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Information on Japanese Aviation

www.j-hangarspace.jp

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JASDF – Where Are They Now?  Part 2

USAF T-6GWhere were they then? This undated photo shows one of the U.S. Air Force T-6G trainers that was
destined to be supplied to the JASDF, in this case as 52-0104 on September 22, 1955, and retired
from search and rescue use almost exactly eight years to the day later, on September 21, 1963.
Nothing is known of its subsequent fate, but a gaudy yellow aircraft bearing the same JASDF 
serial number was on display at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagoya Aerospace Systems 
Komaki South Plant collection in August 2016. (Link removed as website being renovated).
(Photo from June 1952 issue of The World’s Aircraft used with
permission of Hobun Shorin Co., Ltd.)

(Photo [Tsuiki AB, Nov. 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

On this page divided into fixed-wing and helicopter types, the information comes in the form of tables of aircraft by type that are being interspersed with a growing number of photos. As in Part 1, all the aircraft listed are on open-air display unless otherwise stated. Bold-type serial numbers indicate aircraft that appear in photos immediately after the relevant table.

(Photo [Iruma AB, Oct. 2014]: Tom Meikle)

Fixed-Wing Types (continued from Part 1)

Mitsubishi F-1 (Part 1/3)

Serial Location
70-8201 Stored in hangar at Iruma AB, Saitama Prefecture, opposite base’s
Shubudai Memorial Hall aviation history museum (Nov. 2019 [link])
70-8207 Mitsu Seiki Co., Ltd., 301 Shimogawai, Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture 656-1522
(See Feb. 18, 2014, report on Aviation Museums page)
(Photo from Aug. 2016 [link])
80-8212 (Nose section only) Formerly at Kissa Hikojo (Airfield Cafe), 4702-16 Irino,
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Since sold to private owner, location unknown
(See June 2022 Bulletin Board story)
80-8219 Used for fire crew training at Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture (Oct. 2018 [link])
80-8223 Mounted on pole at Misawa AB, Aomori Prefecture
(Photo from Sept. 2016 [link])
90-8225 On indoor display at JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Oct. 2020 [link])
90-8227 On indoor display at JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Oct. 2020 [link])
90-8231 Viewable from road only at closed Harada Collection Racing Palace
(formerly Gotemba Racing Palace) automobile museum
73-1, Yoshikubo, Oyama-cho, Sunto-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture 410-1322
Although museum closed, still present summer 2019 (photo from Sept. 2018 [link])
(Continued in Part 2 below)
Last updated: May 12, 2021

(Above and below) In the summer of 2020, personnel at Misawa finished giving the base’s F-1
monument a facelift. The before and after photos enable us to judge the result for ourselves.
(Photos [top undated, above June 2020]: JASDF Misawa AB via Twitter @jasdf_misawa)

At the time with the 3rd Sqn, this F-1’s operational career ended after 21 years in 2000. Placed on
display at the entrance to the Harada Collection Racing Palace (the former Gotemba Racing
Palace) automobile museum in the town of Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, by August the
following year, the facility was forced to close its doors in August 2005. Despite the
passage of time, the aircraft is being kept in good condition—former
racing driver Nobuo Harada still owns of the Zero Fighter Museum
in Kawaguchiko
(link)—and its lone vigil seems set to continue.
(Photo [Nov. 2019]: Warren Hardcastle)

Mitsubishi F-1 (Part 2/3)

Serial Location
90-8232 JGSDF Otsu Army Camp, Shiga Prefecture
(Photos from May 2014 [link] and May 2017 [link])
90-8233 (Nose section only)
On indoor display inside PR Building, Misawa AB, Aomori Prefecture
90-8234 On plinths as gate guard at Kasuga AB, Fukuoka Prefecture (Mar. 2020)
00-8241 (Nose section only) Misawa AB PR Center (has 90-8233 on instrument panel)
00-8242 JASDF Erimo Sub-Base, Hokkaido Prefecture (reportedly since 2009)
00-8246 JASDF Sado Sub-Base, Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture
(Oct. 2016 [link] and on sub-base website Dec. 2020 [link])
00-8247 Misawa Aviation & Science Museum, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture
(Photo from Mar. 2018 [link])
00-8249 JASDF Kamo Sub-Base, Ogashi, Akita Prefecture
(Continued in Part 3 below)
Last updated: May 12, 2021

Tsuiki Double Take

tsuiki f-1(Above) Delivered to the 3rd Sqn on December 13, 1979, ’232 was withdrawn from service while 
with the 6th Sqn on January 7, 2000, and had been placed on display by that September bearing
temporary 6th Sqn 40th anniversary markings. This aircraft was moved to JGSDF Otsu Army
 Camp, Shiga Prefecture, being present in time for the base open day held in May 2005.
(Below) The last F-1 built, ’277 was delivered to the 6th Sqn on March 9, 1987, and ended its
service career on May 11, 2006. Soon thereafter, this historically more significant aircraft
replaced ’232 on display at Tsuiki after the latter had been found its new home at JGSDF 
Otsu Army Camp. All the Tsuiki aircraft received new paint finishes in 2012.
(Photo [top, Sept. 2000] J-HangarSpace; [above, Oct. 2012] Takao Kadokami

(Photo [May 2016]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Kasuga AB, Fukuoka Prefecture, September 2000
(Photo [Mar. 2020]: JASDF/Kasuga AB via Twittter @JASDF_Kasuga)

JASDF Sado F-1Sado Island is historically a place of exile, so perhaps it was only right that this F-1 was banished
to the JASDF radar site sub-base there, for unknown misdeeds, in around 2005.

(Photo: JASDF Sado Sub-Base)

This aircraft was placed on display at the Misawa Aviation & Science Museum’s Sky Plaza in April
2004, 24 years after its initial delivery to the 6th TFS at Tsuiki. The aircraft still carries the slightly
gaudy red flashes of the markings applied by 3rd TFS personnel to celebrate the end of F-1
operations and transition to the F-2 in 2001; the main titling is reversed on the right-hand
side
(link). The helmet nose art faces forward on both sides, but the differing mottos, which
were in different positions, have worn off; the right-hand motto
(精鋭無比) translated as
‘elite unparalleled’, the left side
(疾風迅雷 [link]), literally “gale and thunderclap”, is
usually translated as “with lightning speed”.
(Photo [Dec. 2019]: Warren Hardcastle)

The area surrounding the resident F-1 at Kamo Sub-Base underwent a facelift
during the course of 2020.
(Photo: JASDF Kamo Sub-Base)

Mitsubishi F-1 (Part 3/3)

Serial Location
10-8256 Hofu-Kita AB, Yamaguchi Prefecture (photo from June 2019 [link])
10-8257 JASDF Fukuejima Sub-Base, Nagasaki Prefecture
(Photos from May 2018 [link], painted blue-grey in 2014)
20-8260 On plinths close to main base collection at Miho AB, Tottori Prefecture
(Photos from May 2018 [link] and Apr. 2019 [link])
20-8263 National Defense Academy, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
(Photos from Nov. 2017 [link] and from 2005 to Nov. 2019 [link])
30-8268 Gate guard at U.S.-Japan Joint Air Defense Command HQ, Yokota AB, Tokyo
50-8270 JASDF Hofu-Minami AB, Yamaguchi Prefecture
(Photo from Jan. 2017 [link])
60-8273 Kumagaya AB, Saitama Prefecture (See Location Report 5)
(Photo from April 2016 [link])
60-8274 In Yuhien (literally “Soar Upwards Park”) inside Hyakuri AB, Ibaraki Prefecture
(See May 2022 Bulletin Board story)
60-8275 Fuchu AB, Tokyo (Nov. 2020 [link])
70-8276 Nara AB, Nara Prefecture (photo from June 2019 [link])
70-8277 Mounted on plinths as gate guard at Tsuiki AB, Fukuoka Prefecture
Tailfin of 10-8255 serves as a monument to the now defunct JASDF Non-Commissioned Officer Cadet School (NCOCS) at Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture (See Location Report)
Last updated: Apr. 9, 2023

Having been moved from elsewhere on Hofu-Kita AB, F-1 10-8256 is seen on assisted short finals
to its new home next to fellow gate guard F-104J 36-8537.

(Photo [posted Mar. 2023]: JASDF Hofu-Kita AB via Twitter @hofukitabase)

(Photo [Miho AB, May 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

(Photo [June 2017]: 陸自調査団 (SDF promotion site [link]) via Twitter @gunso.bouei64)

2018-12-02 13.05.03crsDelivered to the JASDF in 1986 and thus the youngest exhibit (32 at the time the photo was taken),
the Hyakuri collection F-1’s faded camouflage makes its appearance much worse than that of other, 
much older aircraft. Although the base museum is right next to the aircraft collection and sufficient
space could be made available, no funds have been allocated for a facility in which to store the
aircraft and from which to bring them out on special occasions. As it is, the museum is not open 
on air show days, being used primarily for new recruit educational purposes. The base website 
used to provide information on how members of the public could apply to join a group guided
tour, which included a whistle stop at the museum, but that page has been deleted.

yokokawaf-1rsStill bearing the tail marking of the 6th Sqn based at Tsuiki AB, Fukuoka Prefecture,
this Mitsubishi F-1 ended up at Fuchu AB in Tokyo.

