JGSDF – Where Are They Now?

As far as is possible, this section will provide the latest information on the whereabouts of surviving examples of withdrawn JGSDF aircraft, which can be found in places far removed from the cosseted shelter of aviation museums. Divided into fixed-wing and helicopter types, the information comes in the form of tables that are being interspersed with a growing number of photos. 

UH-1H 41700 nestles in the bucolic setting of the Fujisan Juku no Mori Park in Shizuoka
Prefecture, on a clear day perhaps the most spectacular location of any ex-SDF aircraft.
(Photo [May 2019]: 樹空の森 via facility’s Twitter account @Jukuunomori)

The aircraft are on open-air display unless otherwise stated. Bold-type serial numbers indicate aircraft that appear in photos immediately after the relevant table; months in parentheses the dates non-museum aircraft were last confirmed as still present.

Carried out way back in 2014 to mark the Self-Defense Forces’ 60th anniversary, a census of JGSDF types produced mixed results. Utilizing information gained from the census, two special reports on displayed aircraft were added in a separate section at the very end of the tabular information; a third was added as the result of a visit to Kisarazu in September 2017:

KV-107II at Crossland Oyabe amusement park, Toyama Prefecture
UH-1H at Herb World Akita, Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture (note that this aircraft was removed in 2019)
KV-107II-4A at Kisarazu Army Camp Museum, Chiba Prefecture

Since the last major update of this page, the remaining dozen or so Hughes TH-55Js have suffered a major cull. Belatedly it was discovered that white asbestos had been used in the manufacture of the engine mount and fuel line cushioning materials. As of this writing (January 2021), only half of the original number, if that, remain.

At the other end of the service timescale, the UH-1J is among those aircraft types that have yet to appear on display or serve base ground instruction or publicity purposes. As some of the first examples, which date back to 1989, have likely already been withdrawn from service if not scrapped, the type will become more prominent in second-line use as deliveries of its successor UH-2 get under way.

As a general guide, a colour-coded Where Are They Now? listing by prefecture follows the tabular JMSDF aircraft information [here].

In a more common or garden location, this weather-beaten JGSDF Beech T-34A Mentor wiles away its
days in a meadow close to the main gate of the service’s Kita-Utsunomiya airfield.

For the purposes of disseminating and promoting its policies as well as for recruitment publicity, the Japan Ministry of Defense provides retired aircraft on free loan to local public entities, certain categories of school, other relevant persons and those who will conduct promotion activities. The loan agreements are renewable on no more than an annual basis. The lessee will be responsible for the costs of transportation, management and upkeep required for the loaned aircraft. Over the years, JGSDF helicopters have been a particularly popular choice.

The lessee will usually follow a four-stage procedure. Firstly, an application will be made to an SDF Regional Cooperation Headquarters, which will act as coordinator between the service’s upper echelons and the unit that will physically provide the loaned aircraft. There then follow the loan application and approval procedures, which if successful will lead to the aircraft being installed on site by SDF personnel.

A scene from the event held at JGSDF Kasumigaura on March 26, 2020, to mark the coming home
to roost of the last flights made by JGSDF OH-6Ds. After the photo calls, the 15 aircraft were   
pushed one by one into a hangar (link) and an uncertain future.
(Photo: Lien via Twitter @roomskyguard)

Fixed-Wing Types

Several of the aircraft on display at the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum, including this
1950s-vintage T-34A Mentor, are suspended from the ceiling.

For many years, the PR Exhibit Room at Yao Army Camp has had this T-34A perched on its roof.
(Photo [October 2012]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Photographed in May 2013, this L-19E-2 still forms part of  the huddle of aircraft parked at
Kita-Utsunomiya Army Camp’s main gate.

Whether by accident or design, the L-19E-2 pictured in the photo (above) in the “engine room” at the
Tachikawa Army Camp museum in November 2017 was the same aircraft as that parked outside. This
particular aircraft was delivered to the JGSDF in March 1960, withdrawn from use with the 1st Sqn in
December 1986, and previously displayed at Takigahara Army Camp, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Japan Aviation Academy Wajima (JAAW) keeps two L-19Es in the hangar at its campus at
Noto Airport, Ishikawa Prefecture. (Taken in January 2014, photo courtesy Masayuki Sakamoto, JAAW)

Reliving their service days, the two JAAW L-19s sit tethered out on the airfield in October 2015.
What became of them? (Photo: i北陸 [i-Hokuriku] / Hokuriku region
official event and tourist destination blog [link])

Where They Went (1) / United States

It is estimated that, within the space of a year from March 1954, 104 Cessna L-19As were passed on initially to the National Security Force (NSF) and then the nascent JGSDF. Although known as the O-1A Bird Dog to the U.S. Army from September 18, 1962, the JGSDF continued to use the old-style designation.

