JASDF – Where Are They Now?  Part 2

Where 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)

(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)

Tsuiki Double Take

(Above) Delivered to the 3rd Sqn on December 13, 1979, ’232 was withdrawn from service while 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)

Sado 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)

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)

Delivered 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.

Still 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)

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).

Delivered 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)

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)

The 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.

Delivered 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) 

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.

 

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

(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])

Delivered 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).

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

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)

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

Forming 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)

Seen 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)

(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.

(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).

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)

The 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)

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)

Seen 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)

(Iruma, Sept. 2012)

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

(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.
(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

F-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.

The 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.

(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)

The 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)

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) 

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).

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)

Initially 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.

The 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)

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.

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

A 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)

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

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).

Formerly 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)

Seen 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)

(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.

(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.