(Photo kindly provided by Yuichi Yokokawa)
Yuichi Yokokawa’s own Japanese-language website can be found here (link).

(Photo [April 2020] JASDF Nara AB via Twitter @JASDF_Nara)

Mitsubishi F-2B

Serial Location
23-8110 (Cockpit section only) Used for instructional purposes at Matsushima AB,
Miyagi Prefecture
Last updated: Dec. 22, 2020

Seen on the left in the above photo, F-2B 23-8110 was one of the five aircraft deemed to have been
damaged beyond economic repair by the tsunami that struck Matsushima AB on March 11, 2011.* 
Only its cockpit section
(below) was salvaged to serve instructional purposes.
(Photos: [top] JASDF; [above] Mamor magazine via Twitter @MamorOfficial)

Note: No trace remains of the other four aircraft written off that day (23-8107, 23-8114 [link], 33-8120 and 53-8131).

Mitsubishi MU-2S

Serial Location
73-3201 (Fuselage only) Formerly at Kissa Hikojo (Airfield Café), Irino 4702-16,
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture (photo from Oct. 2020 [link])
Acquired by private owner in Kyushu, moved (with forward fuselage of
F-104J ‘604) in April 2021. (See June 2022 Bulletin Board story)     
13-3209 Inside JASDF Air Park exhibition hangar, Hamamatsu AB,
Shizuoka Prefecture (photo from Oct. 2020 [link])
83-3223 Miyazaki Universal College, Miyazaki (No current information)
63-3228 Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture
Last updated: June 14, 2022

airparkmu-2Delivered to the JASDF in 1971, the MU-2S on display at the Air Park was with the
Air Rescue Wing’s Akita detachment prior to its retirement from active service.

The MU-2S at Nyutabaru was the penultimate example delivered to the JASDF in 1986 and made
the last flight of the type, from Hamamatsu to its current retirement home, on October 22, 2008.
The aircraft was placed on display the same day as the KV-107
(see later), November 28, 2013.
(Photo [Oct. 2020]: JASDF Nyutabaru AB via Twitter @JASDF_Nyutabaru)

Mitsubishi T-2 (Part 1/3)

Serial Location
19-5101 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagoya Aerospace Systems, Komaki South Plant,
Aichi Prefecture (current, but adjacent former archives building planned for so
demolition so may be moved, at least temporarily)
(See Feb. 22, 2014, report on Aviation Museums page)
(29-5102) JASDF Air Development & Test Wing 50th anniversary monument, Gifu AB,
Gifu Prefecture (Current, photo from Nov. 2019 [link] but had been broken up
and removed by end March 2021)
29-5103 (T-2CCV) Moved from long-term storage at Gifu AB, Gifu Prefecture, to indoor
display at nearby Kakamigahara Aerospace Museum (now Gifu-Kakamigahara
Air and Space Museum) in December 2014
(Photo from Apr. 2018 on dedicated museum page [link])
59-5105 Misawa Aviation & Science Museum, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture (standard
training scheme; see ’177. Photo from Nov. 2020 [link])
59-5107 (FS-T2Kai) Gifu AB collection, Gifu Prefecture (Flown for last time on
March 2, 2006, and placed in store. Moved from No. 2 Supply Depot at
Gifu AB on Feb. 20, 2017. Photo from Nov. 2019 [link])
(59-5109) (Removed from display at Matsushima AB, Miyagi Prefecture, by 2016)
59-5111 Inside JASDF Air Park exhibition hangar, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Blue Impulse aerobatic team markings. Photo from Oct. 2019 [link])
59-5114 Used for flight simulator exhibit inside JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB,
Shizuoka Prefecture (Photo from Oct. 2020 [link])
59-5115 (Nose section only) Acquired as scrap by Old Car Center KUDAN, Naraha,
Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture, but has been stored at separate
location not open to the public since at least 2018
(Continued in Part 2 below)
Last updated: May 12, 2021

The first prototype T-2, seen through the fence at the Mitsubishi Nagoya Aerospace Systems Komaki
facility. Planned for demolition, the building at the rear used to house the archives and aircraft 
that were relocated to new premises inside the company’s Oe Plant.

(Photo [Mar. 2019]: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons)

Kakamigahara T-2 CCVThe third T-2, which was modified and flown as the Control-Configured Vehicle (CCV),
was a valuable addition to what is now the new-look
Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum in December 2014.

Misawa T-2Delivered to the JASDF in March 1975, this aircraft was originally displayed in the standard
markings of the 8th TFS, its last operational user, at Misawa AB before being loaned to
the Misawa Aviation & Science Museum and placed in the Sky Plaza area by 2004.
In the autumn of 2010, the colour scheme was changed to that of the 4th Air Wing. 

(Photos: [top] Misawa Aviation & Science Museum; [above, Dec. 2019] Warren Hardcastle)
 

airparkt-2
Given the nickname “Triple Sticks” from the last three digits of its serial number, T-2 59-5111 at the
JASDF Air Park
(above) retains the markings of its time with the Blue Impulse aerobatic display
team. Sister ship 99-5163
(below)
has been granted pride of place at the Ishikawa Prefecture
Aviation Plaza located across from Komatsu Airport’s terminal buildings.

ishikawa t-2 

Mitsubishi T-2 (Part 2/3)

Serial Location
69-5125 Ashino Prefectural Park, Goshogawara, Aomori Prefecture
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 4A below)
(Photo from June 2019 [link])
69-5126 Takayama Air Park, Ayagawa, Kagawa Prefecture
(Photo from Aug. 2020 [link])
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 4B below)
(69-5127)

(Flown by the Aggressor Sqn from Nyutabaru AB [link], this aircraft was
withdrawn from use and then scrapped in January 2007. Former 6th Sqn T-2
89-5196 [q.v.] was repainted as ’127 and placed on display in time for the
base’s air show in December that same year and thereafter placed on
permanent display.)

69-5128 Near Kazuma Station, Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture (April 2017)
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 4C below)
(Photo from Mar. 2020 [link])
79-5141 (Cockpit/nose section only) Used for rescue training at Matsushima AB
(Photo from Aug. 2018 [link], still present Aug. 2019)
79-5146 (Nose section) Front fuselage acquired as scrap, stored on top of a container
as part of a private collection in Minobu Town, Yamanashi Prefecture
(See photo by TAKA, from Aug. 2020, below)
(Continued in Part 3 below)
Last updated: May 12, 2021

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 4A
Mitsubishi T-2 69-5125, Ashino Prefectural Park, Goshogawara, Aomori Prefecture

The above image is a still from a short YouTube video that walks us around the former 21st Sqn T-2
displayed at the Ashino Prefectural Park in the city of Goshogawara, Aomori Prefecture.

(Made by Y1226M in April 2019, the video can be viewed here [link])

Headed with the Japanese for T-2 Supersonic Advanced Jet Trainer, the sign board at the start of the abovementioned video consists of a message from the mayor of Kanagi Town at the time of the aircraft’s official installation on April 6, 1994; having been merged into the city of Goshogawara in March 2005, the town no longer exists. In addition to basic information about the aircraft, the mayor mentions his nerves at accepting the responsibility but also of the town’s glory at having been chosen to receive the 1976-vintage aircraft on loan from what was then the Japan Defense Agency (now Ministry of Defense). The intention was for the aircraft to offer long-lasting inspiration to any townspeople who held ambitions of becoming a pilot. After giving credit to the SDF personnel instrumental in the aircraft’s arrival, the message ends with a request for people not to climb onto the wings: “Let’s take good care of this jet that belongs to us all.”

A series of good close-up photos, taken not long before the video in October 2018, can be found on the following blog (link).

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 4B
Mitsubishi T-2 69-5126, Takayama Air Park, Ayagawa, Kagawa Prefecture

(Photo [Sept. 2011]: Sunport1216 via Wikimedia Commons)

Having commenced with its delivery on May 26, 1976, this aircraft’s service career came to an end when with the 6th Sqn on May 13, 1994. Although the plaques for the two civilian aircraft displayed in the park carry the date September 1990, when the park was opened, no date was included on those describing the T-2. The earliest photos found when compiling this report were from September 2002, and by 2009 the aircraft had been given a tastefully applied facelift. A sequence comparing images from December 2015 and April 2018 can be found here (link).

Incorporating a shrine dedicated to aviation, the park offers a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding area that takes in the runway at Takamatsu airport, which lies 30 minutes away by car.

