Larson Air Force Base 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 . Larson Air Force Base was named in honor of Major Donald A . Larson , USAAF , in May 1950 . Born and raised in Yakima , Washington , Larson was a fighter pilot and ace who flew 57 combat missions in Europe during World War II . He was killed in action while assigned to the VIII Fighter Command 505th Fighter Squadron . Larson ' s P - 51D Mustang ( AAF Ser . No . 44 - 13881 , nose - name " Mary , Queen of Scotts " ) was shot down and crashed on 4 August 1944 near Uelzen , Germany . He was buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery at Neuville - en - Condroz , nine miles ( 14 km ) west of Liège , Belgium . Larson ' s medals and decorations include the Silver Star , Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster , Air Medal with three clusters , Purple Heart , American Defense Medal , European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze stars , American Area Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal ( posthumously ) . An identical twin born in 1915 , Larson enlisted as a flying cadet at McChord Field near Tacoma in April 1941 , and completed advanced flight training in California and went overseas in January 1944 . World War II . Originally named Moses Lake Army Air Base , the airfield was activated on 24 November 1942 as a temporary World War II training center . Moses Lake AAB was a sub - base of Spokane Air Technical Service Command , headquartered at Spokane Army Airfield . The first operational training unit ( OTU ) at the base was the 482d Fighter Squadron , which conducted twin - engine fighter training for P - 38 Lightning fighters . On 5 April 1943 , the 396th Bombardment Group became a second OTU at the base , providing first phase heavy bomber training for the B - 17 Flying Fortress with its 592d , 593d , 594th and 595th Bombardment Squadrons . In 1945 , base activity was curtailed to standby and for three years , was used to test two famous bomber aircraft : the B - 47 and the B - 50 . Even though Moses Lake AAB ( later Moses Lake AFB ) was on standby , it was still playing a critical role in the development of the USAF aircraft . In 1949 , a B - 47 took off from Larson , headed east and began a coast - to - coast speed race . Air Defense Command . Moses Lake AFB reopened as a permanent installation on 26 August 1948 , being transferred from Air Material Command to the Air Defense Command ( ADC ) . The initial ADC base operating unit was the 2755th Air Base Squadron . Under ADC , the base came under the Western Air Defense Force , headquartered at Hamilton AFB , California . Interceptors . The primary mission of Larson - based ADC aircraft was to protect the secret Hanford Atomic Works and the Grand Coulee Dam . The ADC first flying organization was the 325th Fighter - Interceptor Group , arriving at the base on 26 November 1948 . The mission of the 325th FIG was to conduct ADC ' s All Weather Combat Crew Training School . Its operational component , the 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron , initially flew P - 61 Black Widow s , almost immediately transitioning to the F - 82 Twin Mustang . A second squadron , the 319th Fighter Interceptor Squadron arrived on 2 September 1949 , being reassigned from McChord AFB . The 319th also flew the F - 82 Twin Mustang . The 325th FIG remained at Moses Lake until being reassigned to McChord AFB on 23 April 1950 . Its component squadrons at Moses Lake , the 317th also moved to McChord on 23 April . The 319th remained until 9 February 1952 when it was reassigned to Suwon AB , South Korea flying F - 94 Starfire s . The next ADC unit was the 81st Fighter - Interceptor Wing which arrived on From 10 November 1949 . The 81st FIW flew F - 51D / H Mustangs , F - 80C Shooting Stars and F - 86A Sabres from the base . The 81st remained until 5 September 1951 when it was reassigned to NATO and deployed to RAF Shepherds Grove , England . During the Korean War , the 116th 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 81st TFW to RAF Shepherds Grove . Radar defense . In September 1948 the Air Force authorized the Air Defense Command to put thirteen temporary radar stations in operation . These stations were in operation by mid - 1949 . Additional stations were added across the nation in 1949 and 1950 . This temporary system was given the name " Lashup " to distinguish it from the interim system for which the Air Force was seeking appropriations . A total of forty - four stations were established under this program . These sites were designated “ L . ” Moses Lake AFB was selected as L - 29 in July 1950 , equipped with AN / CPS - 5 , AN / CPS - 1 , and AN / CPS - 4 radars , operated by the 637th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron until their transfer to Saddle Mountain AFS , Washington ( LP - 40 ) in January 1952 . SAGE Direction Center . In 1957 , Air Defense Command selected Larson AFB as the location of a Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) Data Center ( DC - 15 ) . The SAGE system was a network linking Air Force ( and later FAA ) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense , intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack . This automated control system was used by NORAD for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft . In the later versions the system could automatically direct aircraft to an interception by sending instructions directly to the aircraft ' s autopilot . Activated on 8 September 1958 , DC - 15 was commanded by the Spokane Air Defense Sector under the 25th Air Division . The Sector was disestablished on 1 September 1963 due the high costs of operation , the sector merged with the DC - 12 Direction Center at McChord AFB under he Seattle Air