Grant County International Airport

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For other uses, see Grant County Airport (disambiguation).
Grant County International Airport
IATA: MWH - ICAO: KMWH - FAA: MWH
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Port of Moses Lake
Serves Moses Lake, Washington
Elevation AMSL 1,185 ft (361.2 m)
Coordinates 47°12′28″N, 119°19′13″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
14L/32R 13,503 4,116 Asphalt/Concrete/Grooved
4/22 10,000 3,048 Asphalt/Concrete/Grooved
9/27 4,500 1,372 Concrete/Grooved
18/36 3,307 1,008 Asphalt
14R/32L 2,937 895 Concrete

Grant County International Airport (IATA: MWH, ICAO: KMWH, FAA LID: MWH) is a public airport located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. Its 13,500-foot (4,100 m) runway is one of the longest in the U.S..

Until 1966, the facility was operated by the U.S. Air Force as Larson Air Force Base.[1]

Contents

[edit] Overview

With 4,700 acres (1,902 ha) and a main runway 13,500 feet (4,115 m) in length, it is one of the largest airports in the United States. Moses Lake is famous for good flying weather, as it is located on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, in the semi-arid desert of central Washington state.

Grant County International Airport is an alternate landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle.[1]

Scheduled passenger flights on Big Sky Airlines to Boise and Portland were discontinued on September 1, 2006. The service was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

The airport is now used for heavy jet training by Japan Airlines. It is also utilized by the U.S. Air Force and Boeing as a testing facility. Most of the traffic at the airport is general and military aviation.

The main campus for Big Bend Community College is also located on the grounds of the airport.

[edit] History

Larson Air Force Base, originally named Moses Lake Army Air Base, was activated on November 24, 1942 as a temporary World War II training center. Its first assigned mission was to train pilots for the P-38 Lightning fighter and later to train combat crews for the B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.

Major Donald A. Larson, for whom the base was later renamed, was from Yakima, Washington. He was killed in action August 4, 1944, on a fighter mission over Germany while attached to the 505th Fighter Squadron. He had flown 57 combat missions when his P-51D Mustang (#44-13881) with the nose-name "Mary Queen of Scotts" crashed near Ulzen, Germany. Larson is buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, nine miles (14 km) west of Liège, Belgium.

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 Larson 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. The plane set a new record, completing the flight in just three hours and forty-five minutes, at an average speed of 607.2 mph (977 km/h).

Larson reopened as a permanent installation in 1948 under the Air Defense Command (ADC). The base came under the 142nd Air Defense Wing based in Spokane. Known ADC squadrons assigned to Larson were:

  • 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1948-1950) (F-82)
  • 116th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (Feb - Aug 1951) (F-86A)
    (Washington Air National Guard squadron called to active duty during the Korean War, activated at Moses Lake, then deployed as part of 81st TFW to RAF Shepherds Grove, England to provide air defense of the UK as part of NATO.)
  • 82d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1952-1953) (F-94B)
  • 323d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1952-1955)(F-86D)
  • 31st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1953-1956) (F-86D)
  • 322d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1955-1959) (F-86D)
  • 538th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1955-1960) (F-86D/L, F-104A/B)

The mission of Larson based ADC aircraft was to protect the secret Hanford Atomic Works and Grand Coulee Dam.

During 1952, Larson AFB was assigned to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and the 62nd Troop Carrier Wing moved from McChord AFB, Washington. For the next eight years, the 62nd was very active, supporting DEW Line construction, mercy flights to Formosa and Africa. Larson became a Military Air Transport Service (MATS) base in 1957.

From 1955-59, the Air Materiel Command Flight Test Center at Larson tested the B-52 bomber. Boeing built a huge hangar, 1,068 feet (326 m) long, 372 feet (113 m) wide, with clear spans of 217 feet (66 m) 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 and test a technique for launching small RBF-84 Thunderjet aircraft from GRB-36 Peacekeeper bombers, to extend the range of photographic reconnaissance and fighter escort. Tests ended in 1956, but wing continued strategic reconnaissance until inactivated in 1957.

SAC assumed command of Larson AFB in 1960 and established the 4170th Stregic Wing, later the 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing as a part of Fifteenth Air Force. The 568th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated in 1961 as part of the 4170th Strategic Wing. In the early 1960s, there were three missile complexes, each housing three Titan 1 missiles. The complexes were deactivated in March 1965; they were located at Royal City, Warden, and Odessa.

Legendary World War II hero, Colonel Clyde W. Owen, was assigned by SAC as the base commander.

In November 1964, it was announced that Larson AFB would be closed due to budget reductions. The 462nd Strategic Aerospace Wing was reassigned to March Air Force Base California and the base was closed on 30 June 1966. 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.

Air Defense Command
1948 - 1960

Tactical Air Command
1952 - 1957

Military Air Transport Service
1957 - 1960

Strategic Air Command
1960 - 1966

[edit] References

  1. ^ Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites

[edit] External links

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