As shown in the table below, a handful of former JGSDF L-19As were ultimately returned to the country of their birth, where they passed into private ownership. Strangely, two were to be involved in separate, fortunately non-fatal accidents while engaged in the towing of advertising banners in Florida in 2014.

Known Former JGSDF L-19As on U.S. Civil Register

JGSDF	c/n	ex-U.S. Army	U.S. Reg’n	Notes
11051	21198	50-1524	N5022K
11063	22031	51-11987	N212KY	Lost power and crashed due fuel starvation when towing banner, off Miami Beach,  Florida, Sept. 6, 2014 (See photo below)
11067	22956	51-12501	N211PP	Banner towing accident, Tampa Bay, off  St. Petersburg, Florida, Mar. 23, 2014
11096	21290	50-1597	N305AB	At Oshkosh July 2015
11101	21714	51-4829	N5073Y	(See photo below)

Originally delivered to the nascent JASDF for testing in December 1954, this is one of
only two KAL-2s ever built. Its sister was scrapped after serving with the JMSDF.

A high proportion of LR-1 aircraft—the JGSDF’s liaison/reconnaissance version of the Mitsubishi MU-2
business turboprop—were placed at the gates of army camps upon retirement. This is 22006,
on the main gate at Kita-Utsunomiya Army Camp in May 2013.

Delivered in March 1972, the third LR-1 built served with the Eastern Region Helicopter Squadron’s Headquarters Flight at Tachikawa, where the aircraft has thus far spent its retirement.

Delivered to the JGSDF in 1976, the LR-1 now at the Narita Aeronautics College in Toride City, Ibaraki
Prefecture, was a long-term resident at Yao, Osaka Prefecture, with the Central Region HQ Flight.
Initially painted black overall (as seen in the above photo), the aircraft sported World 
War II-like green and brown camouflage in the 90s. Today, 22007 still bears the low-viz
scheme, tail marking and nose ‘M’ (for ‘middle’) from its last days at the Central Region.
(Above photo [Yao, March 1980]: Takao Kadokami)
(Photo [Narita Aeronautics College, April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)

The Jinmachi LR-1 in its fenced-off paddock in April 2014 (Photo: contri via Wikimedia Commons)
The aircraft can be seen looking a bit down in the dumps in photos from this April 2019
report (link), which offers comparisons with its condition in September 2012.

(Photo [June 2020]: JGSDF 15th Brigade via Twitter @jgsdf_15b_pr)

Taken during maintenance carried out over the first three days of June 2020, the above photo of the LR-1 (actually 22016) at Naha Army Camp shows that, despite being open to the elements, the aircraft is being kept in good condition. The aircraft benefits from being part of a memorial to the LR-1 crew who lost their lives on active service when flying 22012 during an air ambulance mission in February 1990. The real 22019, which was the first assigned to the then 101st AvSqn and still present when operations of the type from Naha ceased in May 2010, ended its days at Kisarazu (see below).

A scene from the past: LR-1 22019 is prepared for towing at Kisarazu, October 2012. The last examples
having entered service in 1984, the type was gradually replaced by the LR-2 and the one remaining
withdrawn from service after its final flight, on February 15, 2016. After 18 years based at Naha,
Okinawa Prefecture, 220019 had initially been moved to Kisarazu-based 1st Helicopter Brigade 
on October 29, 2010, and been the last LR-1 to appear at a Kita-Utsunomiya open day in
May 2012.  The aircraft amassed a total of 7,490 flight hours in its service career.
In honour of its sterling service in Okinawa, 220016 was repainted as its
sister aircraft and placed on display at Naha (as related above).

The 20th and last LR-1 built on display at the Kisarazu Army Camp open day in September 2017.
The 1st Helicopter Brigade uploaded to its Facebook account a video of time-lapse footage,
dated December 4, 2018, showing the aircraft being moved to its now permanent
home in front of the base museum (link).

