Last updated: December 13, 2020
Place
Fort Schwatka
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Unalaska, Alaska
Significance:
World War II Fort
Designation:
National Historic Landmark, 1985
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
During World War II the remote Aleutian Islands, home to the Unangax̂ (Aleut) people for over 8,000 years, became one of the fiercely contested battlegrounds of the Pacific. This thousand-mile-long archipelago saw the first invasion of American soil since the War of 1812, a mass internment of American civilians, a 15-month air war, and one of the deadliest battles in the Pacific Theater.
In 1996 Congress designated the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area to interpret, educate, and inspire present and future generations about the history of the Unangax̂ people and the Aleutian Islands in the defense of the United States in World War II. In a unique arrangement, the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area and visitor center are owned and managed by the Ounalashka Corporation (the village corporation for Unalaska) and the National Park Service provides them with technical assistance. Through this cooperative partnership, the Unangax̂ are the keepers of their history and invite the public to learn more about its past and present. The site is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1985.
Introduction to Self-Guided Tour:
Before you lies the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area and the historic footprint of the U.S. Army base Fort Schwatka and Battery 402. At 897 feet above sea level the fort is the highest coastal battery constructed along the coast of the United States. The fort was constructed in 1940 to protect the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base from a seaborne invasion fleet. The June 1942 attack on Dutch Harbor prompted an upgrade of the fort that was completed by early 1944. At full development Fort Schwatka had over 100 structures supporting the soldiers of the two coast artillery units that manned the cannons and antiaircraft guns. Barracks, storehouses, a recreation center, officers club, quonset huts, latrines, administration, and support buildings all served the needs of an estimated 250 soldiers stationed on this lonely mountain.
Battery 402 was the center point for the “iron ring” defense of Dutch Harbor – a series of strategically placed defense installations and observation posts along the coastlines of Amaknak and Unalaska Islands. Anti-submarine netting stretched across Iliuliuk and Captains Bay backed up the “Iron Ring." (Fort Learnard and Battery 298 were the other large fortifications.) Smaller installations were constructed at Hill 400 on Amaknak Island, Fort Brumback in Summer Bay, Hog Island in Unalaska Bay and Fort Mears Garrisons in Unalaska Valley provided additional strength.
Engineers designed the structures here to withstand bomb blasts, earthquakes, and gale force winds. Today, many of the structures of Fort Schwatka have collapsed, but the gun mounts and lookouts are among the most intact in the entire United States.
Fort Schwatka was largely abandoned by 1948 and in 1950 the Coast Artillery was abolished as separate branch of Army. Coastal defenses are part of a by-gone era – remnants of the general thinking by the public, Congress, the military about national defense that existed prior to World War II. After World War II, radical new forms of weaponry – jet aircraft, nuclear bombs and guided missiles – as well as our greater vulnerability to attack anywhere in the nation made these structures obsolete. The thin strip of protection along the nation’s shores would no longer suffice.
Download the free Fort Schwatka Self-Guided Tour (accessible PDF, 25.8 MB) to learn more.
Looking for other things to do around Fort Schwatka? Take a look at this trip itinerary, which offers six (6) different self-guided driving tours on Unalaska Island and Amaknak Island.