Rabaul
The Aleutians
“In the Aleutians, the weather is characterized by persistent overcast condition. Pilots found forecasts of limited value since weather is extremely local and exhibits varying conditions within a small area. Occasional breaks in the overcast occur in spots, but clear weather over large areas is most rare. Attu may enjoy in a whole year no more than eight or ten clear days. Gusty winds blowing across from the great Siberian land mass accentuate difficulties in air navigation caused by fog. The irregular topography of the Aleutians aggravates the unsteadiness of the winds. A special hazard of the region is the “williwaw,” a wind of hurricane velocity which sweeps down from the naked hills along the north fringe of the islands. Though high winds and fog are an unusual combination elsewhere, they frequently persist together for days in the Aleutians. And always-wind or no wind-there is fog, mist,
and overcast to plague pilot, navigator, and bombardier alike. Such weather discouraged naval operations-General Buckner had written earlier that “the naval officer had an instinctive dread of
Alaskan waters, feeling that they were a jumping-off place between Scylla and Charybdis and inhabited by a ferocious monster that was forever breathing fogs and coughing up ‘williwaws’ that would blow
the unfortunate mariner into uncharted rocks and forever destroy his chances of becoming an admiral.” But the same weather also imposed strict limitations upon air warfare, for Japanese as well as for Americans. Perhaps the enemy enjoyed a certain advantage in that North Pacific weather generally moved from west to east, though it is doubtful that the Japanese-as was once believed-could follow a weather front in from the Kurils.”
“Perhaps it was the weather, in the last analysis, that relegated the Alaska-Aleutians area to the place of a relatively inactive theater. As it was, no strategic offensive was attempted by either side. That was not wholly for lack of an objective; either side might have found some objective (though probably not of first rank) had sustained air operations been possible. But whereas the advance of the Japanese and the counter-thrust of the Americans along the Aleutians bore some superficial
resemblance to those in the South and Southwest Pacific4 was in each case island-hopping to secure ever more-advanced air bases the tempo of air operations in the North Pacific was slow and indecisive.”
Map of the Aleutians
“It is now known that Vice Adm. Tetuo Akiyama had issued on 8 June the original order for the evacuation of Kiska. About 700 persons were moved out by submarine, but when this method proved
too slow and hazardous, the job was assigned to surface ships. A light surface force sallied out of Paramushiru several times but drew back because the weather was not thick enough. Finally on 28 July (Tokyo time) the force ran for Kiska under friendly clouds, onloaded the garrison of 7,000 in two hours, and was back at Paramushiru.
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