The Piper L-21B at Tokorozawa was originally donated to the National Security Force (NSF)—the JGSDF’s immediate forerunner—in 1953. To the left can be seen the Planes of Fame Mitsubishi Zero
that was resident at Tokorozawa for a time in 2013.

A total of around 40 Stinson L-5 Sentinel aircraft are believed to have served in Japan. The example at Tokorozawa was delivered in 1952 to the National Police Reserve (NPR) that was to become the NSF.

Helicopters

The spacious area outside the public relations building at Hachinohe Army Camp has been the
long-term home of three retired helicopters: UH-1H 41662; TH-55J 61336; and OH-6D 31178.
(Photo [early 2019]: JGSDF Northeastern Army)

Likewise this OH-6J/UH-1H duo forms part of the collection at Ainoura Army Camp in
Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. (Photo [undated]: うみみち via Twitter @shimabarakko)

Withdrawn JGSDF helicopters often serve out their time as maintenance training airframes. Used for that
purpose by Eastern Army Aviation, Fuji-Bell UH-1H 41714 (above) and former 11th AvSqn Kawasaki-
Hughes OH-6D 31173 (below) were paraded on specialized trucks at Tachikawa Army Camp in 
November 2013. The yellow stickers on both aircraft proclaimed the 40th anniversary of the 
return of the first part of the base from U.S. to Japanese control on June 30, 1973.

 One of the two former JGSDF AS322Ls acquired by Oceania Aviation of New Zealand is unloaded from
a trailer at the company’s hangar at Ardmore, near Auckland, in April 2018. Having been in storage
for 11 years, they eventually found a new owner following a bidding process commenced in
December 2017. A YouTube video shows time-lapse footage of their arrival (link).
(Photo: Oceania Aviation Limited)

The first JGSDF AH-1S Cobra is given pride of place on the ground floor of the service’s Public Information
Center at Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, which passed the 1.5 million visitor mark on Nov. 9, 2014.

Heavily influenced by U.S. operations in Vietnam, the JGSDF operated a total of 90 UH-1B helicopters.
The type was given the unofficial name Hiyodori (Bulbul).

A long-standing resident at the Bihoro Air Park in Hokkaido Prefecture, as shown here in August 2009, 
UH-1B 41583 was among those aircraft moved to JGSDF Obihiro Army Camp in December 2016.
(Photo: ‘100 yen’ via Wikimedia Commons)

Shinodayama Army Camp at Izumo, Osaka Prefecture, still looks after this UH-1B. On active service
from August 1970 to May 1988, 41559 has been on display here since at least the late 1990s and
appears to have been treated to a recent fresh coat of paint.
(Photo [April 2016]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Delivered to the JGSDF on September 28, 1965, UH-1B 41514 was withdrawn from use on
September 24, 1985, four days short of its 20th anniversary. The aircraft is a long-term
display resident at Camp Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.
(Photo [April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)  

This 1977-vintage UH-1H (41648) had arrived at what was then the B&G (Blue Sea & Green Land)
Foundation Ogawa Marine Center by 2002. Remaining when the swimming pool facility passed 
to municipal management in 2006, the aircraft had its main rotors disassembled before being
moved to one side while the center underwent renovation in 2018. Although some took this  
to be an indication of its imminent demise, the aircraft was still present in February 2020.
(Photo [Dec. 2018]: foxfoto via Twitter @Fox_now)

Matsumoto Army Camp, April 2019 (Photo: コタツvia Twitter @shuka_iizo)

Northern Army troops adhere to social distancing rules as they practice manhandling an anonymous
retired UH-1H during a four-day field training exercise held at Okadama and a training ground
in late May 2020. (Photo: JGSDF Northern Army via Twitter @NorthernArmy_pr)

The resident UH-1H among the cherry blossoms at Kanazawa Army Camp in April 2020. Repainted 
in the darker three-tone temperate region camouflage scheme, the aircraft featured in a December
2020 Twitter report by the Toyama SDF Provincial Cooperation Office following an air 
experience flight arranged at the base for lottery-winning members of the public.
(Photo: 枕元の天使 via Twitter @knight306sq)

Uji Army Camp remained home to UH-1H 41659 in April 2019.
(Photo: ナガレ☆ぼしvia Twitter @ryuseinoyoru)

Another UH-1H to be found in natural surroundings, this one (41666) inhabits the Miya River
Watarai Park in Mie Prefecture. (Photo [Mar. 2018]: WANI via Twitter @wanikon428)

Squeezed in next to a pair of self-propelled howitzers, this example of a UH-1H (41672) can be seen at
the JGSDF Public Information Center at Asaka, Saitama Prefecture.

