The Go-To Website for
Information on Japanese Aviation

As it is falling to the 301st TFS to mark the end of the F-4EJ Phantom II’s service career, an aircraft has
naturally been given a special paint scheme. A prominent feature are yellow scarves, carrying either
five or seven stars, along the cockpit sides and drop tanks as well as above the wings. Denoting the
two air wings to which the unit was assigned—the 7th (1973–1985), the 5th (1985–2016) and the
7th again (2016 to date)—the stars have normally adorned the scarf of the frog tail marking,
which in this case has been enlarged. (Photos: JASDF Hyakuri)

J-HangarSpace first slid open its doors on June 1, 2013, and the site houses a still growing wealth of detailed information on a wide range of Japanese aviation topics.

JASDF front-line aircraft gather at Hyakuri AB for the SDF review, October 2014. (Photo: Andy Binks)

As you will notice from the navigation buttons to the left, the site is primarily devoted to subject matter from the 1950s onwards. Each section features, or will feature, information culled largely from Japanese-language sources, much of which will be appearing in English for the first time. Although some civil aviation topics are included, hangar space is at a premium and thus none is given over to modern-day airline operations.

JASDF 60th anninversary logo

Mindful that Japan’s three Self-Defence Forces commemorated their 60th anniversary in 2014, some emphasis is being placed on their formative years. Each SDF section contains a Where Are They Now? guide, providing information on and selected photos from the locations of surviving examples of withdrawn aircraft. A Where Are They Now? Guide by Prefecture is included at the foot of the JMSDF page.

(Above and below) Around 60 years ago, the supply of U.S. aircraft to the three SDF services was in full swing. These photos were taken at Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, on February 12, 1955, when a ceremony was held to mark the official handover of 10 Grumman TBM-3W2 Avengers and 12 North American SNJs to the nascent JMSDF. The event was covered by Sekai no Kōkūki (The World’s Aircraft), a
monthly magazine that had been launched in 1951 but sadly was to cease publication in 1957.
(Photos from April 1955 issue of The World’s Aircraft used with permission of Hobun Shorin Co., Ltd.)

A rare photo of  a JGSDF Stinson L-5A Sentinel. Assigned to the 4th District Air Unit at Ozuki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, this example was noted at Oita airfield, Oita Prefecture, on November 1, 1955, in the days when security was not a high priority. The JGSDF inherited a motley collection of around 
35 L-5s in four variants from the National Police Reserve, but all had been retired by 1958.
(Photo: Takao Kadokami)

Each service has a page devoted to updates on its current aircraft programmes and projects. One click will ultimately also take site visitors from the homepage to squadron histories and markings or base histories, the latter including contact information. Planned for inclusion over the longer term are aircraft profiles that will focus on the design, development, and operation (including pilot perspectives) of selected indigenous types utilized by these services over the years.

Naha-based KV-107IIA-5 crew members dash to their aircraft at Kadena AB during Exercise Cope
Angel in October 1980. J-HangarSpace includes information on Air Rescue Wing units on the
JASDF Squadron Histories Part 3 page. (Photo: U.S. Air Force/Tech Sgt Michael E. Daniels)

Marking the 70th anniversary of its formation in 2018, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) has been more in the news of late. I will be building on the of necessity brief information I included some years ago in an article that appeared the UK magazine Air International and adding more about the earlier years of operations, which are worthy of closer scrutiny.

Hardly surprisingly, the air operations of the Japanese prefectural police have received scant coverage overseas. The same can be said of the so-called parapublic operations conducted by fire and disaster prevention air units at the municipal and prefectural levels and the Doctor-Heli emergency medical services (EMS) network; further down the road (in my spare time!), I will be seeking to use this site to redress the balance.

Historical content has thus far spotlighted Japan’s aviation museums, particularly those that have little or no English-language content. One aim here is to provide translations of exhibit information to make museum tours by overseas visitors that much more rewarding.

The JASDF’s newest face saw the official light of day for the first time on June 5, 2017,
as covered by a Bulletin Board report. (Photo: Kenichi Sunohara/Aireview)

As time passes, I hope to be adding more regular news reports to the Bulletin Board started in 2016 that now has a dedicated page. Other exciting site features will be revealed nearer the time.