(Photo [Jan. 2018]: 矢沢ヨースケ [Yosuke Yazawa] via Twitter @yske_830)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 4C
Mitsubishi T-2 69-5128, Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture

T-2 69-5128 Higashi-Matsushima(Photo: Warren Hardcastle [April 2017])

Perhaps the most poignantly symbolic of all former JASDF aircraft on display is this former Blue Impulse T-2, which is located close to unmanned Kazuma Station on the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) Senseki Line in Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture.

Although inundated and still bearing the scars of the tsunami that was triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, this area was not as badly affected as nearby Matsushima AB, though Kazuma Station remained closed for just over a year.

The aircraft was first delivered to the JASDF on July 2, 1976, and originally saw service with the 22nd Sqn before being flown by the aerobatic team from February 1983 to December 1995. After retirement, the aircraft reportedly did the rounds of air bases, including Nara, as a promotional exhibit.

Possibly as part of the post-tsunami clean-up of the area, the aircraft seems to have been repainted, removing some of the original stencil markings in the process. The air intake splitter plate on the port side still bears the names of the 14-man team from the 4th Air Wing’s Maintenance Support Group at the air base that was responsible for installing the aircraft on its pedestal on July 18, 2001.

After a time kept on a vacant lot in the Nerima district of Tokyo, the front fuselage section of T-2
‘146 had been moved to a private collection in Minobu Town, Yamanashi Prefecture, by 2002.

(Photo [Minobu Town, Aug. 2020]: TAKA via Twitter @alice_herb, who uploaded other images 
of the private aircraft collection and a short video of their location here [link])

Mitsubishi T-2 (Part 3/3)

Serial Location
(89-5151) (Formerly at the Kojika Kindergarten in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture
In residence since at least July 2007 and having survived the March 2011
and subsequent earthquakes, was still seemingly in good condition in May
2017 (link). However, the aircraft was removed at some stage in latter
half of 2018. Current location, if any, unknown)
99-5163 On indoor display at Ishikawa Aviation Plaza, Komatsu Airport,
Ishikawa Prefecture (Blue Impulse aerobatic team markings)
(Photo from Nov. 2020 [link])
19-5173

On indoor display at Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum,
Gifu Prefecture (Blue Impulse aerobatic team markings)

(Photo from Apr. 2018 on dedicated museum page [link])

29-5175 In Yuhien (literally “Soar Upwards Park”) inside Hyakuri AB, Ibaraki Prefecture,
in Blue Impulse aerobatic team markings (photo from Apr. 2019 [link])
(See May 2022 Bulletin Board story)
29-5176 Matsushima AB, Ibaraki Prefecture (Blue Impulse aerobatic team colours)
(Photo from Sept. 2019 [link])
29-5177 Misawa Aviation & Science Museum, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture
(Blue Impulse aerobatic team markings; see ’105)
(Photo from Nov. 2020 [link])
51-5192 Matsushima AB, Miyagi Prefecture (photo from July 2018 [link])
79-5193 In hangar at Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Science &
Engineering, Teikyo University Utsunomiya Campus, Tochigi Prefecture.
(See Preserved Aircraft Special Report below)
89-5196 (Painted as Aggressor Sqn 69-5127 [q.v.]) Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture
(Photo from Dec. 2015 [link])
Last updated: May 25, 2022

Hyakuri T-2Delivered to the JASDF as Blue Impulse aircraft ‘5’ in 1982, ’175 was the team leader’s mount for the
final T-2 display season, which ended in December 1995. The aircraft reached the end of its flying
career with the 21st Sqn in April 2001 and was added to the Hyakuri collection soon thereafter.

Delivered on March 1, 1982, and a regular at number 3 in the Blue Impulse team, 177 was
one of the aircraft that took part in the final T-2 displays, in December 1995.
(Photo [Misawa Aviation & Science Museum, Dec. 2019]: Warren Hardcastle)

T-2 89-5196 has been masquerading as 69-5127 since 2007.
(Photo [Sept. 2020]: JASDF Nyutabaru AB via Twitter @JASDF_Nyutabaru)

Preserved Aircraft Special Report
Mitsubishi T-2 79-5193, School of Science & Engineering,
Teikyo University Utsunomiya Campus, Tochigi Prefecture

(Photo [Teikyo University Utsunomiya Campus Feb. 2019]: Akira Watanabe)

Seen here (link) unmarked when on overhaul at Komaki in January 2000, this 1987-vintage aircraft was retired when with the 4th Air Wing at Matsushima in 2004. The photos on the Teikyo website (link) show the aircraft after its arrival on loan from the then Japan Defense Agency at the university’s newly built hangar on April 21, 2005.

* For a fully detailed walkaround, including all the aircraft’s nooks and crannies, look no further than J-HangarSpace contributor Akira Watanabe’s report of his February 2019 visit (link).

Mitsubishi X-2 (ATD-X)

Serial Location
51-0001 Ferried from Gifu to Hamamatsu Aug. 2020. Destined for display inside revamped
JASDF Air Park exhibition hangar 2021
Last updated: Jan. 19, 2021

(Photo [Gifu, Nov. 2019]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

NAMC YS-11

Serial Location
52-1151 (YS-11FC) Iruma AB after completing last flight on Mar. 17, 2021
52-1152 (YS-11P) Aichi Museum of Flight, Nagoya Airport, Aichi Prefecture (current)
62-1153 (YS-11P) Withdrawn from use, at Miho AB, Tottori Prefecture (Dec. 2019 [link])
62-1154 (YS-11FC) Withdrawn from use, engineless at Iruma AB, Saitama Prefecture
(May 2018 [link])
92-1156 (YS-11NT) Withdrawn from use, engine- and tailfin-less at Miho AB,
Tottori Prefecture (Aug. 2016 [link])
(92-1157)
(YS-11EB) Broken up at Iruma, Oct. 2022
02-1158 (YS-11P) Displayed at Miho AB since around May 2018 (Oct. 2020 [link]) 
02-1159 (YS-11EB) Props removed at Iruma, June 2022 (link)
02-1160 (YS-11FC) Last flight Oct. 8, 2019. Still at Iruma AB, Saitama Prefecture
(Nov. 2020 [link])
Last updated: Nov. 5, 2022

Flown for the last time on April 29, 2017, when ferried from Miho AB to adjacent Nagoya airport,
this YS-11P has since taken pride of place at the Aichi Museum of Flight.
(Photo: April 4, 2018)

In what to all intents and purposes appeared to be part of a base tidy-up ahead of the first Iruma
air show in three years, YS-11EB 157 was finally broken up in mid-October 2022.

(Photo: ミラクル via Twitter @nE95ih3HOFIOTVs)

(Photo [Miho AB, May 2018]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

North American F-86D Sabre (Part 1/2)

Serial Location
“84-8100” (See 04-8196)
84-8102 In storage hangar at Tokorozawa Aviation Museum, Saitama Prefecture
84-8104 In JASDF Air Park exhibition hangar, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
84-8106 Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture (See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 5A below)
(Photo from Oct. 2019 [link])
“84-8111″ (See 94-8125)
84-8115 Tsuiki AB, Fukuoka Prefecture
84-8117 Arakawa Campus, Tokyo Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology. Minamisenju, Tokyo (Photo from Sept. 2020 [link])
(84-8119) Family Sports Park, Chippubetsu, Uryu District, Hokkaido Prefecture
(Removed when park underwent refurbishment in 2016) 
94-8125 Painted as “84-8111” at Komaki AB, Aichi Prefecture
84-8127 Hofu Minami AB, Yamaguchi Prefecture (photo from May 2017 [link])
84-8128 Kumagaya AB, Saitama Prefecture (See Location Report 5)
(Photo from Apr. 2016 [link])
94-8146 Aviation Museum, Hijiri Village Museum 5889-1 Hijiri, Omi Village,
Higashichikuma District, Nagano Prefecture 399-7701
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 5B below)
(Continued in Part 2 below)
Last updated: Mar. 25, 2022

tokorozawaf-86dThe Tokorozawa Aviation Museum’s F-86D Sabre was surrounded by assorted artifacts at
the October 2013 storage hangar open day.

Komaki F-86DForming part of the base collection at Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, this F-86D bears a spurious
serial number in place of 94-8125 and 102 Sqn tail markings.
(Photos: [Top, Feb. 2014] J-HangarSpace; [above, Mar. 2018] Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

(Photo [Tsuiki, Oct. 2012]: Takao Kadokami)
The same aircraft from the other side, five years later
(Photo [Nov. 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 5A
North American F-86D Sabre 04-8106, Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture

Handed over to the JASDF on June 3, 1958, this aircraft was placed in temporary storage at JASDF Kisarazu three days later and not supplied to squadron service, the 102nd at Komaki, until its formation on March 1, 1959. With the same unit upon its disbandment at the same base on October 1, 1968, the dates for its move to and subsequent display at Ashiya are unknown. The aircraft was still present in October 2019 (link).