Formerly operated by the Northern Army Helicopter Squadron from Okadama, Sapporo, 
41676 has been at Yonago Army Camp adjacent to JASDF Miho AB since at least 2003.
(Photo [Oct. 2014]: Andy Binks)

Shinodayama Army Camp’s resident UH-1H (Photo [April 2016]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Seen here on its spot at Zentsuji Army Camp, Kagawa Prefecture, in September 2010, UH-1J
41683 had replaced UH-1B 41522. Although in this October 2019 photo [link] next to a sign 
that wrongly states that the aircraft is a UH-1J, what is presumably the same aircraft seems 
to have had a new coat of camouflage. (Photo: 663highland via Wikimedia Commons) 

Manufactured in August 1988 and accepted into service later that year, UH-1H 41700 came to the 
end of its service career when with the Tachikawa-based Eastern Region Army Aviation Group in 
2009. Displayed at Tachikawa for a time from that October, the aircraft was placed in
Fujisan Juku no Mori Park by October the following year, 2010.
(Photos: [Top, Nov. 2020] 小豆 (Adzuki) via Twitter @airi_foret;
[above, Aug. 2020] 樹空の森 via facility’s Twitter account @Jukuunomori)

The aircraft preserved at Jinmachi Army Camp are surrounded by white picket fences.
(Photo [April 2014]: ‘contri’ via Wikimedia Commons)

(Photo [41712, July 2020]: JGSDF Makomanai Public Relations via Twitter @CampMakomanaiPR)

The scene in December 2017, when the cocooned UH-1H is first put in place in front of the Hirosaki
University of Health & Welfare for training and publicity purposes. The banner along the fuselage 
reads Hirosaki University of Health & Welfare, Faculty of Emergency Medical Science. 
 Retaining a 1st Flight Eastern Army Helicopter Sqn badge on the cockpit door, the aircraft’s nose
is now emblazoned with the internationally recognized snake-and-staff (Rod of Ascelpius) emblem
 of the medical profession, which (not visible here) is repeated on the rear side of the cabin.
The rear fuselage/tail boom sports the university logo and a Red Cross.
(Photos [top and above]: Hirosaki University of Health & Welfare Student PR Group
via Twitter @hirosakijggkg1)

Displayed near the Tachikawa base museum building in 2013, UH-1H 41709 served actively from
1989 to 2011 and had been replaced by 2017

The JGSDF operated 38 TH-55Js in the training role 1972–1995. The stored Tokorozawa example usually 
only gets to see the public light of day once a year.

Ainoura Army Camp, Sasebo (Photo [undated]: うみみちvia Twitter @shimabarakko)

As seen in the introductory photo of this helicopter section, this TH-55J has been a long-term
resident at Hachinohe Army Camp but may have already been removed.
(Photo [August 2016]: eule_no via Twitter @eule-no)

JUST FOR THE RECORD

(Above and below) Seen in the hangar at Noto Airport are three of the five TH-55Js acquired by the
Japan Aviation Academy Wajima (JAAW). All had to be carefully scrapped due to the belated 
discovery of the presence of asbestos. (Photo [Jan. 2014] courtesy Masayuki Sakamoto, JAAW)

(Photo [Oct. 2015}: i北陸 [i-Hokuriku] / Hokuriku region official event and
tourist destination blog [link])

(Photo [Oct. 2015}: i北陸 [i-Hokuriku] / Hokuriku region official event and
tourist destination blog [link])

The writing already on the wall, some of the JAAW TH-55J fleet were allowed out at what would
have been their last open day in October 2018. (Photo: i北陸 [i-Hokuriku] / Hokuriku region
official event and tourist destination blog [link])

Appearing in the August 1981 edition of the now defunct magazine Air World, this ad for the Japan
Aviation Academy shows the small fleet of former-JGSDF H-13 helicopters that were at that time
used by the organization. The ad requests that any prospective new student send in a stamped,
self-addressed envelope to the value of 800 yen to the high school campus in Futaba (now
part of the city of Kai), Yamanashi Prefecture, to receive an admission information pack.