This is still very much a work in progress, so please bear with me while I continue to add meatier content to the “bare bones” of some sections. An overview of J-HangarSpace operations can be found at the foot of this page.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to click on Contact and send me a completed form.

Thanks for your visit and keep watching this space!

Paul Thompson

Toda, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
January 2020

(Photo [Feb. 18, 2018]: JASDF Ashiya AB)

Latest Addition to Famous Airplanes of the World Series

In a departure from the norm, the eighth and latest (December 2019) title in the Famous Airplanes of the World Special Edition series focuses not on an aircraft type but on a unit. The cover shows Lt. Col. Minoru Shimoyama, commanding officer of the 47th Sentai, looking on as the unit’s pilots warm up the engines of their Ki-44 Shōki fighters at Chofu airfield in western Tokyo in November 1943. J-HangarSpace will be adding more information on this publication to the Magazines/Books page in due course.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Although not covering postwar airline operations, J-HangarSpace gladly brings books on Japanese civil aviation history to the attention of the outside world.

Providing a welcome diversion from the growing number of books being released to coincide with the departure the JASDF’s Phantoms comes this in many ways unique look at the early days of Japanese civilian air services, from their formative years up to the early 1940s.

Here the aim is to give the reader a taste of what it was like to be among those who were fortunate enough to be in at the start of passenger flights. This is achieved not only by high-quality photographs but also by contemporary accounts and, as evidenced by the cover, images of all manner of memorabilia, ranging from maps and timetables to mementos and even tickets bearing the pilots’ names. The sample page shown below shows a selection of contemporary posters from the Yanagisawa collection.

In the interests of full disclosure, it should be mentioned that J-HangarSpace provided translations of the photo captions as well as the foreword and afterword, so a completely unbiased review has been added to the Aviation Books: Japanese Language/Historical section on the Magazines/Books page.

The feasibility of providing online translations of the book’s 11 chapters is being investigated. Any visitors keen to add their voice in support of swinging the propeller on that idea, please feel free to use the appropriately named “Contact” page of this website.

Haneda airport, March 1932. A Fokker Super Universal sits in front of the two Japan Air Transport
(NKYKK) hangars; on the right is the airport administration building. NKYKK is just one of the
airlines that features prominently in Kōji Yanagisawa’s book, which seeks to convey something
of the experience of what it was like to fly in the early days of Japanese civil aviation.
(Photo from August 1952 issue of The World’s Aircraft, used with permission of Hobun Shorin, Co., Ltd.)

Gone But Not Forgotten

In late May 2019, the appearance of a valedictory mook (magazine book) from Kōkū Fan publisher Bunrindo marked the disappearance from the skies of 302nd Tactical Fighter Squadron Phantoms. A review can be found in the Japanese Language/Post-1945 and Current Topics section on the Magazines/Books page.

The first JASDF F-35A during pilot training at Luke AB, Arizona, in mid-March 2018. The above-
mentioned Bunrindo mook also features a chapter covering the Provisional F-35A Squadron from 
its formation at Misawa on December 1, 2017, to the day the unit assumed the mantle of the
formerly Phantom-equipped 302nd TFS, on March 26, 2019. (Photo: Tom McGhee)

Last Addition to Hangar Library in 2018

From the same two-man team that told the story of the return to service of 13 tsunami-damaged F-2Bs in June 2017 (see below) comes a publication released to mark the approaching end of the Phantom’s JASDF service career.

Japan Coast Guard Sendai Air Station Report

Having already visited a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) air station for the Location Reports page (Haneda, Nov. 11, 2016), the detailed coverage on the J-HangarSpace JCG Operations page kicks off with an October visit to Sendai Air Station in this the service’s 70th anniversary year.

JASDF Squadron Histories Revisited

In early October 2018, the 2nd Tactical Airlift Group revealed a specially marked C-1—featured on the cover of the January 2019 issue of Kōkū Fan magazine (above) and here (link)—to commemorate the 60th anniversary of its formation as the then Air Transport Wing (see also Bulletin Board for Oct. 21, 2018). Coincidentally, at around that time J-HangarSpace finally started to complete some JASDF support and training squadron histories. The texts and accompanying photos are gradually being uploaded to the newly added Squadron Histories Part 2 page. These will be followed in due course by content updates and photo upgrades to Part 1, and then the same treatment will be given to the JMSDF.

