World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe US Army constructed the airfield of Bluie West One in southern Greenland beginning in Jun 1941. The site was surrounded by high mountains, thus most flights traveled over the Tunulliarfik Fjord. The runway was constructed of steel mat. The first aircraft landed in Jan 1942, and for the remainder of the war it served as a refueling point for the Canada-Greenland-Iceland-Scotland route. At its peak during the war, about 4,000 US military personnel were stationed at this airfield. About 10,000 landings were conducted at Bluie West One between 1942 and 1945. After the end of WW2, it remained active under the new name of Narsarsuaq (alternate spelling: Narsarssuak) Air Base. As jets became the norm, the runway was lengthened and was paved with concrete. In 1958, the base was closed and control of the facilities was given to the government of Greenland, which then operated it as a civilian facilities. It remains in that capacity at the time of this writing in 2019.

Bluie West One Interactive Map

Photographs