Another former NSF aircraft, H-13E 30003 was still present in the
Tokorozawa storage hangar in October 2013.

30213 at the Tsudanuma Campus of Nihon University’s College of Industrial Technology
(Photo [undated]: Chiba SDF Provincial Cooperation Office website [link] accessed Dec. 27, 2020)

The former JGSDF 30108 now on display at the Chic Chic Market in Nong Khai, northeastern Thailand.
The aircraft has been painted to resemble a U.S. Army Bell H-13 from M*A*S*H, the popular TV
comedy-drama series from the 70s and early 80s that was set during the Korean War.
(Also present at this location, in JGSDF markings, is a strange ex-Thai T-41/O-1 composite.)
(Photo [November 2018]: Alec Wilson)

Matsumoto Army Camp CH-47J, April 2018
(Photo: すてんがん工@新製品開発中廠 via Twitter @stengunfactory)

The Kawasaki-built OH-6D now resident at the Kita-Utsunomiya main gate was delivered to
the JGSDF in February 1981.

An anonymous OH-6D (actually 31149) at Yonago Army Camp, Oct. 2014 (Photo: Andy Binks)

One of two rotor-less OH-6Ds that were mounted on platforms next to the tower at the Kasumigaura
Aviation School. Their elevated positions enabled trainee pilots to get used to the line of sight from a
hovering helicopter. When OH-6 training ceased, the aircraft were used for display purposes only.
Both were removed in 2015, the other (31170) is now at the Misawa Aviation and Scicnce Museum.

Delivered in November 1982, this OH-6D was involved in an accident at the Toyohira training ground in
Sapporo on March 12, 1992. As a result, the aircraft was struck off active charge and ended up on
display near the Tachikawa Army Camp base museum. It had been replaced by 2017.

Lacking its main rotor, this OH-6D is now a permanent resident in the hangar at Japan Aviation Academy
Wajima’s Noto Airport Campus. (Taken in January 2014, photo courtesy Masayuki Sakamoto, JAAW)

Its original fuselage mated with the tail from another aircraft, this composite OH-6D was put out
to grass at Hachinohe Army Camp. (Photo [31178, Aug. 2016]: eule_no via Twitter @eule-no)

Two photos of OH-6Ds loaned to educational establishments at opposite ends of Japan’s educational
system in Chiba Prefecture. (Above) 31230 at the playground of the Misakikobato Nursery School 
in the city of Funabashi, and (below) 31163 at the Chiba Institute of Science (CIS) in Choshi.(Photos [undated]: Chiba SDF Provincial Cooperation Office website [link] accessed Dec. 27, 2020)

Flown by the Sky Hornets display team in 2012, 31241 had been placed on display at Camp
Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, by April 2014. (Photo [April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)

Doctor-Heli emergency medical service helicopters are often seen flying over the Aozora (Blue Sky)
Nursery School that opened in Tomisato, Chiba Prefecture, on April 1, 2011. A former SDF member
involved with the management of the school, which is also close to Narita International Airport, 
thought it would be aspirational for the pupils to have a real helicopter on site. So a request
was submitted and in due course the school rewarded by the presentation of 1988-vintage
OH-6D 31201 previously operated at the JGSDF Aviation School at
Akeno, Mie Prefecture. (Photo [April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)

With the help of a truck-mounted crane, newly arrived OH-6D 31289 is carefully lowered into 
position close to the main gate at JGSDF Hisai Army Camp, Tsu, Mie Prefecture.
(Photo [Nov. 2020]: Asagumo News via Twitter @AsagumoNews52)

Around 60 12th AvSqn personnel were present to bid farewell to 31313—the last of the 193 OH-6Ds
built for the JGSDF—on its last flight, which was from the unit’s base at Soumagahara to the
OH-6D collection point at Kasumigaura Army Camp.
(Photo [Mar. 6, 2020]: JGSDF/12th Brigade Public Relations via Twitter)

Tokorozawa Avaition Museum’s OH-6J 31065 ended its 15-year military service career in February 1989.

