Bluie East Two

The United States assumed responsibility for the defense of Greenland in April 1941. They established a number of bases with the codename “Bluie”. Bluie East Two was an airfield and weather station at Ikateq in East Greenland. It was operational from 1942 to 1947.

It began reporting weather on 1 November 1942 and the 5,000 foot runway was completed in 1943. The airfield never attained the prominence in trans-Atlantic air traffic originally intended, but it served very well in the alternate airfield, meteorology, navigation and search-and-rescue support capacities.

The field was resupplied seasonally by the U.S. Coast Guard, and received regular air supplies and drops when the runway could not be cleared. The field declined in importance after the war. It was evacuated at the end of 1947 along with many other American stations in Greenland. Most of the equipment was left behind, including thousands of fuel drums. These remnants still pollute the area today.