The aircraft in October 1990; a similar side view, taken in 1995, can be found here (link).
(Photo: Takao Kadokami)

Despite having spent its service career with the 102nd Sqn, the aircraft was given the similar 
markings of the 101st, which differ only in having a green rather than a yellow horizontal tail stripe.
(Above two photos taken in September 2000)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 5B
North American F-86D Sabre 94-8146, Hijiri Aviation Museum,
Omi Village, Nagano Prefecture

(Photo [Aug. 2020]: 先従開始 via Wikimedia Commons)

Having been supplied to the 102nd Sqn, 3rd Air Wing at Komaki AB during its third month of operations on May 19, 1959, ’146 was still present at the base upon their cessation on October 1, 1968. The exact date of the aircraft’s arrival at its current, more tranquil location is unknown.

Visible in photos from October 1979, the tail badge seen here in August 1995 (link) was still present in October 2002 but removed when the aircraft was repainted by a maintenance team sent from Gifu AB in the autumn of 2004.

Note ex-JASDF T-34A 51-0337 in the background.
(Photo [Oct. 2010]: Mukasora via Wikimedia Commons)

North American F-86D Sabre (Part 2/2)

Serial Location
94-8154 (Possibly real identity of 14-8222 q.v.)
04-8164 (Front fuselage only) In sorry state at Kissa Hikojo (Airfield Café),
Irino 4702-16, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture (Photo from Sept. 2020 [link])
Transported to new private owner June 2022. (See June 2022 Bulletin Board story)
04-8182 (Bears spurious serial “04-8209”) In store with damaged tail at Gifu AB,
Gifu Prefecture (Presence to be confirmed, photo from Mar. 2008 [link])   

04-8187
Former base collection aircraft at Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture
(Was seemingly awaiting disposal August 2020, see Displayed Aircraft
Special Report 5C below)

04-8191 JGSDF Army Camp Zentsuji, Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture

(Photos from Apr. 2012 [link], Apr. 2018 [link] and Oct. 2019 [link])

04-8195 Kaimondake Nature Park, Kagoshima Prefecture
04-8196 (Painted as “84-8100”) Nara AB, Nara Prefecture
(Photo from June 2019 [link])
04-8197 In Yuhien (literally “Soar Upwards Park”) inside Hyakuri AB, Ibaraki Prefecture
(Photo from Dec. 2019 [link])
04-8199 Chitose AB, Hokkaido Prefecture (photo from July 2018 [link])
04-8202 Miho AB, Tottori Prefecture
04-8203 Hofu Kita AB, Yamaguchi Prefecture (photo from June 2019 [link])
04-8205 Instructional airframe at Japan Aviation Academy High School, Yamanashi Campus,
Kai, Yamanashi Prefecture
 
(May 2022, photos from Dec. 2011 [link] and Oct. 2016 [link])
“04-8209”

(See 04-8182)

14-8217 Komatsu AB, Ishikawa Prefecture (photo from Sept. 2019 [link])
14-8222 (Real identity possibly 94-8154, current) JGSDF Otsu Army Camp, Shiga Prefecture
(Photo from June 2017 [link])
Last updated: June 14, 2022

shizuhamaf-86dSeen in May 2012, the apparently well-preserved F-86D Sabre at Shizuhama sports the shachihoko
tail marking that was worn by three Komaki-based F-86 units. For some reason, this aircraft
was one of four broken up at the base in March 2016.

Seen here in September 2010, 04-8191 remains the odd man out among the
JGSDF Zentsuji Army Camp collection.
(Photo: 663highland via Wikimedia Commons)

IMG_0001crs(Above [October 2000] and below [December 2018]) Delivered to the JASDF in August 1960, the
F-86D
at Hyakuri was withdrawn from use while serving with the Chitose-based 103rd Sqn in
October 1968.
Japanese sources show that, during its time as a Hyakuri gate guard, the
aircraft has worn the plum
blossom tail markings of the Starfighter-equipped 206th and
207th squadrons and, in the late-1980s,
even that of the Misawa-based 3rd Air Wing.
The eagle’s head of the 204th Sqn had been applied by
the early 2000s and
has remained even though that F-15J squadron moved to Naha in 2009.

2018-12-02 12.41.37crs

(Photo [Miho AB, May 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

The F-86D displayed at Komatsu carries the two blue tail stripes that were once the
marking of the Chitose-based 103rd Sqn.
(Photo [Sept. 2018]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Way back in 1980, the retractable rocket launcher fitted to this aircraft was seen to carry the 
number ‘154’ on either side. Though possibly just a replacement launcher, this led to
the belief that 14-8222 is yet another imposter and actually 94-8154.

(Photo [JGSDF Camp Otsu, May 2016]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons
)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 5C
North American F-86D Sabre 04-8187, Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture

Handed over to the JASDF 60 years ago, on May 24, 1960, this aircraft started and ended its short active service career—at Komaki and Chitose, respectively—with the 2nd Air Wing’s 103rd Sqn. It is not known how many years passed between its withdrawal from use, on October 1, 1968, the day of the 103rd’s disbandment, and its arrival to join the Nyutabaru base collection.

Possibly used merely to test the application of a green and grey camouflage scheme, at a time 
when these were in vogue, the aircraft was still sporting this and the 202nd Sqn tail marking
after having likely been rooted to the same spot for several years.
(Photo [November 1982]: Takao Kadokami)

(Photo [November 1995]: Takao Kadokami)

(Photos above and below: November 2000)

In August 2020, it seemed that the aircraft was awaiting disposal (link) alongside the base collection’s F-86F; both shared the same fake tail marking (link).

North American F-86F-40* Sabre (Part 1/4)

Serial Location
52-7403 (*F-86F-30) Hofu-Minami AB, Yamaguchi Prefecture
(Photo from Jan. 2017 [link])
52-7406 (*F-86F-30) Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6A below)
(Photo from Oct. 2019 [link])

52-7408 (*F-86F-25) Komatsu AB, Ishikawa Prefecture
(Photo from Sept. 2019 [link])
62-7415 (*F-86F-30) Chitose AB, Hokkaido Prefecture
(Photo from July 2018 [link])
62-7516 (In Blue Impulse markings) On roof of Sugano Clinic, Sena 1-7-3,
Aoi Ward, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture 420-0911
(Photo from Apr. 2018 [link])
62-7417 (*F-86F-30) Shizuhama AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Was seemingly awaiting its fate May 2019 [link])
62-7427 Gifu AB, Gifu Prefecture (photo from Nov. 2019 [link])
(62-7437) (Fuselage actually from 62-7473, see photo below) Instructional airframe inside hangar at Department of Aerospace Engineering, Nippon Bunri University, Oita, Oita Prefecture (photo from Oct. 2014 [link])
(Continued in Part 2 below)
Last updated: May 12, 2021

The 1951-vintage, ex-U.S. Air Force F-86F that entered JASDF service as 52-7408 was one of the 
nine aircraft handed over to the JASDF at Kisarazu in December 1955 and moved to Tsuiki for
pilot training from February 1956; with ’401, ’404, and ’407 it was used for the first public
formation flight performed by JASDF pilots on March 1, 1956. Nevertheless, the aircraft 
was withdrawn from use while with the 1st Technical School in August 1959. Having
amassed many years of gate guard service when the above image was captured in
1987, ‘408 was still looking well and in 4th Sqn markings in 2018
(below). (Photos: [Top, Aug. 1987] Takao Kadokami; [above, Sept. 2018] Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Nippon Bunri F-86F OitaThe F-86F sitting forlornly in a corner of the instructional airframe hangar at Nippon Bunri
University in Oita is a composite of at least three aircraft. Although carrying ‘437’ on its
nose, the fuselage is from
62-7473, which was delivered to the JASDF on May 12,
1956, and flown by the 1st Air Wing. After ending its career with the Tsuiki-based
6th Sqn on October 21, 1980, the aircraft was perched atop a hospital in Oita
from April the following year, bearing the name of a restaurant in Fukuoka
City owned by an aviation enthusiast
(Lindbergh), on its rear fuselage.
First delivered to the JASDF on August 8, 1956, the real 62-7437 served with the 1st Air Wing
until its retirement on March 30, 1982.
(Photo [April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6A
North American F-86F Sabre 52-7406, Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture

Another of the nine F-86Fs formally handed over to the JASDF at Kisarazu on December 1, 1955, ’406 was supplied to what was then just called the Air Wing on the 19th of that month.

At Tsuiki AB on March 1, 1956, ’406 was present when four of its sister aircraft (see caption to earlier 52-7408 photos) were flown in what was the first public formation flight performed by JASDF pilots, all of whom were wartime veterans that had undergone jet training with the U.S. Air Force in the States.