Defense Sector . After its closure , the SAGE building remained in use by the Air Force for other offices , and after the closure of Larson AFB in 1966 , it remained in government hands . In 2000 , the building was sold and the company that now either owns or leases the building is " Titan , " a company who provides secure off - sire storage of business records . Tactical Air Command . On 21 April 1952 , Larson AFB was assigned to the Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) under TAC ' s Eighteenth Air Force , which reassigned the 62nd Troop Carrier Wing from McChord AFB , Washington to the base . The Air Defense Command units then became tenants on the base . The 4721st Air Defense Group was activated at Larson in 1956 to centralize supervision and support of 322d FIS and 538th FIS . It was later inactivated as part of ADC closedown at Larson prior to it being assigned to Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) . For the next eight years , the 62nd was very active , routinely performing troop carrier , air transport , and humanitarian missions on a global scale flying C - 124 Globemaster II aircraft . It participated in the airlift of French troops from France to Indochina in Operation Bali - Hai , April — May 1954 . Provided a major portion of the airlift needed to construct the distant early warning ( DEW ) line in northern Alaska and Canada , 1955 – 1956 , and thereafter periodically resupplied the DEW line stations . During the international geophysical year 1957 – 1958 , and subsequently through 1960 , supported scientific stations in the Arctic Ocean by landing and airdropping supplies on the drifting ice . From 1955 – 59 , the Air Materiel Command Flight Test Center at Larson tested the B - 52 bomber . Boeing built a huge hangar , long , wide , with clear spans of and able to hold eight B - 52s under one roof . On 26 January 1955 , the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) 71st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was activated to perform strategic reconnaissance with B - 36 and RB - 36 Peacekeeper bomber . The wing was also assigned to test a technique for launching small RBF - 84 Thunderjet aircraft from specially - configued GRB - 36 Peacekeeper bombers , to extend the range of photographic reconnaissance and fighter escort . Tests ended in 1956 , but the wing continued bombardment training and strategic reconnaissance until inactivated in 1957 . Military Air Transport Service . Larson AFB became a Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) Continental Division base on 1 July 1957 . The 62d TCW was reassigned as part of the transfer of C - 124 wings from TAC to MATS . Strategic Air Command . Strategic Air Command assumed command of Larson AFB in 1960 and established the Fifteenth Air Force ' s 4170th Strategic Wing ( 4170th SW ) . The MATS 62d TCW was reassigned back to McChord AFB on 13 June 1960 where it continues to operate today as the 62d Airlift Wing with C - 17 Globemaster III aircraft . The mission of SAC at Larson AFB was to be a B - 52 Stratofortress strategic bombardment wing base . Colonel Clyde W . Owen , USAF , was assigned by SAC as the first commander of the 4170 SW . Crews and aircraft of the 327th Bombardment Squadron arrived from Fairchild AFB , Washington on 13 July 1960 and the first B - 52D to arrive was christened " Larson ' s Lucky Lady " . The 43d Air Refueling Squadron and its KC - 135 Stratotankers moved from Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona to Larson AFB on 15 November 1960 , thus completing one of the most advanced air weapon systems in SAC . The mission of the 43rd ARS was to insure the global strike capability of SAC bombers by providing high speed aerial refueling support with modern jet tanker aircraft . The 568th Strategic Missile Squadron was later activated in 1961 as part of the 4170th SW with three missile complexes , each housing three HGM - 25A Titan I missiles . The complexes were located at Royal City , Warden , and Odessa . On 1 February 1963 , the 4170th Strategic Wing was re - designated the 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing in honor of the 462d Bombardment Group of World War II . The 327th Bomb Squadron was redesignated the 768th Bomb Squadron after one of the 462d units . The redesignated wing continued conducting strategic bombardment , air refueling and associated SAC Nuclear Alert Force operations . In November 1964 , it was announced that Larson AFB would be closed due to DoD budget reductions which mandated a reduction in B - 52 bases and the inactivation of the Titan I ICBM . The ICBM sites were deactivated officially on 25 March 1965 . The 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing was inactivated in April 1966 and the base was closed on 30 June 1966 . Civil use . With the closure of the base , 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 U . S . Government to Grant County International Airport . Following the Air Force ' s departure in 1966 , the airfield has continued to support operations from McChord ' s 62d Airlift Wing over the years , as the wing ' s C - 141 , C - 130 , and currently C - 17 aircraft have practiced approaches and both normal landings and tactical assault landings on a regular basis . The 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild AFB 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 . For over four decades , Japan Air Lines trained its 747 crews at the facility , until 2009 . Air Defense Command units . Known ADC units and squadrons assigned to Larson were : Intercontinental ballistic missile facilities . The 568th Strategic Missile Squadron Operated three three HGM - 25A Titan I ICBM sites : ( 1 Apr 1961 – 25 Mar 1965 ) 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 .