Providing a comparison with the more recent linked image provided in the listing, this photo shows
OH-6J 31110 at Zentsuji in September 2010. (Photo: 663highland via Wikimedia Commons)

Handed over to the JGSDF in February 1976, the former Tachikawa base collection’s OH-6J was
operating with the 8th Sqn when retired from service in June 1995. Seen here in
November 2013, there was no sign of this aircraft in November 2017.

Still bearing the markings of  Hofu-based 13th Squadron, this OH-6J was delivered on February 17,
1977, and withdrawn from use on June 30, 1995. The aircraft reportedly came into the possession
of current owner, Nippon Bunri University in Oita, the following year.
(Photo [April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)

One of the very first OH-6Js to enter service with the JGSDF, 31009 was handed over on March 9, 1969,
and remained in service until July 28, 1986. It has been resident at Nihonbara Army Camp,
Okayama Prefecture, since at least the late 1990s.
(Photo [October 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

The OH-6J linked to a hands-on flight experience exhibit in the since early 2018 tenebrous
zone of the Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum.
(Photo [Mar. 2019]: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons)

The OH-6J that forms part of a private collection in a bucolic setting in Yamanashi Prefecture.
(Photo [Aug. 2020]: TAKA via Twitter @alice_herb, who uploaded other images of the
collection and a short video of their location here [link])

Standing out among the blossoming cherry trees at Jinmachi Army Camp in April 2009 is one of 
the two resident KV-107II-4 helicopters. (Photo: “Crescent moon” via Wikimedia Commons) 

For comparison with the table link to the photo from 2016, this is how the Okadama Army Camp
KV-107II-4 51703 looked in November 2007. (Photo: 100 yen via Wikimedia Commons)

Matsumoto Army Camp, April 2019 (Photo: コタツvia Twitter @shuka_iizo)

(Above and below) In service from September 1971 to April 1993, the date 51735 took up its
residency at Zentsuji Army Camp is unknown.
(Photos: [top, Sept. 2010] 663highland via Wikimedia Commons;
[above, Apr. 2018] Heavy Strawberry via Twitter @HeavyStrawberry)

Another anonymous Yonago Army Camp resident to match its OH-6D, KV-107II-4 51742
(Photo [Oct. 2014]: Andy Binks)

On August 31, 1973, KV-107IIA-4 51801 was the first of this variant to be delivered to the JGSDF and
remained in service until December 2, 1991. The aircraft has been on display at Nihonbara Army
Camp, Okayama Prefecture, at least since the late 1990s. Also home to UH-1B (41508, just visible
to the right in this picture) and OH-6J (31009, see listing above), the base seems to specialize in
preserving early examples of JGSDF aircraft.
(Photo [Oct. 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

(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])

(Above) Accepted by the JGSDF in September 1973, 51803 was pensioned off when with the 101st AvSqn in December 1991. At some stage the aircraft was placed on display in the children’s play area of a flower park in the Niihari District of Ibaraki Prefecture; these photos [link] are from March 2009. Although removed the following year, the aircraft’s remnants were eventually acquired and in 2015 added to the private collection in Minobu Town, which featured in a Japanese TV programme in 2016. After a two-year search to replace missing parts, assembly took place in 2017; the red engine cover sections were from a JASDF aircraft.

Its 22-year military career having come to an end late in 1995, this KV-107IIA-4 was present for
the then Kakamigahara Aerospace Museum’s opening in March the following year (link).

Shinodayama Army Camp’s very own KV-107IIA-4, 51807
(Photo: Oct. 2014] Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

Displayed Aircraft Special Report
Kawasaki-Vertol KV-107IIA-4 51817,
Mt. Unzen Disaster Memorial Hall, Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture

(Photo [Mar. 2020]: まも【ドボ鎮】via Twitter @Kojimamo)

Having joined the JGSDF’s ranks in November 1980 as the penultimate KV-107IIA-4, 51817 soldiered on until February 2002, when its active service days came to an end while assigned to the Western Army Helicopter Squadron.

In 2007, the aircraft was placed on display next to an ex-JGSDF Type 60 armoured personnel carrier (APC) at the then newly built Mt. Unzen Disaster Memorial Hall, close to the Shimabara Reconstruction Arena sport stadium in Nagasaki Prefecture. (Providing a landmark is a huge statue of local Meiji Restoration hero Ryoma Sakuma in typical samurai dress of anachronistically Japan national football team blue and with one foot resting on a football.) The land on which the sports complex and museum were built was reclaimed from that devastated by lava flow when Mt. Unzen erupted and claimed 43 lives on June 3, 1991. Helicopters and APCs of these types were prominent in the protracted rescue, recovery and support operations that lasted until December 1995.

