Where Pilots Trained, and History Still Takes Flight
Estación Aérea Naval de Pasco
Before commercial jets filled its runways, Pasco’s airport served a higher-stakes mission. During World War II, this airfield became one of the busiest training sites in the country and today, its story lives on in the very same tower that watched it all unfold.
Wartime Aviation Hub for Training and Transport
In 1942, the U.S. Navy took over Pasco’s airfield and transformed it into Naval Air Station Pasco, a major training base for pilots preparing for combat in the Pacific. Thousands of naval aviators passed through its programs, logging flight hours above the Columbia Basin in everything from torpedo bombers to carrier aircraft.
Beyond training, the base also supported wartime logistics, transporting military personnel and occasionally classified cargo tied to the Hanford Site. Locals saw the skies fill with constant activity, but the full scope of the mission remained shrouded in secrecy.
Today, the site operates as the Tri-Cities Airport, but a powerful piece of its history endures: the original control tower still stands, now restored as the Pasco Aviation Museum. Visitors can explore exhibits on the airport’s military roots, get a hands-on look at aviation history, and stand where wartime air traffic controllers once directed the future of aviation and the war.