alerted to a "potential engine issue". The diverted plane, a Boeing 767-300ER, spent about 12 hours at Eareckson Air Station before being ferried back to Seattle. Delta sent a replacement B767-300ER from Seattle to pick up the passengers which landed at Eareckson Air Station at 11:00.
Major commands to which assigned •
Eleventh Air Force, 23 May 1943 •
Alaskan Air Command, 18 December 1945 – 1 July 1954; 15 July 1958 •
Air (later Aerospace) Defense Command, 1 January 1967 •
Strategic Air Command, 1 December 1979 •
Air Force Space Command, 1 May 1983 •
Pacific Air Forces, 27 January 1992 – present
Major units assigned United States Army Air Forces • HQ
IX Bomber Command, 3–31 March 1944 •
28th Bombardment Group, 26 February 1944 – 20 October 1945 •
11th Fighter Squadron, 11 August 1945 – 15 August 1946 (P-38 Lightning) •
54th Fighter Squadron, 18 October-20 November 1943 (P-38 Lightning) •
344th Fighter Squadron, 25 June 1943 – 15 August 1946 (P-38 Lightning) •
21st Bombardment Squadron, 27 July-19 September 1943 (B-24 Liberator) •
404th Bombardment Squadron, 28 February 1944 – 5 January 1947 (B-24 Liberator) •
343d Fighter Group, 5 October 1945 – 15 August 1946 • 626th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1946 •
66th Fighter Squadron, 15 August 1946 – 30 May 1947 United States Air Force • 5021st Air Base Squadron, 1 March 1951 : Re-designated: 5040th Air Base Squadron, 15 July 1958 : Re-designated: 5073d Air Base Squadron, 1 October 1962 : Re-designated: 5073d Air Base Group, 15 October 1974 – 27 January 1992 • 16th Surveillance Squadron, 1 January 1967 : Re-designated: 16th Aerospace Surveillance Squadron, 3 January 1967 – 1 December 1979 • 673d Air Base Group, 27 January 1992 – 1 July 1994 • 611th Air Support Squadron, 1 July 1994 – present File:5073d Air Base Squadron - Emblem.png|5073d ABS 1962–1974 File:5073d Air Base Group-Emblem.png|5073d ABG 1974–1992 File:6th Strategic Wing Detachment 1 - Emblem.png|6th SW Detachment 1 File:16th Surveillance Squadron-Emblem.png|16th SS 1967–1979 File:673d Air Base Group-Emblem.png|673d ABG 1992–1994 File:611th Air Support Squadron.png|611th ASUS 1994 – present ==Accidents and incidents==