Already sporting its second, green and brown camouflage scheme in July 2016 (link), at some stage thereafter the decision was made to paint both the helicopter and the APC in a to say the least unusual two-tone grey and maroon colour scheme.

Seemingly on standby to repeat their sterling efforts of 30 years ago, the helicopter and APC have
been poignantly positioned facing the peaks of a thankfully tranquil Mt. Unzen.
(Photo [Mar. 2020]: まも【ドボ鎮】via Twitter @Kojimamo)

Having had a service career that ran from July 1959 to February 1970, V-44A 50002 ended up becoming one of the original exhibits at Tokorozawa in April 1993. The same aircraft was present when Kisarazu Army Camp opened its doors to the public in October 1979.
(Photo below courtesy Kenju Ohmoto)

The Sikorsky H-19C on display at Tokorozawa was handed over to the JGSDF on the day the
service was formed, July 1, 1954.

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

 

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 1
KV-107IIA-4, Crossland Oyabe Park, Toyama Prefecture

To mark the 60th anniversary of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, J-HangarSpace is conducting a census of retired SDF aircraft.

As part of its inquiries into JGSDF aircraft that have passed into civilian hands, in February 2014 J-HangarSpace contacted the city hall in Oyabe, Toyama Prefecture, from where Crossland Oyabe Park is administered. The approach resulted in the supply of information on and the kind donation of photos of the former JGSDF Kawasaki-Vertol KV-107IIA-4 on long-term display there.

Having acquired a manufacturing licence in 1962, on January 31, 1966, Kawasaki handed over the first of 60 KV-107IIs in three variants that were to see service with the JGSDF. The aircraft on display at Crossland Oyabe (51818) was both the last to be delivered and, in March 2002, the last to be retired.

After amassing 5,500 flight hours in a six-unit service career, the aircraft was stored at the Kanto Region Supply Base at Tsuchiura Army Camp, Ibaraki Prefecture, from where it was transported by road to its current location in late July 2004. A nine-man team from JGSDF Yao was in charge of its reassembly.

Seen here circa 2012, Crossland Oyabe’s KV-107II is parked at the base of an
imposing observation tower. (Photo: CROSSLAND OYABE)

A spokesman from Oyabe City Hall informed J-HangarSpace that the aircraft is, strictly speaking, on loan from the JGSDF. This often seems to be the case with ex-JGSDF aircraft on display in public places or used as instructional airframes, for example at flight training academies.

The helicopter offers an added attraction at Crossland Oyabe, which features an observation tower (above) and a huge expanse of grass. Located within the park, the Da Vinci Techno Museum has placed on display one of the helicopter’s two CT58-IHI-140-1 engines. The spokesman also mentioned that the helicopter’s interior is open for viewing by visitors from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on wind and rain-free Sundays and National Holidays, but only from April to early November. A shot looking down on the aircraft is possible from the tower’s panoramic observation deck.

The panoramic deck would also be an excellent vantage point from which to view the annual helicopter festival. Usually held on the last weekend in August*, the flying display involves helicopters operated by the JGSDF, rescue services, and civil operators.

(*) The 2017 Crossland Oyabe Helicopter and Fire/Crime Prevention Festival was held on August 26 and 27.

Please visit http://www.city.oyabe.toyama.jp/cross/ (Japanese only) for more details about the park and its facilities.

Despite its age and being open to the elements, the Crossland Oyabe KV-107II remains in
good condition. (Photo: CROSSLAND OYABE)

The Crossland Oyabe aircraft was thus at the start of its static display career when photographed by J-HangarSpace on a visit to Kasumigaura Army Camp, Ibaraki Prefecture, way back in April 2002 (below).

In 2002, as now, a special marking on the side of the aircraft depicted all the JGSDF units
that had operated the KV-107II.

Today, visitors to Crossland Oyabe are granted limited access to the KV-107II’s cockpit on afternoons from April to November.