Its brief period on active service over, the aircraft was passed to the 3rd Technical School at Ashiya and retired on August 26, 1959; the date the aircraft was first placed on display there is unknown. The earliest photo found thus far was this one showing a large tail marking, taken in January 1968 (link), the most recent is from October 2019 (link). The following four photos depict the aircraft over the decades from the 1970s.

(Photo [October 1978]: Takao Kadokami)
(Photo [October 1980]: Takao Kadokami)
(Photo [October 1990]: Takao Kadokami)
(September 2000)

North American F-86F-40* Sabre (Part 2/4)

Serial Location
62-7508 Mounted on pole at Misawa AB, Aomori Prefecture
(Photo from Oct. 2014 [link])
62-7516 On roof of Sugano Clinic, Sena, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6B below)
62-7527 Nara AB, Nara Prefecture (photo from June 2019 [link])
62-7702

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagoya Aerospace Systems, Komaki South Plant, Aichi Prefecture (adjacent former archives building planned for demolition so may be moved, at least temporarily) (See Feb. 22, 2014, report on Aviation Museums page)

(Photo from Mar. 2016 ([link])

72-7723 Displayed inside resource centre at Gifu AB, Gifu Prefecture
(72-7743) (Actually 92-7910 q.v.)
72-7749 Sodeura Park, Ryuyo, Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Photo from Feb. 2016 [link])
72-7753 On raised structure in car park of Seikodo (now DrugTops) drugstore
1011-3 Iguchishinden, Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture (Aug. 2020)
82-7777 (In Blue Impulse aerobatic team markings; see 02-7964)
Kasuga AB, Fukuoka Prefecture
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6C below)
82-7778 Komaki AB, Aichi Prefecture (photo from Nov. 2019 [link])
82-7789 Matsushima AB, Miyagi Prefecture (July 2018 [link])
(Continued in Part 3 below)
Last updated: May 12, 2021

The F-86F at Sodeura Park in the city of Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, has been in residence
since June 1993. Originally delivered to the JASDF’s 1st Air Wing in October 1957,
the aircraft remained at Hamamatsu for at least five years after having been
withdrawn from use when with the 1st Technical School in June 1980.
(Photo [Nov. 2019]: Warren Hardcastle)

Komaki F-86FSeen here in February 2014, the F-86F preserved at Komaki shares a picturesque on-base display
area with a number of other retired aircraft.

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6B
North American F-86F Sabre 62-7516, Sugano Clinic,
Sena, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture

(Photo [Dec. 2019]: skippyscage via Twitter @skippyscage)

Delivered in December 1956, North American-built F-86F-40 62-7516’s career included a stint with the 6th Sqn in 1960 and ended with the Iruma-based Air Defense HQ Sqn in October 1981.

A website message from clinic director Hiroya Sugano (link) states that the aircraft was supposed to have been returned to the United States after its retirement but was instead loaned to the Zero Fighter Association, which Sugano chairs, by the U.S. State Department. The aircraft faces Mt. Shizuhata, on which Sugano organizes a service every year in memory of all the lives lost on both sides in the Pacific War. Those acts helped pave the way for the aircraft’s loan during the time when Alexander Haig was U.S. secretary of state and Michael Mansfield the U.S. ambassador to Japan, so soon after the aircraft’s retirement, in 1981-82.

In Blue Impulse markings it never wore when in service, the aircraft can normally be visited after 15:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and on Sunday mornings, but applications must be made to the clinic in advance (054-262-5050).

(Photo [Nov. 2019]: Warren Hardcastle)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6C
North American F-86F Sabre 82-7777, Kasuga AB, Fukuoka Prefecture

(Photo [1st Air Wing, Hamamatsu, Dec. 1975]: Akira Watanabe)

This aircraft’s first posting when taken on charge on February 25, 1958, was to the 4th Air Wing’s 7th Sqn. Withdrawn from active service on June 16, 1980, the aircraft carried the tail markings of the 6th Sqn, its last operator, when placed initially on display at Kasuga.

(September 2000)

Although never assigned to the team repainted in 2010 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Blue Impulse, ’777 (its genuine serial) was still present in November 2019 (link).

(Photo [Nov. 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

North American F-86F-40* Sabre (Part 3/4)

Serial Location
82-7807 In front of Shubudai Memorial Hall aviation history museum,
Iruma AB, Saitama Prefecture (photo from Dec. 2020 [link])
(82-7818) (Actually 92-7883 q.v.)
82-7849 Kumagaya AB, Saitama Prefecture (See Location Report 5)
(Photo from Apr. 2017 [link]) Repainting completed by end March 2021
82-7865 Aviation Museum, Hijiri Village Museum 5889-1 Hijiri, Omi Village,
Higashichikuma District, Nagano Prefecture 399-7701
(Photo from June 2018 [link])
92-7883 (Painted as Blue Impulse “82-7818”, though neither aircraft was ever assigned to the
team) JGSDF Kita Utsunomiya Army Camp, Tochigi Prefecture
(Photo from June 2019 [link]) 
92-7885 In Yuhien (literally “Soar Upwards Park”) inside Hyakuri AB, Ibaraki Prefecture
(Photo from Mar. 2020 [link])
92-7888 Peace park within Mt. Hachimen Nature Park, Sankotaguchi, Oita Prefecture
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6D below)
(Photo from Aug. 2020 [link])
(Continued in Part 4 below)
Last updated: May 12, 2021

(Iruma, Sept. 2012)

utsunomiyaf-86This JASDF F-86F interloper at JGSDF Kita-Utsunomiya Army camp has been painted to
loosely represent an aircraft from the Blue Impulse aerobatic team.

IMG_0003crs(Above and below) Delivered in March 1959, the Hyakuri collection’s F-86F was in storage from
1973 to 1979 before being operated by the 6th Sqn from Tsuiki. Assigned to the Central Air
Command HQ Air Squadron at the time of its retirement in March 1982, the aircraft
had been placed on display at Hyakuri
(at that time in blue 9th Sqn fin flash
markings
)
by January 1985, and the U.S. Air Force-style fuselage stripe
added at some stage in the late 1980s. Applied by 2000, its current tail

marking matched that of the then resident 305th Sqn and has remained
even though that unit relocated with its F-15Js to Naha in 2016.
2018-12-02 12.39.57crs
(Photos: [top] Oct. 2000, [above] Dec. 2018)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6D
North American F-86F Sabre 92-7888, Mt. Hachimen Peace Park, Nakatsu, Oita Prefecture

JASDF F-86F NakatsuF-86F ‘Triple 8’ ended up in a peace park in Nakatsu, Oita Prefecture. Although this photo
was taken in June 1985, the aircraft remains in residence and was repainted in 2006.
(Photo: Takao Kadokami)

Finally withdrawn from use when with the 10th Sqn at Tsuiki on June 8, 1976, this aircraft had amassed 3,452 flight hours in a service career that had spanned 17 years, from March 1959 to March 1976. Being a U.S.-designed jet fighter that was assembled by Mitsubishi and flown by Japanese pilots lends its location even greater poignancy.

A mere 659 metres high, Hachimenzan (“All-sides Mountain”) is so called because it is said to look the same from any direction. With the benefit of hindsight, “Both Sides” would have been more apt for the location of a peace memorial which includes a monument to 11 U.S. airmen and two Japanese fighter pilots who were killed in action nearby.

It was on May 7, 1945, that a formation of 11 B-29s from the U.S. Army Air Force’s 483rd Bomber Squadron, 505th Bomber Group, at that time based on the island of Tinian in the Marianas, carried out an attack on the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force base at Usa, Oita Prefecture. The raid was part of the strategy to suppress the special attack (kamikaze) missions being launched against U.S. naval elements off Okinawa.

Scrambled from their base at Ozuki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Kawasaki Ki-45 (Nick) fighters from the Kaitentai (“Turning the Tide Unit”) special attack detachment of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force’s 4th Flight Regiment had only managed to engage the B-29 formation after the completion of its bombing run. It was at around 10:20 a.m. that the lead B-29, Empire Express commanded by 1st Lt. James McKillip, was deliberately rammed by one of the defending aircraft, flown by Master Sergeant Tsutomu Murata; the former came down on Mt. Hachimen, the latter in the hills around the then village of Miho, which today forms part of the city of Nakatsu. Three of the 11-man B-29 crew escaped by parachute only to be executed on Mt. Abura in Fukuoka City on June 20, 1945.

In another action, which took place over Mt. Hachimen on August 12, 1945, just three days before Japan’s surrender, Chief Warrant Officer Shigeru Kato was killed when his Zero fighter was shot down by four marauding U.S. Navy fighters.

