Larson Air Force Base  Moses Lake Air Force Base | |
|---|---|
| Part of Strategic Air Command Air Defense Command | |
| Grant County, nearMoses Lake, Washington | |
 2006 USGS Orthophoto | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military airbase -U.S. Air Force |
| Location | |
  Larson AFB | |
| Coordinates | 47°12′28″N119°19′13″W / 47.20778°N 119.32028°W /47.20778; -119.32028 (Larson AFB) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1941–1942 |
| Built by | U.S. Government |
| In use | 1942–1966 |
| Battles/wars | World War II (training), Cold War |
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Larson Air Force Base is a formerUnited States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) ofMoses Lake, inGrant County, Washington. After its closure in 1966, the airport facility becameGrant County International Airport.
Originally namedMoses Lake Army Air Base, the airfield was activated on 24 November 1942 as a temporaryWorld War II training center. Moses Lake AAB was a sub-base of Spokane Air Technical Service Command, headquartered atSpokane Army Airfield.[1]
The first operational training unit (OTU) at the base was the482d Fighter Squadron, which conducted twin-engine fighter training forP-38 Lightning fighters. On 5 April 1943, the 396thBombardment Group became a second OTU at the base, providing first phase heavy bomber training for theB-17 Flying Fortress with its592d Bombardment Squadron,593d Bombardment Squadron,594th Bombardment Squadron and595th Bombardment Squadrons.[2][3]
The first flight of the XB-47 took place on 17 Dec. 1947, originating atBoeing Field and terminating at Moses Lake Air Force Base. In Feb. 1949, a B-47 took off from Larson, headed east and "broke all coast-to-coast speed records" with an average speed of 607.8 miles per hour.[4]
Moses Lake AFB reopened as a permanent installation on 26 August 1948, being transferred fromAir Materiel Command to theAir Defense Command (ADC). The initial ADC base operating unit was the 2755th Air Base Squadron. Under ADC, the base came under theWestern Air Defense Force, headquartered atHamilton AFB,California.
The base was renamedLarson Air Force Base was named in honor of MajorDonald A. Larson,USAAF, in May 1950.[5][6]Born and raised inYakima, Washington, Larson was afighter pilot andace[7] who flew 57 combat missions inEurope duringWorld War II. He waskilled in action while assigned to theVIII Fighter Command505th Fighter Squadron. Larson'sP-51D Mustang (AAF Ser. No. 44-13881, nose-name "Mary, Queen of Scotts") was shot down and crashed on 4 August 1944 nearUelzen, Germany.
The primary mission of Larson-based ADC aircraft was to protect the secretHanford Atomic Works and theGrand Coulee Dam.
The first ADC flying unit to arrive was the325th Fighter-Interceptor Group, which arrived on 26 November 1948. The mission of the 325th FIG was to conduct ADC's All Weather Combat Crew Training School. Its operational component, the317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, initially flewNorthrop P-61 Black Widows, almost immediately transitioning to theNorth American F-82 Twin Mustang. A second squadron, the319th Fighter Interceptor Squadron arrived on 2 September 1949, being reassigned fromMcChord AFB. The 319th also flew the F-82 Twin Mustang.[8][9] The 325th FIG remained at Moses Lake until being reassigned to McChord AFB on 23 April 1950, along with the 317th FIS. The 319th remained until 9 February 1952 when it was reassigned toSuwon Air Base, South Korea flyingF-94 Starfires.[8]
The next ADC unit was the81st Fighter-Interceptor Wing which arrived from 10 November 1949. The 81st FIW flewF-51D/H Mustangs,F-80C Shooting Stars andNorth American F-86 Sabres from the base. The 81st remained until 5 September 1951 when it was reassigned toNATO and deployed toRAF Shepherds Grove in the United Kingdom.[10][11] During theKorean War, the116th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron,Washington Air National Guard was called to active duty and activated at Moses Lake. The 116th FIS was deployed as part of the81st Tactical Fighter Wing toRAF Shepherds Grove.
On 21 April 1952, Larson AFB was assigned to theTactical Air Command (TAC) under TAC'sEighteenth Air Force, which reassigned the62nd Troop Carrier Wing fromMcChord AFB,Washington to the base.
On 15 April 1952, the YB-52 made its initial flight from Boeing Field to Larson Air Force Base, piloted byTex Johnston and Col. Townsend. Johnston noted, "At three hours and eight minutes, the flight in the YB-52 was the longest-duration maiden flight in the history of aviation and introduced one of the world's great airplanes."[12]
On May 25, 1959, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) issued General Order 38, which established the 4170th Strategic Wing (later renamed the 462nd Strategic Aerospace Wing) at Larson AFB effective July 1, 1959. On January 1, 1960, the 4170th SW took over Larson AFB.[13] In 1963, the 4170th was redesignated as the462d Strategic Aerospace Wing. The SAC wing at Larson AFB was equipped withB-52E Stratofortress bomber,KC-135A Stratotanker mid-air refueling aircraft, andTitan I ICBMs located at three underground complexes surrounding the base.
In the SAC era at Larson AFB, the 4170th SW/462nd SAW had five commanders:
Under SAC, Larson AFB was commanded by four men who each held a dual role as base commander and commander of the Combat Support Group:
SAC's568th Strategic Missile Squadron (SMS) headquartered at Larson AFB operated the three Titan I missile sites that surrounded Moses Lake. The 568th SMS was led by three commanders:
With the closure of the Larson AFB in 1966, Colonel Owen retired from the Air Force and became the first director of the Port of Moses Lake, overseeing the transfer of the property from theU.S. Government toGrant County International Airport.[26][27][28]
Following the Air Force's departure in 1966, the airfield has continued to support operations from McChord's62d Airlift Wing over the years, as the wing'sLockheed C-141 Starlifter,Lockheed C-130 Hercules, and currentlyBoeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft have practiced approaches and both normal landings and tactical assault landings on a regular basis.
The92nd Air Refueling Wing atFairchild Air Force Base in Spokane temporarily moved itsKC-135 R/T fleet and operations to Moses Lake in 2011 while Fairchild's runway underwent reconstruction and other infrastructure improvements, to include an upgrade to the base's aviation fuel distribution system.[29][30]
For over four decades,Japan Air Lines trained its747 crews at the facility, until 2009.[26][28][31][32][33]
Known ADC units and squadrons assigned to Larson were:[8][10]
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The568th Strategic Missile Squadron Operated threeHGM-25A Titan I ICBM sites: (1 Apr 1961 – 25 Mar 1965)[34]
The Titan I ICBM program at Larson was initiated in 1959 when the Walla Walla District of the Army Corps of Engineers set up an area office in October. The contractor broke ground on 1 December 1959 and the sites were turned over to SAC in early April 1961. In May 1964 Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara directed that the phase-out of the Atlas and Titan I missiles be accelerated, and in January 1965 the missiles of the 568th were taken off operational alert. The squadron was inactivated 2 months later.
Today, site "A" appears to be largely intact, the owner has thefacility for sale. Photos of the interior show it to be in good condition. Site "B" appears to be largely cleared, the silo launch doors of two pads appear to be open, and is also apparently also for sale. Site "C" appears to be a scrap site, filled with clutter; its underground facilities apparently are flooded by groundwater.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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