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As far as is possible, this section will provide the latest information on the whereabouts of surviving examples of withdrawn JGSDF aircraft, which can be found in places far removed from the cosseted shelter of aviation museums.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. 

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 aircraft were last confirmed as still present.

Carried out early 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 in October 2017:

KV-107II at Crossland Oyabe amusement park, Toyama Prefecture
UH-1H at Herb World Akita, Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture
KV-107II-4A at Kisarazu Army Camp Museum, Chiba Prefecture

A colour-coded Where Are They Now? listing by prefecture follows the tabular JMSDF aircraft information [here].

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.

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)

This L-19E-2 forms part of a 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 is the very 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aircraft was delivered to the JGSDF in March 1960, withdrawn from use with the 1st Sqn in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)

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)

Retaining its military markings, this 1955-vintage LM-1—photographed at Lakeland, Florida, in April 2009—has had its JGSDF serial 21011 removed and bears the U.S. registration N8020K. The aircraft is reportedly still airworthy and registered to an owner in Delaware.
(Photo: RuthAS via Wikimedia Commons) 

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 [April 2017]: Warren Hardcastle)

A view of the past: a Mitsubishi LR-1 is prepared for towing. The last examples having entered service
in 1984, the type was gradually replaced by the LR-2—a version of the Raytheon King Air 350.
The last remaining LR-1 was withdrawn from service after its final flight, on February 15, 2016.
After 18 years based at Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, 220019 had been moved to Kisarazu-based
1st Helicopter Brigade on October 29, 2010. The aircraft amassed total flight time of 7,490 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.

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)

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).

The long-standing resident UH-1B at the Bihoro Avaition Park, Hokkaido Prefecture, in August 2009 
(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, the aircraft 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) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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). (Taken in January 2014, photos courtesy
Masayuki Sakamoto, JAAW)

 

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.

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)

 

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

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 [August 2016]: eule_no via Twitter @eule-no)

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)

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)

OH-6J 31065 ended its 15-year military service career in February 1989.

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)

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) 

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).

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 [October 2017]: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

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

(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 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.

The aircraft actually graces Herb World Akita, a shop, craft market, and garden complex in Yurihonjo, a city in Akita Prefecture.
(http://www.herbworld-akita.com/index.html [Japanese only])

In recent years, there has been 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, more than 10 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 trend having been for localities to adopt measures to boost tourism, 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 was 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 are blanks where some of the cockpit instruments once were, Herb World Akita’s UH-1H does 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

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).