Memorials to the bomber crew and the two fighter pilots were formally erected on May 7, 1971, the 26th anniversary of the first action. The main memorial for the bomber crew takes the form of a map of the United States on which each crew members’ home state is marked with an inlaid stone from that state. A memorial service for the war fallen of both sides is held at the site every year on May 3; the 50th service took place in 2018.

North American F-86F-40* Sabre (Part 4/4)

Serial Location
92-7905 (Fuselage only) Iwashita Collection Motorcycle Museum, 654-6 Yufuincho
Kawakita, Yufu, Oita Prefecture 879-5114 (Current, photo from Sept. 2020 [link])
92-7910 (As “72-7743”) At local tourism association museum Shimizu 36-1, Kota, Nukata District, Aichi Prefecture
92-7916 Former base collection aircraft at Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture, seemingly
awaiting fate Aug. 2020 (See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6E below)
92-7922 Nose section only displayed inside resource centre at Tsuiki AB,
Fukuoka Prefecture (photo from Dec. 2017 [link])
(92-7929) See 12-7995
92-7938 Mounted on pole at Tsuiki AB, Fukuoka Prefecture
(Photo from Dec. 2017 [link])
02-7946

(As “12-7996”) Old Car Center KUDAN, Naraha, Futaba District, Fukushima

Prefecture (photo from Sept. 2020 [link])

02-7960 Inside JASDF Air Park exhibition hangar, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(In Blue Impulse aerobatic team markings; see 02-7962 and 966)
02-7962

(As Blue Impulse “02-7960”) Zero Fighter Museum (Kawaguchiko Aviation Hall),
Fujizakura Highland, Narusawa, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi Prefecture
(See Aug. 29, 2014, report on Aviation Museums page)

(Photo from Aug. 2015 [link])

02-7964 JASDF Takahatayama Sub-Base, Kushima, Miyazaki Prefecture
(with spurious serial 82-7777, q.v.)
02-7966 Mounted on pole at JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(In Blue Impulse aerobatic team markings; see also 02-7960)
(Photo from Oct. 2020 [link])
02-7968 In U.S. Air Force camouflage at Standard Work Wear store Takahira 1-32-4, Kita Ward, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture (Mar. 2019)
02-7970

Derelict at Zero Fighter Museum (Kawaguchiko Automobile Hall), Yamanashi Prefecture (see 02-7962)
(See Aug. 29, 2014, report on Aviation Museums page)

(Photo from Aug. 2016 [link])

12-7995 Serial changed to Blue Impulse 92-7929, though both aircraft were assigned to team
Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture (current, photo from Oct. 2013 [link])
(12-7996) (Actually 02-7946 q.v.)
Last updated: May 12, 2021

airparkf-86fThe pole-mounted F-86F makes a distinctive feature at the main entrance to the Air Park’s
exhibition hall. Another example is on terra firma static display inside the building
(below).
(Photo: JASDF Air Park via Twitter @jasdf_airpark

(Above and below) The F-86F displayed at Tsuiki photographed 17 years apart; that above was
taken in September 2000, that below in November 2017. The aircraft carries 6th Sqn markings
on the left side of its tail, and those of the 10th Sqn on the right.

(Nov. 2017 photo: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Delivered to the 4th Air Wing’s 5th Sqn in January 1960, the then 02-7946 was assigned to the
3rd Air Wing’s 8th Sqn when withdrawn from use in May 1977. For a period up to around 1995,
the aircraft was displayed (still as 946) in Tofukuji Park in the city of Namerikawa, Toyama
Prefecture, and then at Komaki AB. The date of its arrival at the Old Car Center in
Naraha and the reason for the change of serial to “12-7996” are unknown.
(Photo [Dec. 2019]: Warren Hardcastle)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 6E
North American F-86F Sabre 92-7916, Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture

Taken on charge by the 5th Air Wing’s 10th Sqn on August 13, 1959, this aircraft was withdrawn from active service while with the 6th Sqn, under the 8th Air Wing at Tsuiki, on June 8, 1976. Three photos from 1995 follow.

(Photo [November 1995]: Takao Kadokami)

(Photos above and below [November 1995]: Takao Kadokami)

(Nyutabaru AB, November 2000)

In August 2020, it seemed that the sad-looking aircraft was awaiting disposal (link) alongside the base collection’s F-86D. Both aircraft carried the same fake tail marking, like that of the early 6th Sqn design with its stripe colour changed from red to blue.

North American T-6G* Texan (Part 1/2)

Serial Location
52-0001 (T-6D, missing rear fuselage) Used as part of the scenery in a field at the Aozora Hustle outdoor survival game facility in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture (See Preserved Aircraft Special Report below)
52-0002 (T-6D) In poor condition at Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture (photo from Oct. 2016 [link])
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 7A below)
52-0010 (T-6F) Stored outside at JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Apr. 2021, photo when inside from Oct. 2020 [link])
52-0011 (T-6F) In storage for airshow display purposes at Shizuhama AB,
Shizuoka Prefecture (May 2022, photo from May 2019 [link])
(“72-0022”) (Actually 72-0176 q.v.)
52-0041 Japan Aviation Academy Network (JANET) Corporation, Yamanashi Prefecture
(Photo from Oct. 2016 [link])
(52-0074) (Formerly stored at Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture, scrapped 2014) 
52-0075 In wartime Army dispersal hangar at Komaki AB, Aichi Prefecture
Moved from Nara AB Sept. 2011 (photo from May 2019 [link])
52-0076 JGSDF Obihiro Army Camp, Hokkaido Prefecture
(Moved from Bihoro Aviation Park, Bihoro, Abashiri District, Hokkaido Prefecture, Dec. 2016)
(52-0078) (Formerly at JGSDF Higashi-Chitose Army Camp, Hokkaido Prefecture) 
(Photos from Feb. 2001[link] and Apr. 2016 [link] but removed by mid-2017)
(“52-0080”) (Actually 52-0129 q.v.)
(52-0082) Formerly kept in former Imperial Japanese Navy dispersal hangar at Komatsu AB,
Ishikawa Prefecture hut had been removed by Apr. 1, 2021
52-0083 Nara National College of Technology (NNCT), 22 Yatacho, Yamatokoriyama,
Nara Prefecture (Current, appears on NNCT homepage image carousel [link])
52-0084 Cockpit skeleton exhibit (with intact 52-0100 q.v.) at The Yamazaki Mazak Museum of Machine Tools, Maehira-cho, Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture
52-0098 Wings removed at Zero Fighter Museum (Kawaguchiko Aviation Hall), Yamanashi Prefecture (See Aug. 29, 2014, report on Aviation Museums page)
(Photo from Aug. 2016 [link])
52-0099 On indoor display at Tokorozawa Aviation Museum, Saitama Prefecture

(Photo from Nov. 2019 on dedicated museum page [link])

(T-6G continued in Part 2)
* All T-6G unless otherwise stated
Last updated: June 19, 2022

shizuhamat-6(Above) Shizuhama personnel drag out the resident T-6F Texan for the base’s open house events.
Note the strategically placed engine oil drip tray.

(Above and below) Partly as recompense for being again unable to welcome air show visitors,
Komaki AB released photos of its sundrenched resident T-6G. The images were unusually
taken from inside the wartime dispersal hangar that the aircraft calls home and
what would be off limits to visitors.

(Photos [August 2021]: via Twitter @komaki_airbase)

tokorozawat-6cockpitThe positioning of the T-6G at the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum affords this
glimpse into the rear cockpit.

The painfully camera shy 52-0082 had been removed by Apr. 1, 2021. (Photo: JASDF Komatsu AB)

52-0083 Nara T-6G
Received by the Nara National College of Technology as long ago as 1965, T-6 52-0083 carries the
abbreviation NNCT above the starboard wing.
(Photo [April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)

Preserved Aircraft Special Report
North American T-6D Texan 52-0001, Aozora (Blue Sky) Hustle, Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture

(Above and below) What remains of the first Texan supplied to the JASDF is brought
into position at an airsoft sport facility in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. 
(Photo [Aug. 2019]: Aozora Hustle Outdoor Survival Game Fields via Twitter @aozorahustle)

A 1941-model, ex-U.S. Air Force T-6D, 52-0001 was handed over to the nascent JASDF on February 1, 1955, but withdrawn from use on December 15, 1959, having seen service at Hamamatsu. Displayed at Fuji Acetylene Industries Co., Ltd. in the city of Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, which remains in business today, the aircraft was moved to a spot at the company’s factory in Numazu, also in Shizuoka Prefecture, even after the rear fuselage had been removed. The front fuselage and wings were later placed in store at the company’s warehouse back in Fuji and was noted there in 2013. Its new owners had early plans to paint the wreck as a “Dauntless” or, aptly enough, Aichi Type 99 (Val) dive bomber.

