Nyutabaru Air Base
Nyutabaru Air Base 新田原基地 Nyūtabaru Kichi | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMSL 259 ft / 79 m | | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 32°05′01″N 131°27′05″E / 32.08361°N 131.45139°E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Nyutabaru Air Base (新田原基地, Nyūtabaru Kichi) (
. It is the headquarters for the JASDF 5th Air Wing. It is also known as the former home of the flight instruction group, which was made up of the most highly skilled pilots in Japan. The base area is 9,135 square kilometres (3,527 sq mi).History
The base was opened on 17 July 1940 as the Nyūtabaru Air Field of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Corps and a branch of the Kumagaya Army Flight School was established. On 1 October, the base became a branch of the Tachiarai Army Flight School. In October 1941 the Army Parachute Training Department, the training unit of the Imperial Army Parachute Corps, was relocated from Baicheng in Manchukuo. In April 1944, the Army Aviation Communication School Nyūtabaru Education Corps was formed. However, with the surrender of Japan in August 1945, the base was abolished.
The base remained abandoned for over a decade until the runway was rebuilt on 1 December 1957 and the base re-opened as a training facility housing the 3rd Pilot School Nyūtabaru branch of the Japan Air Self-Defence Force, equipped with Lockheed T-33 jet trainers. The 3rd Pilot School Nyūtabaru branch was renamed the 17th Flight Education Group on June 1, 1959.
On 15 July 1961 the 5th Air Wing and 6th Squadron were relocated to Nyūtabaru from
On 26 July 1971 an F-104 from Nyūtabaru overran the runway on takeoff and rashed into a hillside, causing a huge fire. One crew member was killed. On 11 April 1973 a Mitsubishi MU-2 attached to the base crashed during training, killing four crew members.
In 1980, 179.28 hectares of the base was provided to U.S. Forces in Japan as a temporary joint use per the
On 6 October 2000, the 202nd Squadron was abolished and the Flight Education Wing (23rd Squadron) is formed, using F-15DJ aircraft. The Flight Instructor Group relocated to Komatsu Air Base in 2014 and was replaced by the JASDF 305th Squadron (F-15DJ/J) from Hyakuri Air Base. The 301st Squadron was also relocated to Hyakuri in October, 2014. On 20 October 2018, the government announced a plan to develop ammunition depots and parking areas for the US military at Nyūtabaru.
On 26 July 2023 French Air and Space Force Dassault Rafale visited Nyūtabaru as part of France's overseas deployment training "Mission Pégase". This was the first time that French Air Force fighter jets have visited Japan since World War II.
In July 2021, Japan’s Defense Minister,
Tenant squadrons
- 305th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-15J)[3][4][5]
- Fighter Training Group
- 23rd Flying Training Squadron (F-15J)
- Air Rescue Wing Nyutabaru Detachment (UH-60J & U-125A)
References
- ^ a b AIS Japan Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Japan's Izumo Helicopter Destroyer Modified to Operate F-35B Fighters". 20 July 2021.
- ^ 新田原基地 Archived 2017-08-26 at the Wayback Machine Japanese Ministry of Defense Retrieved August 26, 2017 (in Japanese)
- ^ Thompson, Paul JASDF - Order of Battle July 1, 2017 J-HangarSpace Retrieved September 17, 2017
- ^ Thompson, Paul JASDF - Squadron Histories J-HangarSpace Retrieved September 14, 2017