A Walk down Emily Memory Lane, Yokohama

A popular spot for cherry blossom-viewing in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, is in Tomioka Sogo Park in the Kanazawa part of the city. Requisitioned by the Occupation forces after the end of the war in 1945, the land was returned in 1971 and released for park use in 1975.

Few Japanese are aware that the park once formed part of the IJNAF’s Yokohama Naval Air Group flying boat base, and that the cherry trees were originally planted by base personnel.

More than simply charting the unit’s history, for Kataritsugu Yokohama Kaigunkōkūtai (Yokohama Naval Air Group: Stories Handed Down from Generation to Generation) writer Mikio Ōshima interviewed veterans, delved through records and searched for vestiges of the base and any remaining monuments. A timely release, following the publication of the revamped Famous Airplanes of the World title on the Type 2 (Emily) flying boat in March (see below). [REVIEW PENDING]

Novel Approach

As can be seen below, J-HangarSpace regularly brings news of the latest non-fiction book releases, in English and Japanese, on relevant topics. Anyone interested in reading an example of that rare (up to now non-existent?) bird, a historical novel on a Japanese aviation topic in English, might care to take this one for a test flight.

Written by Martin J. Frid (link), a Swede who has lived in Japan for 30 years, Kamikaze to Croydon provides what can best be described as a fact-based fictionalized account of a well-documented deed of derring-do—the Asahi Shimbun-sponsored flight from Tokyo to Croydon in 1937. No ‘spoiler’ alerts needed, as the writer used up no artistic/pilot’s license on a ‘what if’ ending.

The eponymous protagonist of Martin Frid’s novel, Asahi Shimbun‘s Mitsubishi Karigane Kamikaze.
(Photo from Apr. 1954 issue of The World’s Aircraft, used with permission of Hobun Shorin, Co., Ltd.)

The book is available in paperback and Kindle versions, and preview pages provided, on an Amazon screen near you. (Cost in Japan: 1,323 yen, excl. tax)

A Brace of  New Museums Visited in April 2018

While in the area in early April 2018, J-HangarSpace also paid a visit to the only recently reopened and rebranded Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum. Here visitors can, in almost church-like surroundings, gather to show due reverence to the hallowed Hien fighter, the only one of its kind in Japan (above). A taster appeared on the Bulletin Board notice for March 24, 2018, but clicking on the Gifu-Kakamigahara button on the left will take you to a dedicated report page. An account of the Hien and its restoration follows the museum report. 

The report also includes a review of a book (above)—published to coincide with the reopening—that offers readers of Japanese a behind-the-scenes look at a museum created to exhibit domestically produced aircraft that carved their place in history.

J-HangarSpace has added a report (link) from an April 4, 2018, visit to the Aichi Museum of Flight (above and mentioned in the Bulletin Board entry for November 30, 2017). Added at the end of the report is a look back at its low-profile forerunner, the Nagoya Airport Air and Space Museum, which also featured a Zero but closed after nearly 20 years in 2004.

Japan’s Newest Aviation Museum Visited

In October 2017, J-HangarSpace finally managed to find the time to file its latest roving report, from the new aviation museum at JGSDF Kisarazu Army Camp, Chiba Prefecture (link), which had been officially opened on February 25, 2017. The collection’s KV-107II-4A is featured in the third Displayed Aircraft Special Report that follows the JGSDF Where Are They Now? section (link). 

Staying with the JGSDF museum theme, a report on J-HangarSpace’s November 2017 visit to Tachikawa can be found here (link).

Shown above, The Nakajima Type 91 at the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum (TAM), Saitama Prefecture, is historically important for two reasons: as the sole survivor of the around 450 that were produced in two versions and as an example of one of the few Japanese-produced aircraft of the 1930s aircraft that remains in the same condition now as it was then.