(Photo [Aug. 2019]: Aozora Hustle Outdoor Survival Game Fields via Twitter @aozorahustle)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 7A
North American T-6D Texan 52-0002, Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture

Handed over to the JASDF on February 1, 1955, this already 13-year-old aircraft was retired, most
likely at Hamamatsu, on December 15, 1959, and later became a long-term part of the scenery at
Ashiya AB. Judging by its condition in February 2018, when steel pipes were being used to
support its wings, a Japanese source stated it was only a matter of time before the
aircraft would be removed and most likely scrapped.
(Photos [top, Oct. 1978]: Takao Kadokami; [above, Sept. 2000] J-HangarSpace)

(Photo [Ashiya, Oct. 1990] Takao Kadokami) 

North American T-6G Texan (Part 2/2)

Serial Location
52-0100 Displayed at The Yamazaki Mazak Museum of Machine Tools, Maehira-cho, Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture (with 52-0084 q.v.)
52-0101 Disguised as Zero on plinths inside the Zero Fighter Research Center at
PotePote Park, Rurikei Spa, Sonobe, Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture
(Photo from official website [link])
52-0104 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aerospace Systems, Komaki South Plant,
Aichi Prefecture (Aug. 2016, current whereabouts unknown)
(See photo from 1952 at top of this page)
52-0118 In front of love hotel (Hotel 2inPart1), Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture (April 2017)
(52-0128) Kumagaya AB, Saitama Prefecture (See Location Report 5)
(Photo from Apr. 2016 [link]) Removed (with F-104J) by February 2021
52-0129 (As 52-0080) Damaged by typhoon in 2017 and dumped minus wings, Matsushima AB, Miyagi Prefecture
(Believed current, photos from July 2018 [link]) and Aug. 2018 [link])
52-0131 Part of small collection in Minobu Town, Minamikoma District,
Yamanashi Prefecture (appeared on Japanese TV programme, April 2016)
72-0142 Recently repainted, in park at Kiryugaoka amusement park, Miyamotomachi 4-1-1,
Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture
72-0147 JGSDF Iwate Army Camp, Takizawa, Iwate District, Iwate Prefecture

(Photos from 2002 to 2014 [link], had reverted to yellow from olive drab scheme by June 2019)

(“72-0169″) (Actually 72-0178 q.v.)
72-0176 (Painted as 72-0022) Old Car Center KUDAN, Naraha, Futaba District,
Fukushima Prefecture 
72-0178 Repainted as “72-0169″, Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture (Aug. 2020)
(See Displayed Aircraft Special Report 7B below) 
Last updated: Mar. 10, 2022

Taken nearly 60 years apart, then and now images bring together 52-0100 when serving with the
11th Flying Training Wing at what was the then JASDF
(now JMSDF) base at Ozuki and in its
current home at The Yamazaki Mazak Museum of Machine Tools in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture.

(Photos: [Top, Ozuki AB, Nov. 1963] Takao Kadokami;
[above, Nov. 2020] ばんくるM via Twitter @bunkle_m)

Hardly the first time a T-6 has been disguised as a Zero, 52-0101 received the same treatment at
PotePote Park in Kyoto Prefecture.
(Photo [July 2020] via Twitter @BESAN_T)

Footage of the “Zero” from a 2017 YouTube video starts around the 5:40 mark (link).

T-6G 52-0118 You have probably already seen the photo on this page of a well-tended Mitsubishi T-2 tastefully
mounted on a pedestal near Matsushima AB, Miyagi Prefecture. At the other end of the scale,
and of the country, is dilapidated T-6G 52-0118 that has ended up at the 2inPart1 love hotel
in Miyakonojo. Miyazaki Prefecture. Supplied to the nascent JASDF on October 5, 1955,
52-0118 was assigned to the Chitose AB air rescue detachment at the time of its
withdrawal from service on October 23, 1968. Loaned to what is now the
Dai-ichi Institute of Technology in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture,
in the mid-70s, the aircraft appears to have been slowly decaying at
its current location for some time.
(Photo [April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)

(Photo [Aug. 2020]: TAKA via Twitter @alice_herb)

In service with the JASDF from 1957 to 1965, ageing T-6G 72-0131 (above) has been part of the private collection in Minobu Town, Yamanashi Prefecture, since at least February 2012. The aircraft was initially displayed at what is now Maizurujo Park in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, before being returned to Iruma AB. From 1999, its owner was the Old Car Center KUDAN in Fukushima Prefecture and then, from 2004 until its closure in 2011, Café Avion in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Note: Including a short video, the Twitter feed of the taker of the above photograph provides a good lie of the land of the Minobu Town collection (link).

(Photo [Oct. 2020]: テリ千ヌTerichinu via Twitter @teritinu1)

The long-standing original (and now presumably replaced) information board stated that 72-0142 was manufactured in 1948, joined the JASDF’s ranks in 1954 and was assigned to Sendai AB in 1957. Amazingly, it was December 26, 1966, when the aircraft was provided on loan to the city of Kiryu. The notice ended with a request for everybody to look after the loaned aircraft; unfortunately time and the elements had not been so kind, as seen in these undated photos (link), hence the recent new coat of paint.

Accepted for delivery as 72-0176 in December 1957, service with the Hyakuri Air Rescue
Squadron was to precede this aircraft’s withdrawal from use in March 1970. It was during
its time as part of the Iruma AB collection that the aircraft was bestowed the spurious
serial 72-0022, which stayed with it when moved to Naraha in March 2003.
(Photo [Old Car Center KUDAN, Naraha, Dec. 2019]: Warren Hardcastle)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 7B
North American T-6G Texan “72-0169”, Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture

(Photo [November 1982]: Takao Kadokami)

Admittedly looking far from authentic, a photo on the FlyTeam website (link) states that 72-0169 is in fact 72-0178, a long-time resident, after having been given a makeover. Another source lists ’178 as having indeed been on display at Nyutabaru but broken up on an unknown date. If the former is correct, the following photos point to ’178 having been repainted in 1996 or ’97.

Provided to the JASDF on November 12, 1957, and withdrawn from active service at Nyutabaru on
March 11, 1970, this aircraft was still present until at least November 1995,
when this photo was taken.
(Photo: Takao Kadokami)

Reportedly the former ’178, this photo of “169” was taken in November 1997. Provided to the 
JASDF on February 16, 1957, the real ’169 was withdrawn from active service on March 11, 
1970, and moved to Nyutabaru, date unknown.
(Photo: Takao Kadokami)


(Above two photos taken in November 2000)

(Photo [August 2020]: JASDF Nyutabaru AB via Twitter @JASDF_Nyutabaru)

North American T-28B Trojan

Serial Location
63-0581 Stored outside at JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Apr. 2021)
Last updated: Apr. 8, 2021

airpark t-28Initially assigned the civil registration JA3086 when imported from the manufacturer in 1954, this
North American T-28B Trojan was passed to the then Japan Defense Agency for technical research
purposes in 1956. Converted for the reconnaissance training role in 1962, the aircraft suffered
a heavy landing at Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 3, 1963, when serving with the
501st Sqn. For a time used as an instructional airframe at Kumagaya AB, Saitama
Prefecture, the aircraft was present when the Air Park opened its doors in
April 1999 and moved into outside storage in March 2021.

JASDF T-28B 1954The T-28B in its newly arrived look. Imported in October 1954 and assembled by then Shin (New)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries—note the three diamonds logo on the tail—this photo was taken at
Komaki airfield on November 30 that year, on the first of two days of flight testing. The 
 aircraft was put through its paces for the benefit of the top brass of the then newly
formed JASDF at Hamamatsu, its now long-term home, on January 6, 1955.

(Photo from Jan. 1955 issue of The World’s Aircraft, used with
permission of Hobun Shorin, Co., Ltd.)


Helicopter Types

(Photo [Aug. 2019]: JASDF Air Park via Twitter @jasdf_airpark)

Kawasaki-Vertol KV-107IIA-5

Serial Location
24-4832 Inside JASDF Air Park exhibition hangar, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
74-4844 Stored in hangar at Iruma AB, Saitama Prefecture, opposite Shubudai Memorial Hall aviation history museum
04-4851 Komaki AB, Aichi Prefecture (Feb. 2014)
04-4852 Nyutabaru AB, Miyazaki Prefecture (Sept. 2020)
Last updated: Oct. 23, 2020

irumakv
J-HangarSpace was present at Iruma AB on November 3, 2009, when KV-107IIA-5 74-4844 was put
through a spirited performance on what was its last flight. Its wings clipped, the aircraft is
currently languishing next to the Mitsubishi F-1 prototype in a storage hangar
opposite the base’s Shubudai Memorial Hall.

kv107iruma

Komaki KV107The Komaki AB collection’s KV-107IIA-5 seen bathed in early spring sunshine in February 2014.

JASDF Air Park KV-107A long-standing resident, the JASDF Air Park’s KV-107IIA-5 was formerly assigned to the
air rescue unit at the adjacent Hamamatsu AB.

