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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

<p>Kodiak Naval Radio Station</p>

US Naval Alaskan Radio Station Collection (UG 10 and UG 20)

The US Naval Alaskan Radio Station Collection (UG 10 and UG 20) consists of several hundred glass negatives and cyanotype prints related to early US Navy Radio Stations in Alaska, circa 1908 to 1917. There is no donation information known about the collection. Several series of images are related to the Alaskan Naval Radio Expedition, including images of USS Buffalo, which supported the Alaskan Radio Expedition in 1911 and 1914 with the construction of stations on Woody Island near Kodiak, on St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands, and at Dutch Harbor near Unalaska. USS Nero supported the 1912 Alaskan Radio Expedition with the development of stations on the island of Unalga, an auxiliary station on St. George in the Pribilofs, and performed additional work at the other five stations.  Included are selected item level images from each Alaskan location (see below).

 

These two collections provide outstanding coverage of early naval radio stations in Alaska, especially as they relate to radio equipment and building construction. Of specific note is the representation of imagery associated with the Alaskan Naval Radio Expeditions of 1911 and 1914 by the USS Buffalo and the 1912 expedition of USS Nero. These expeditions involved a mix of naval and civilian personnel - the 1912 expedition consisted of two officers, 32 civilians (including radio experts and manual laborers) and 38 enlisted men, many of which are represented in the photographs. The stations at Sitka and Cordova pre-date these expeditions, 1907 and 1908, and the imagery related to these sites is particularly significant both historically and visually.  

 

For a full box list of both collections, with station locations, subjects, and dates, click here


To view other Alaska related radio station collections, see below:
UA 543.02 Naval Historical Foundation Collection
NHF-098 Sitka Naval Radio Station Collection 

 

For additional information about this collection, please contact the photo archive at: nhhcphotoarchives@navy.mil