Naval Air Station Pasco

Pasco Naval Air Station
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	United States Navy
Location	Tri-Cities, Washington
Elevation AMSL	407 ft / 124.1 m
Coordinates	46°15′52.84″N 119°07′08.5″W

Pasco Naval Air Station was a United States Navy air station located east of Pasco, in Franklin County, Washington, USA. After the war, it was redeveloped into Tri-Cities Airport. One of its auxiliary airfields became Vista Field in Kennewick, but was closed in 2013.

History

After the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Naval reserve officers began searching through old land surveys collected prior to WW2 to build naval air stations in response to the Japanese surprise attack.

Land east of Pasco was sent a group of Sea bees (CBs) who were named the Dirty Thirty to begin construction in March 1942, in four months the base was completed on August 3rd, and on same day began operations.

The base was known at the time as "Navy Reserve Base," its primary objective was to provide incoming pilots with primary training in the Stearman Aircraft.

Later in 1943, the mission directive shifted to also give advanced training in the Grumman F6F Hellcat and Grumman TBF Avenger to its pilots.

Pasco Naval Air Station was one of the three busiest naval aviation training facilities of the war.

After the war, the Navy sold the airfield to the city of Pasco for one dollar under the condition that it retains training privileges for its pilots. Several Navy aircraft, especially the P-3 Orion, use the runways for touch and go's.

On June 9, 2011, the Port of Pasco Commissioners agreed to preserve the old Navy-built control tower located on the East side of the Tri-Cities Airport, Pasco. A non-profit group has been formed to help the preservation and upkeep of the tower known as Pasco aviation museum. Today the control tower stands with most of its floors open to the public in the form of a museum.