Larson Air Force Base
Larson Air Force Base Military airbase - U.S. Air Force | |
---|---|
Site history | |
Built | 1941–1942 |
Built by | U.S. Government |
In use | 1942–1966 |
Battles/wars | World War II (training), Cold War |
Larson Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. After its closure in 1966, the airport facility became Grant County International Airport.
History
World War II
Originally named Moses Lake Army Air Base, the airfield was activated on 24 November 1942 as a temporary
The first operational training unit (OTU) at the base was the
The first flight of the XB-47 took place on 17 Dec. 1947, originating at Boeing 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]
Air Defense Command
Moses Lake AFB reopened as a permanent installation on 26 August 1948, being transferred from
The base was renamed Larson Air Force Base was named in honor of Major Donald A. Larson, USAAF, in May 1950.[5][6] Born and raised in
Interceptors
The primary mission of Larson-based ADC aircraft was to protect the secret Hanford Atomic Works and the Grand Coulee Dam.
The first ADC flying unit to arrive was the
The next ADC unit was the
Tactical Air Command
On 21 April 1952, Larson AFB was assigned to the
On 15 April 1952, the YB-52 made its initial flight from Boeing Field to Larson Air Force Base, piloted by
Strategic Air Command
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.
In the SAC era at Larson AFB, the 4170th SW/462nd SAW had five commanders:
- Lt. Col. Robert R. Johnston, 1959–1960[14]
- Col. Everett W. Best, 1960–1961[15]
- Col. David A. Tate, 1961–1965[16]
- Col. Alex W. Talmant, 1965–1966[17]
- Col. John G. Martin, Jr., 1966[18]
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:
- Lt. Col. Charles T. Olmsted, 1959–1960[19]
- Col. William R. Calhoun, Jr., 1960–1961[20]
- Lt. Col. Richard D. Salter, 1961–1963[21]
- Col. Clyde W. Owen, 1963–1966[22]
SAC's 568th 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:
- Col. Robert S. Milner, 1960–1963[23]
- Col. Bernard J. Schutten, 1963–1964[24]
- Col. Robert E. Mullin, 1964–1965[25]
Civil use
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 the
Following the Air Force's departure in 1966, the airfield has continued to support operations from McChord's
The 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane temporarily moved its KC-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,
Previous names
- Moses Lake Army Air Base, 1942–1945
- Moses Lake Air Force Base, 1948–1950
- Larson Air Force Base, 1950–1966
Major commands to which assigned
- Fourth Air Force, 1942–1943
- II Bomber Command, 1943–1945
- Air Defense Command, 1948–1952
- Tactical Air Command, 1952–1957
- Military Air Transport Service, 1957–1960
- Strategic Air Command, 1960–1966
Major units assigned
- 482d Fighter Squadron, 1942–1943
- 396th Bombardment Group, 1943–1945
- 325th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1948–1950
- 81st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 1949–1951
- 62d Troop Carrier Wing, 1952–1960
- 71st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 1955–1957
- 4170th Strategic Wing, 1960
- Redesignated 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing, 1963–1966.
Air Defense Command units
Known ADC units and squadrons assigned to Larson were:[8][10]
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Intercontinental ballistic missile facilities
The 568th Strategic Missile Squadron Operated three HGM-25A Titan I ICBM sites: (1 Apr 1961 – 25 Mar 1965)[34]
- 568-A, 8 miles N of Schrag, Washington 47°11′16″N 118°49′22″W / 47.18778°N 118.82278°W
- 568-B, 4 miles SSW of Warden, Washington 46°55′00″N 119°03′17″W / 46.91667°N 119.05472°W
- 568-C, 6 miles SE of Frenchman Hills, Washington 46°54′26″N 119°45′19″W / 46.90722°N 119.75528°W
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 the facility 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.
See also
- Washington World War II Army Airfields
- List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00175897
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00089349
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00060713
- ISBN 0764316702.