For the second feature on its Japanese Aviation History (to 1945) page (link), J-HangarSpace focuses on the work of the little-known Japan Aeronautic Association (JAA) Aviation Heritage Archive and some of the aircraft, from the TAM Type 91 to the Misawa Aviation & Science Museum Tachikawa Ki-54 (below), that have received certification under the JAA’s Important Aviation Heritage Asset programme.

(Photo: Yukio Suzuki, Executive Director, Japan Aviation Journalists’ Association)

Well Worth the Wait No. 2

Despite having been busy reprinting selected titles on Japanese types from its regular Famous Airplanes of the World series, publisher Bunrindo has, after 28 years, produced a reworked and expanded Special Edition version on an important and popular aircraft (link).

Well Worth the Wait No. 1

The first Famous Airplanes of the World title to cover a Japanese subject in quite a while finally hit the streets at the end of March 2018. Back in September 2010, it had been the turn of the ShinMaywa US-1 to come in for some lavish treatment.

Museum of Maritime Science, Tokyo, July 1998

This time, the popular choice of aircraft offered J-HangarSpace the chance to make a comparison with an earlier version (No. 49), which was published way back in November 1994, and to include some photos in the mix (link). 

The book release also prompted the compilation of a chronology of the 75-year history of the Kanoya Emily, which has been added at the head of the Japanese Aviation History page. 

JMSDF Kanoya, June 2007 (Photo: Max Smith via Wikimedia Commons)

First Addition to Hangar Library in 2018

The latest from Hobby Japan covers four training aircraft for the price of one. (A review can be found in the Japanese-language books on current topics section on the Magazines/Books page here link)

New Book Time 2017

Covering a current JASDF aircraft type from a markedly different angle (of attack), this book charts the project to return to operational service F-2Bs damaged by the March 2011 tsunami. (A review can be found on the Magazines/Books page here link.)

June 2017 saw the release of a revised and updated version of a book that focuses on seven days in August 1945; from the issue of an order to fly a Japanese delegation to Manila to discuss the surrender terms to their return at the end of the mission. The well-known main aircraft protagonists were two white-painted Betty bombers bearing green cross surrender markings, neither of which was destined to return to base due to technical problems. Information about the book can be found in the Aviation Books: Japanese Language/Historical section here (link). As a taster, colour footage exists on YouTube (link) of the two aircraft arriving at Iejima, Okinawa Prefecture, on August 19, 1945.

The latest addition to the section devoted to reviews of English-language books on Japanese aviation history topics is this important April release from Stratus/MMP.

New releases from Japanese aviation publishers have been few and far between of late, so this February 2017 offering from DaiNippon Kaiga was very welcome. You can find a review in the Japanese Language/Historical section on the Magazines/Books page.

While I Was Away in 2015

Every year, work enforces periods of absence from the hangar. During that time in 2015, I was happy to once again assist Japanese aviation historian Kōji Yanagisawa in telling the story of two intrepid aviators who flew a Japanese-designed biplane from Tokyo to Rome in 1931. Aptly enough, the article appears in Issue 14 of The Aviation Historian. A superbly designed and executed quarterly magazine for the discerning reader of more offbeat topics, TAH more than lives up to the wording trumpeted on the cover: The modern journal of classic aeroplanes and the history of flying.

A banner link to the TAH website appears in the right-hand Notices column of this homepage.

During the course of 2015, J-HangarSpace compiled a roundup of site-relevant content carried in the major Japanese aviation magazines. In 2017, selected titles will be added to the existing “e-cupboard” of book reviews. These two sections are separated by access information for the Japan Aeronautic Association (JAA) library in Tokyo. Visitors’ attention is also drawn to the Bookstall carousel of recommended reading at the foot of this homepage.

Kindly provided by well-known aviation photographer and historian William T. “Bill” Larkins, this shot shows a lineup of factory-fresh, JASDF-bound Beech T-34A Mentors at Oakland Airport, California, in October 1954. A view from another angle, on the Early SDF History chronology page,
 reveals a surprising fact about these aircraft.
(A true aviation photography veteran, Bill Larkins has photographed for posterity thousands of aircraft that have graced the skies, airfields and airports of his native California. [link]) 

(All photographs on this website are copyright J-HangarSpace
unless otherwise stated.)

