MURDER POINT
22 JUN 1949 - 10 JUL 1961
Station Information
| Site Survey: | 1947 |
| Construction Date | 07 MAR 1948 - 01 NOV 1948 Ground broken 07 NOV 1948 Construction completed 01 NOV 1948 - placed in caretaker status until until JUN 1949 upon completin of ADAK and CAPE SARICHEF sites. |
| Constructed by: | Drake Puget Sound Co. under U.S. Navy contract NOY 13913* *U.S. Navy Contract NOY 13913 was to construct the three loran stations. (Attu, Adak and Cape Sarichef) |
| Established: Commissioned: |
01 NOV 1948 - in caretaker status |
| Decommissioned: Disestablished: |
JUL 1961 10 JUL 1961 |
| Operated by: | USCG |
| Station code name: | |
| Station Unit Identifier: | 1948 - 13-565 |
| Station mail address: | 1948 - CG Loran Station Station, Murder Point, Attu, Alask 1960 - CG LTS, Box 46, Navy 230, Seattle, WA |
| Station AKA: | |
| Personnel Allowance: | NOV 1948 - 4 Enlisted - caretaker status JUN 1949 - 1 Officer; 14 Enlisted JAN 1953 - 1 Officer; 13 Enlisted |
| Mascot: | 1949 - Miss Gilda |
| Miscellaneous: | 01 JAN 1949 - NATS discontinued flights to Attu. The cause an impact of delivery of mail and freight. 1953 - Robert "Bob" Dahl died as a result of slipped on the ice and the station truck ran over him. Because of inclement weather the Navy could not respond (fly) in time. 1953 - CS2 Darrell "Red" Vandehey on last Navy PBY to Attu. On the return trip back to Adak, the Navy PBY did not make it back. 1953 - CO departed island after 10 months without saying goodby or anything. Was angry that the CG sent him to such a place. JUL 1953 - A Japanese ship arrived to exhume and cremate their war dead. It was a flawed idea from the start. They didn't take into account that the bodies buried on the mountain didn't have enough time to decompose. DEC 1957 - USAF dropped two Christmas trees for the station - the dogs ate them before crew could retrieve them. Dave Riley 1957-58 Spring 1958 - Seabees secured Navy Town - Dave Riley 1957-58 - Russian MIG made low level pass on station on a couple Sundays - made folks down chain up-tight. Dave Riley |
| Commanding Officers / Officers in Charge |
1948 - 1949 MoMM1/c Edward F. Clements (01 NOV - 23 JUN) caretaker 1949 - 1949 ENS David Jenkins (23 JUN - ?) 1949 - 1950 LTJG Alvin J. Boxwell (? – JUL 28) 1950 - 1951 LTJG Robert S. Hall (28 JUL – 22 JUL) 1951 - 1952 LTJG Stuart T. Scharfenstein 22 JUL – 1 AUG) 1952 - 1953 LTJG Richard J. Mayer (1 AUG – JUN) 1953 - 1954 LTJG Daniel L. Muir (JUN – 10 JUN) 1954 - 1955 LTJG Adrian L. Lonsdale (10 JUN – 31 MAY) 1955 - 1956 LTJG John F. Ellis (31 MAY – 31 MAY) 1956 - 1957 LTJG Gordon R.Campbell (31 MAY – 20 MAY) 1957 - 1958 LTJG William C. Boinest (20 MAY – 27 MAY) 1958 - 1959 LTJG Richard N. Abrahams (27 MAY – 27 MAY) 1959 - 1960 LTJG Robert J. Ketchel (27 MAY – 10 JUN) 1960 - 1961 LTJG Paul D. Henneberry (10 JUN - 10 JUL) |
Change of Command:
28 JUL 1950 - LTJG Boxwell / ENS Hall - pdf
10 JUN 1960 - LT Ketchel / LTJG Henneberry - pdf
Station Operations
LORAN-A
52 48 29.369 N - 173 09 43.441 E (09 SEP 1948 Plot Plan)
52 48 29.37 N - 173 09 43.14 E (USCG Ltr 1951)
Google Earth: 52 48 29.369 N - 173 09 43.411 E
| Chain: | ALEUTIAN |
| Station Letter designation: | 1L7 "L" |
| Radio Call Sign: | |
| Declared Operational date: | 22 JUN 1949 |
| Operations Ceased: | 101000Z JUL 1961 |
| Station Operation: | Single SLAVE (SS) |
Station pair: |
ATTU (S) - ADAK (M) 1L7 1000 us Approx. 380 Nautical miles |
On-air testing date: |
|
| On-Air: | 1L7 - 222200Z JUN 1949 |
| Off-Air | 1L7 - 101000Z JUL 1961 |
| Equipment: | 1948 - UE-1 Timers s/n 30 & 31; TDP-1 Transmitters s/n 52 & 53; UM Switching Unit s/n 12; Coupler CG-47368 |
| Antenna Type: | Cage "T" |
Awards:
U.S. Coast Guard Restricted Duty Ribbon
Documets:
1948 - Staffing and Caretaker correspondence - pdf
09 NOV 1948 - Historical New Building Description - pdf
08 DEC 1948 - Plot Plan - pdf
14 JAN 1948 - Plot Plan - pdf
240955Z JUN 49 - Operations transferred to Murder Point - pdf
19 JUL 1956 - Overseas Loran Station Survey - pdf
Pictures:
U. S. Coast Guard Official Photos
Contributor Dave Riley c./1957
Thanks Dave!