ILAK Island

Ilak Island, located at Latitude 51.47778 Longitude -178.28722, is
approximately 1,800 miles from the West Coast of the United States and 1,100
miles from the Russian Peninsula of Kamchatka. Ilak is 6,500 feet in length
(east to west) and 3,000 feet wide with a high point of 188 feet.

According to Geochron Laboratories, Inc. in 1971 the island is formed from “a
hornblende-biotite pair from the quartz monzonite pluton.” This was confirmed
by L.B.G. Pickthorn in 1985.

Nearby islands are considered to be at risk for 215-285 bbl of non persistent oil
spills over a ten year period as they sit south of major shipping lanes, and
within a several hour cruise of Tanaga Island with its dock facilities. 1

Gramp Rock 1.5 miles west of Ilak is a breeding ground for adult Sea Lions.
Populations during the early summer have numbered in the mid-forties during
recent surveys. 2

Birds of many species frequent these islands. 2

During the Second World War, on August 13, 1944 a U.S. Army Air Force B-24
Liberator returning from a bombing mission over the Japanese held island of
Paramushir (or Paramushiro) ran into grave difficulty trying to find its base at
Shemya (approximately 400 miles to the West). A thick fog had made landings
at all bases in the Western Aleutians impossible. 3

Running out of fuel, the fog cleared as the crew and a sister ship flew over Ilak
Island. Making a wheels-up emergency crash landing the crew survived and
was picked up by the Coastal Survey ship Patton and ferried to Lash Bay on
Tanaga Island. 4 The plane’s bomb sight was removed and later the plane was
stripped of its guns and electronics by ship borne military personnel. Eventually
the plane was destroyed though the wings and tail assembly remained.

1 Aleutians Subarea GRS Workgroup.
2 The National Marine Mammal Laboratory
3 T/Sgt O.E. Gilinsky 404th BS, 11th A.F., crew survivor
4 National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, History