Continuing the theme of the previous report, J-HangarSpace took a tour of Tokyo Heliport on a sunny February afternoon to bring you Location Report 9. Visits to three of the resident operators provided a rare look behind the scenes and offer visitors to J-HangarSpace a taste of the reports and features to come on the pages covering the Police Aviation Units, Fire/Disaster Prevention and the Doctor-Heli Network.

Many passengers travelling on the Tokyo Monorail that connects Tokyo International
(Haneda) Airport with the city’s Hamamatsucho Station will have caught sight of an
unassuming hangar close to Seibijo (‘maintenance area’) Station emblazoned with
the name Japan Coast Guard above the doors. Thanks to a fortunate chain of
events, J-HangarSpace was recently able to join a 15-strong group that was
granted a tour of the facility for Location Report 8. 

Every August, the Zero Fighter Museum (Kawaguchiko Aviation Hall) in Yamanashi Prefecture offers the general public a time-limited chance to check on the status of its restoration projects and other treasures. J-HangarSpace’s report focuses on the collection’s unique restored/reverse-engineered fuselage of
a Mitsubishi G4M2 Betty bomber. 

Of all the displays at the JGSDF Public Information Center at Kasumigaura Army Camp in Ibaraki Prefecture, perhaps the most fascinating are those covering its time as an Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) base.
The June 2014 addition to the Aviation Museum page reveals more. 

Marking a slight departure from the normal coverage, the May 2014 Location Report 7 had J-HangarSpace joining a group tour of the Ministry of Defense compound in Tokyo.

Location Report 6 was from the 2014 Spring Festival at the U.S. Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi. There J-HangarSpace was able to photograph Kawasaki P-1
patrol aircraft on the ground and, an added bonus, in the air. 

Part air show report, part museum visit, J-HangarSpace’s fifth Location Report came from the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at Kumagaya AB in Saitama Prefecture.

In February 2014, the museum collection at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Komaki South Plant became the fifth to be visited by J-HangarSpace. Among the gems on display are a restored J8M1 Shusui interceptor and A6M5 Zero Type 52 fighter.
Note: This facility has been closed since June 2017 for refurbishment and relocation.
It will likely be reopening primarily as an educational facility for MHI
employees at the company’s Oe Plant in around June 2019. 

Recognize this engine? J-HangarSpace’s fourth aviation museum report came from the
collection entrusted to Mitsu Seiki Co., Ltd., a company that has carved itself several
niches in the precision engineering industry from its base in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture.

One of the JMSDF’s two remaining ShinMaywa US-1A rescue amphibians returned to its birthplace for the last time in February 2014. J-HangarSpace was present to witness two days of test flying that involved takeoffs and landings at sea
for Location Report 4.

To mark the 60th anniversary of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, J-HangarSpace conducted a census of retired SDF aircraft. See the end of the JGSDF Where Are They Now? page for details of two early results from the census.
(Photos: CROSSLAND OYABE [above], Herb World Akita [below])

J-HangarSpace’s last feature of 2013 covered a special exhibition at the well-known Tokyo home of a Mitsubishi Zero fighter, the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno Park. Part of the Japan Aeronautic Association’s centenary celebrations, the exhibition showcased some fascinating memorabilia and evocative images from bygone eras of Japanese civil aviation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This JMSDF ShinMaywa US-1A rescue amphibian was one of 50 aircraft that took part in the flypast at the 2013 SDF Review ceremony. See Location Report 3
for more details.

The October 2013 addition to the aviation museum section involved a visit to the Subaru service centre that has a Fuji T-1B as its very own gate guard.

Kumazo Hino steps out of Yoshitoshi Tokugawa’s shadow in J-HangarSpace’s debut Japanese aviation history topic (here). The article reports from the monument to the
two men instrumental in sowing the seeds of Japanese aviation development by
being the first to fly heavier-than-air machines in the country. 