- ^ "Base at Moses Lake may honor memory of Yakima war hero". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 19 April 1950. p. 3.
- ^ "Base to be named for Yakima airman". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 23 May 1950. p. 1.
- ^ "Yakima flier's squadron tops". Ellensburg Daily Record. Associated Press. 7 August 1944. p. 5.
- ^ OCLC 72556.
- ^ USAFHRA Organizational Records Branch, 325th Operations Group Archived 7 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b USAF Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1)
- ^ USAFHRA Organizational Records Branch, 81st Training Wing Archived 27 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine and USAFHRA Document 00175901
- ISBN 9780553295870.
- ^ George F. Hassinger, “History 4170th Strategic Wing (Heavy), 1 January–30 June 1960, Larson AFB, Wash.,” ca. June 1960, 2-3, microfilm roll no. P0064, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Maxwell, Alabama.
- ^ “Colonel Assigned,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), 31 July 1959.
- ^ “Colonel Best to Command Larson Wing,” Spokane Daily Chronicle, 11 Jan 1960
- ^ “AF Shifts 2 Officers,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane), 22 November 1961.
- ^ “Retirement Ceremony Fetes Larson Colonel,” Spokane Daily Chronicle, 2 August 1965
- ^ Bill Gasman, “First Larson Units Transfer April 1,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), 10 March 1966.
- ^ George F. Hassinger, “History 4170th Strategic Wing (Heavy), 1 January–30 June 1960, Larson AFB, Wash.,” ca. June 1960, 4, microfilm roll no. P0064, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Maxwell, Alabama.
- ^ George F. Hassinger, “History 4170th Strategic Wing (Heavy), 1–31 December 1960, Larson AFB, Wash.,” ca. December 1960, iv and 2, microfilm roll no. P0065, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
- ^ “Corsicanan Is Commander of Washington Base,” Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light (Corsicana, Texas), 21 November 1961.
- ^ “Col. Owen Takes Over,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.), 27 April 1963.
- ^ “Larson Titan Sites Readied for Combat,” Columbia Basin Herald (Moses Lake, Washington), 17 July 1962.
- ^ “Officer Is Going to Arizona Base,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), 10 December 1964.
- ^ Richard L. Mayer, “462d Strategic Aerospace Wing (Heavy): October–December 1964,” ca. December 1964, 12, microfilm roll no. N0750, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Maxwell, Alabama.
- ^ a b "Japan Air Lines welcomed". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 22 November 1968. p. 5.
- ^ Geranios, Nicholas K. (26 December 1988). "Baseless existence". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. p. A3.
- ^ a b Lynch, Lynne (10 November 2008). "JAL marks 40th anniversary". Columbia Basin Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Wasson, David (20 January 2011). "Work relocates Fairchild tankers". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ King, Scott (24 January 2011). "Fairchild relocates KC-135 flying OPS". United States Air Force. 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Crowell, Todd (4 February 1980). "An honorable match". Spokesman-Review. p. 9.
- ^ "Japan Air Lines trains 747 pilots at U.S. facility". Pittsburgh Press. United Press International. 10 August 1982. p. C-10.
- ^ Hansen, Dan (23 November 2008). "JAL ends Moses Lake stay". The Seattle Times. (Spokesman-Review). Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Alexander, Kristin (22 March 1998). "Basin missile silos curious Cold War relics" (PDF). kristinalexander.com. Tri-City Herald.
- Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ISBN 0-912799-02-1).
- Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
- Mueller, Robert (1989). Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C. ISBN 0-16-002261-4
- A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 – 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
- Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
- Information for Larson AFB SAGE, WA
External links
- Grant County International Airport (Port of Moses Lake)
- Larson Air Force Base – Grant County International Airport at HistoryLink
- Strategic-Air-Command.com – Larson AFB history
- Global Security.org – Larson AFB
- Center for Columbia River History: Larson AFB