Their
History on Kodiak Island
In
the late forties Kodiak Island had awakened from a sleepy
little fishing village to a thriving small town fueled by
its Military presence from World War II. Peaking at
over 50,000 troops, the town found itself booming from military
money and a huge influx of people.
Fishing
was still the mainstay of Kodiak. There were seven
or eight fish processing facilities, called canneries around
the island. Boats making scheduled trips around the
Island in the summer served the canneries. In the
wintertime, the fishing nets were put away, and the canneries
went dormant, with winter watchmen or families watching
over the facilities.
World
War II brought with it huge advances in aircraft development.
Grumman Aircraft Corporation was one of the leaders, and
subsequently developed the Grumman Duck, Widgeon, Goose,
Mallard and Albatross that specialized in aircraft that
were suitable for landing and taking off in the rough waters
around Alaska, and the rest of the war torn world.
As the war wound down, many of these aircraft were declared
surplus and sold to private owners for a variety of reasons.
Between 1946 and 1948 almost all of the Widgeons and Gooses
could be obtained through government surplus sales at a
cost of between six and ten thousand dollars, and were in
new condition. Today’s cost for one of these same
aircraft ranges from about three hundred to five hundred
thousand dollars. These planes would help shape the
future of Kodiak by giving quick, reliable service to villages
and canneries around the island.
This
web site is dedicated to the Grumman Widgeons and Gooses
that found their way to Kodiak Island from the late forties
until present day. Many of these planes are still around
today, but only one, a Grumman Widgeon, N17481 calls its
home Kodiak as this web site is being developed.
I
have made every effort to give an accurate account of each
aircraft described here. Please contact me to make
corrections on dates, names or any other facts you think
should be changed. As I find out more about individual
planes, the website will be updated. I would appreciate
any other pictures of these planes on this website.
Email them to me. I will give photo credits.
Also,
the next phase of this website will be to expand the picture
section to include the pilots who flew these aircraft in
Kodiak. If you are one of these pilots, email me a
photo, preferably with the aircraft you flew, and you will
be included in this site.
I
would like to thank the following people for their contributions
to this site. They are: The Hall Family, The
Harvey family, Guy Powell, Larry Malloy, The Horn Family,
Patricia Henley, and many others. Thanks for visiting
this Website, Guy Denton in Poulsbo, Washington.
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