(Above and below) One of 51818′s two CT58-IHI-140-1 turboshaft engines was removed and placed on display in the lobby of the Da Vinci Techno Museum within Crossland Oyabe park.
(Photos: CROSSLAND OYABE)

 

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 2
Fuji-Bell UH-1H, Herb World Akita, Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture (Note: Aircraft removed in 2019)

(Above and below) When they added popular cartoon characters to the resident UH-1H, Herb World Akita
employees obliterated the national and unit markings but carefully painted around
the serial numbers on the cockpit doors. (All photos: Herb World Akita)

In early 2014, in the process of searching for information on SDF aircraft that have somehow passed into civilian hands, J-HangarSpace also found references to a cartoon-covered ex-JGSDF Fuji-Bell UH-1H parked among some grape vines in Akita Prefecture. Removed in 2019, the aircraft actually graced Herb World Akita, a shop, craft market, and garden complex in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture.

At that time, there was a trend for Japanese towns to merge to gain city status. Up until March 21, 2005, Herb World Akita was located in Nishime, a town of around 6,500 people in Yuri District. The following day, Nishime officially joined four other towns in that part of Akita’s coastal area to form the city of Yurihonjo.

It was during the Nishime town period, now more than 15 years ago, that the word got around that a local JGSDF unit was advertising the loan of a retired helicopter for display purposes.

The aircraft is locked by the JGSDF prior to Herb World Akita closing for the winter on
the first Monday in November.

Another this time ongoing trend has been for localities to adopt measures to boost tourism, and Nishime looked into the possibilities and agreed upon the current site for the helicopter. The thinking was that the rarity value of a play area with a real helicopter would provide a unique selling point. The Herb World Akita facilities are closed from the first Monday in November until the National Holiday that marks the vernal equinox in March. Nevertheless, it was hoped that aircraft would offer an added attraction for the many tourists who flock to the area in the peak spring and autumn seasons. A famous local landmark, Mt. Chokai is visible to the south.

When first installed, the aircraft was still sporting its standard drab green camouflage scheme. To make the helicopter more appealing to children, and for them to derive more enjoyment from its presence, Herb World Akita employees were later allowed to paint popular Pokemon and Doraemon cartoon characters on the aircraft.

(Above and below) From heard about on the grapevine to parked amid grape vines.
Few would have imagined 41620’s fate when the aircraft entered service in 1975.
For some years, the aircraft had been operated from Kasuminome, Miyagi Prefecture.

Under the terms of the helicopter’s management contract, JGSDF personnel come to carry out a maintenance check once a year.

Although there were blanks where some of the cockpit instruments once were, Herb World Akita’s UH-1H did provide some general details. The red panel in front of the left-hand pilot’s seat shows operating limits.

The aircraft awaits Herb World Akita’s first visitors of 2014. 

 

Displayed Aircraft Special Report 3
KV-107II-4A, Kisarazu Army Camp Museum, Chiba Prefecture, September 10, 2017

The only one of its kind, the VIP-configured KV-107II-4A 51736 was delivered on March 2, 1972, for a reported cost then of 390.4 million yen. Based on the commercial passenger versions of the type, the aircraft featured larger square instead of circular fuselage side windows and a wider, upgraded forward entrance door and steps.

Two Internet photos show the aircraft in flight at Yokota in November 1986 (link) and in 1994 (link).

The VIP aircraft is one of those undergoing maintenance at Kisarazu 40 years ago, on
December 24, 1977. (Photo: Akira Watanabe)
This Internet photo records a similar scene in September 1974 (link).

A far better, full-width photo of the instrument panel can be found by scrolling down here (link)
and compared with that fitted to the standard troop-configured aircraft preserved at Mitsu Seiki
(see Feb. 18, 2014, report on Aviation Museums page).

The aircraft was able to accommodate a total of 13 passengers in two cabins, the forward
of which featured a three-seat sofa.

The hardly luxuriously appointed toilet facilities were installed in a space behind the
rear seats on the starboard side, ahead of the rear cabin door.

The aircraft remained assigned to the 2nd Helicopter Group of the 1st Helicopter Brigade until retired from active service on July 25, 1997, to become an honoured permanent resident at Kisarazu. The sliding doors of its new Kisarazu Army Camp Museum home will still enable the aircraft to be rolled out for special commemorative events, as it has regularly been in the past (as below, in October 2012).