Jet jockeys
Three pilots with the 71st Fighter Squadron swagger from their fighter jets at Larson Air Force Base sometime in the summer of 1950. The photo is one of 16 found in a storage space in Southern California in 2022 that were donated to the Port of Moses Lake.
COURTESY PHOTO/PORT OF MOSES LAKE
A group of airmen and pilots in a photo from 1950 appear to be having a contest to see how long each can hold a lit match in a barracks at Larson Air Force Base.
An airman who is likely a mechanic talks with the pilot of the 71st Fighter Squadron as he sits in the cockpit of his F-86 Sabre jet at Larson Air Force Base in the summer of 1950. Grant County International Airport Director Rich Mueller said the photo, like many in the collection, was likely staged.
Four F-86 fighter jets, likely with the 71st Fighter Squadron, fly over a pair of jets sitting on the runway of Larson Air Force Base sometime in the summer of 1950. The view is looking west toward Ephrata.
U.S. Air Force mechanics in a hangar at Larson Air Force Base work on an F-82 Twin Mustang. The USAF began replacing the Twin Mustang in late 1950 with faster and more capable jet fighters.
MOSES LAKE — The photo shows a trio of Air Force pilots walking from fighter jets with the kind of swagger expected from men who fly very expensive, very fast machines through the air, frequently with guns blazing.
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