Placed on display at Nyutabaru on November 28, 2013, the year of its withdrawal from service
when based at Hamamatsu, the KV-107IIA-5 at Nyutabaru had been the last of the type
delivered to the JASDF, on February 16, 1990.

(Photo [Sept. 2020]: JASDF Nyutabaru AB via Twitter @JASDF_Nyutabaru)

Banchoh1289Three sorry-looking KV-107IIs behind the scenes at Komaki in 2004, the JASDF’s 50th anniversary year.
(Photo: Banchoh via Twitter [@BANF30])

Piasecki H-21B

Serial Location
02-4756 JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
Last updated: Jan. 9, 2014

gifuv44
The removal of H-21B 02-4759
(above) from the Gifu base collection leaves only one example of the
type on permanent display, at the JASDF Air Park
(below).

airparkh-21

Sikorsky H-19C

Serial Location
91-4707 Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture bearing spurious serial 91-4777
91-4709 Stored outside at JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Apr. 2021)
Last updated: Apr. 8, 2021

airparkh-19Formerly operated from Hamamatsu AB, this H-19C was fortunate to have remained on
indoor display at the adjacent JASDF Air Park from March 2000 to March 2021,
when placed on outside storage.

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 8
Sikorsky-Mitsubishi H-19C “91-4777”, Ashiya AB, Fukuoka Prefecture

This is another aircraft that for some reason sports a doctored serial. As the nearby sign proclaims, this aircraft was present (as the real 91-4707) at Hamamatsu on March 18, 1958, the day the then Provisional Air Rescue Squadron was formed. Were it displayed at a Mitsubishi facility, mention would no doubt be made this, the third S-55 airframe in Japan, was actually the first to be built under licence by the company.

Due to advancing years, its career was brought to an end while serving with the Ashiya Air Rescue Squadron on January 18, 1973, the day on which it was, literally, put out to grass. It was during a makeover in 2000 that the last three of its serial were changed. This photo shows its condition in October 2019 (link).

After five years of being exposed to the elements, in October 1978. (Photo: Takao Kadokami)

(Photo [September 1991]: Takao Kadokami)

ashiya h-19Seen in September 2000, reportedly the year in which its serial was doctored during maintenance.

Complete with JASDF 50th anniversary sticker on its nose, October 2004 (Photo: Takao Kadokami)

Sikorsky S-62J

Serial Location
53-4774 Stored outside at JASDF Air Park, Hamamatsu AB, Shizuoka Prefecture
(Apr. 2021)
53-4775 Next to main gate at Komaki AB, Aichi Prefecture (Feb. 2014)
63-4776 Miho AB, Tottori Prefecture (May 2017)
Last updated: Apr. 8, 2021

airparks-62
(Above and below) Three of the JASDF’s nine Mitsubishi-built Sikorsky S-62J rescue helicopters
remain. Known by the unofficial name of
Raicho (Ptarmigan), the type was in service from 1963
to 1983 before being replaced by the more capable, twin-engined Kawasaki-Vertol KV-107.

Komaki S-62J

(Photo [Miho AB, May 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Mitsubishi-Sikorsky UH-60J

Looking like tuna at a fish market, these six retired JASDF UH-60J airframes were caught on
camera by a passing news helicopter at Nagoya Airport in October 2021.

(Photo: Asahi Shimbun Flight Division via Twitter @asahi_aviation)

Although the UH-60J entered JASDF service in 1991, as deliveries are ongoing a retired example has yet to be placed on display. Of the batch of 19 that were delivered in the 1990s—of which one (28-4554) was lost in an accident on December 2, 1994, and another (88-4568) fell victim to the tsunami that struck Matsushima on March 11, 2011—only the last (98-4569) was still on active service in June 2021.

logors25

Notices

Announcements

JASDF
Air Shows in 2023
Mar. 5  Komaki
Apr. 2  Kumagaya

May 28  Miho
May 28  Shizuhama
June 3  Nara
               (Open Day)
June 4  Hofu
July 30  Chitose
Aug. 27  Matsushima
Sept. 10  Misawa
Sept. 24  Akita
Oct. 7  Komatsu
Oct. 15  Ashiya
Oct. 29  Hamamatsu
Nov. 3  Iruma
Nov. 12  Gifu
Nov. 26  Tsuiki
Dec. 3  Nyutabaru
Dec. 10  Naha
Dec. 17  Hyakuri
* To be confirmed

Air Shows in 2022
Apr. 3  Kumagaya
              (Cancelled)
May  Miho (cancelled)
May 22  Shizuhama

            (Limited event)
June 5  Hofu-Kita
June 11  Nara

July 31  Chitose

Aug. 28  Matsushima

Sept. 4  Ashiya
   (Limited event,
    restrictions applied)

Sept. 11  Misawa

Sept. 19  Komatsu
Sept. 23  Akita
Oct. 23  Hamamatsu
Nov. 3 Iruma

Nov. 13  Gifu

Nov. 27  Tsuiki

Dec. 4  Hyakuri
Dec. 4  Nyutabaru
Dec. 11 Naha

Air Shows 2020/21
All cancelled

Air Shows in 2019
Komaki 2019 poster
Mar. 2  Komaki
Apr. 14  Kumagaya
May 19  Shizuhama
June 2  Hofu-Kita
June 2  Miho
Aug. 4  Chitose
Aug. 25  Matsushima
Sept. 8  Misawa
Sept. 16  Komatsu
Oct. 13  Ashiya
Oct. 20  Hamamatsu
Nov. 3  Iruma
Nov. 9  Komaki
Nov. 10  Gifu 
Nov. 23  Kasuga
Dec. 1  Hyakuri
Dec. 7-8  Naha
Dec. 8  Tsuiki
Dec. 15  Nyutabaru

air-festa-hohu_img2019rs

iruma191103(2)rs

JGSDF
Air Shows in 2023

Apr. 8 Somagahara
May 27  Kita-
            Utsunomiya  
June 3  Kasumigaura
June 11  Obihiro
July 2  Okadama

Aug. 5  Kasuminome
Oct. 1   Kisarazu
Nov. 4  Akeno
* To be confirmed

Air Shows in 2022
Cancellations:
Apr.  Narashino
Apr.  Somagahara

Apr.  Jinmachi
May Kita-Utsunomiya
May  Kasumigaura

July 24  Okadama
Oct. 1 Tokushima
Nov.  Tachikawa
              (cancelled)
Nov. 13  Akeno

Nov. 20  Yao
Dec.  Kisarazu
             (cancelled)

Air Shows 2020/21
With exception of
Akeno (only limited
access), all cancelled

Air Shows in 2019
narashino1ab2019koukahajimers
Jan. 13  Narashino
 (paratroop display)
Apr. 13  Kasuminome
Apr. 13  Somagahara
May 12  Takayubaru
June 1  Kasumigaura
June 16  Kita-Utsunomiya
June 23  Okadama
Oct. 6  Metabaru
Nov. 3  Akeno
Nov. 9  Tachikawa
Nov. 17  Naha
Nov. 24  Yao
Dec. 8  Kisarazu

metabaru191006rs
Metabaru
tachikawa191109rs
Tachikawa

JMSDF
Air Shows in 2023
Apr. 15  Iwakuni
(Joint Friendship Day)
Apr. 22  Atsugi

Apr. 30  Kanoya
May 28 Omura
July 23  Tateyama
Sept. 2  Maizuru
Sept. 17  Hachinohe
Oct. 1  Ozuki
Oct. 21  Shimofusa
Oct.*  Tokushima
* To be confirmed

Air Shows in 2022

Apr. 30  Omura
May  Iwakuni
(Joint Friendship Day)
May  Kanoya
         (Both cancelled)


July 17  Komatsushima

July 18  Tateyama
Sept. 10  Hachinohe

Oct. 1  Tokushima
Oct. 22  Shimofusa
(announced Sept. 21,
            limted event)

Oct. 30  Ozuki
(announced Sept. 28)

Air Shows 2020/21
All cancelled

Air Shows in 2019
Apr. 27  Atsugi
Apr. 28  Kanoya
May 5  Iwakuni
(joint Friendship Day)
May 18  Maizuru
May 19  Omura
July 13-14
          Komatsushima
July 27  Tateyama
Sept. 21  Hachinohe
ozuki191020rs

Oct. 20  Ozuki
Oct. 26 Shimofusa
Nov. 17  Tokushima

oomura190519rs

shimofusa191026rs

(*) Date to be confirmed

(Please note that air show dates are subject to change/cancellation.)

Links

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Arawasi

Asian Air Arms

The Aviation Historian

Japanese

Japan Association of Aviation Photo-
graphers
(JAAP)

用廃機ハンターが行く
(Site dedicated to displayed aircraft in Asia)
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JGSDF
JMSDF

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