Dead reckoning: Bombing Kiska through the clouds

The moment US forces became aware of the fact that the Japanese had invaded Kiska in the Western Aleutian Islands on 6 June 1942 they commenced a sustained bombing campaign to prevent they invaders from consolidating their foothold. The generally foggy weather over Kiska provided adverse conditions for the successful bombing of targets. In response, US aircrew developed a blind-bombing technique using Kiska Volcano as a navigational landmark. Recent research on Kiska has uncovered evidence of this in the cultural landscape of Kiska battlefield. A combination of aerial imagery analysis and 3-D modelling of Japanese AA defences reveals both what target had been intended and suggests a time-period during which these craters could have been caused.