Nearly ready for unveiling: Additions to JASDF Squadron Histories (Part 3)
Parts in process: The run-up to and early days of the Self-Defense Forces
Under tarp in corner of hangar: More base histories

2020

Jan.	Museum Visit 12: Tokorozawa Aviation Museum (dedicated page)

2019

June	Review of Welcome Aboard: Memorabilia from the Early Years of Air Journeys
May	Review of Bunrindo mook on 302nd TFS
Feb.	Initial version of JASDF Squadron Histories Part 3 completed

2018

Nov.	JASDF Squadron Histories Part 2 gradually being uploaded
Oct.	Japan Coast Guard Operations: Sendai Air Station visit
Aug.	Review of Famous Airplanes of the World Special Edition Vol. 7:                                                 Army Type 2 Two-Seat Fighter Toryu (Nick)
July	Illustrated listing of helicopter-capable ships added to updated Japan Coast Guard Disposition page
June	Illustrated listing of helicopter-capable ships added to upgraded JMSDF Order of Battle page
	JASDF Order of Battle page photo content upgraded
May	Kanoya Emily Chronology (Japanese Aviation History page)
	Review of Famous Airplanes of the World No. 184:                                                 Type 2 (Emily) Flying Boat (link)
	Museum Visit 11: Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum (dedicated page includes account of Hien and its restoration)
Apr.	Museum Visit 10: Aichi Museum of Flight Plus Nagoya Airport Air & Space Museum (Oct. 2000 visit)

2017

Nov.	Museum Visit 9: JGSDF Tachikawa Army Camp Museum
Oct.	Displayed Aircraft Special Report 3: JGSDF Kisarazu KV-107II-4A
	Review of book on F-2B added
Sept.	Museum Visit 8: JGSDF Kisarazu Army Camp Museum
Apr.	Second feature for Japanese Aviation History (pre-1945) page: Japan Aeronautic Association (JAA) Aviation Heritage Archive and Important Aviation Heritage Asset certifications
Feb.	Location Report 9: Tokyo Heliport
Jan.	First JMSDF Squadron Histories (Sqn Nos. 1-31) uploaded

2016

Dec.	Location Report 8: Japan Coast Guard Haneda Air Station
	Bulletin Board moved from homepage to dedicated page
Sept.	Reviews of books on X-2 and F-104J/DJ added
Apr.	Interim JGSDF Squadron Histories page uploaded
Mar.	SDF Orders of Battle pages updated
Feb.	JCG says sayonara to its final Bell 212  (see Aircraft Data File)
	Feature on Hien restoration project added, combined with news of Kakamigahara Aerospace Science Museum refurbishment plans
Jan.	Aircraft programmes updated

2015

Dec.	Magazines/Books page updated
June	Fifth JMSDF base history (Kanoya) added
Feb.	Japan Coast Guard Aircraft Data File (Ver1.0) added
Jan.	Sample JASDF base histories (Akita, Ashiya) added
	Magazines/Books page launched

2014

Dec.	Principal JASDF fighter squadron histories/markings added
Nov.	Museum Visit 7: Zero Fighter Museum (Kawaguchiko Aviation Hall)
June	Where Are They Now? by prefecture guide added (here)
	Museum Visit 6: JGSDF Kasumigaura Public Information Center
May	Location Report 7: Japan Ministry of Defense, Tokyo
	JMSDF Aircraft Profiles/Nose to Tail photos: Kawasaki P-1
	Location Report 6: U.S. NAF Atsugi (Kawasaki P-1)
Apr.	Location Report 5: Cherry Blossom Festival, Kumagaya AB
	Displayed Aircraft Special Report 2: Herb World Akita’s UH-1H
	Report from MHI/Nagoya Aerospace Systems’ Komaki Plant museum
Mar.	Report from Mitsu Seiki museum collection, Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture
	Location Report 4: ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd., Kobe (US-1A)
Feb.	Displayed Aircraft Special Report 1: Crossland Oyabe’s KV-107II

2013

Dec.	Special report from National Museum of Nature & Science, Tokyo
Nov.	Chronology of Events (Ver 1.0) added to Early SDF History page
Oct.	Location Report 3: SDF Review ceremony, Asaka
	Report on preserved Fuji T-1B added to Aviation Museums (see above)
	Prototype Japanese Aviation History article (see above) completed
Sept.	Location Report 2: Gunma Heliport, Maebashi
	Report from Tokyo Fire Museum filed under Aviation Museums
	Location Report 1: ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd., Kobe (US-2)