Alddreu Airfield also known as Cheju-do No. 2 (K-40) Air Base was a former
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
The was the Naval aviation, air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.
The Japanese military acquired their first air ...
and
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
(USAF)
air base
An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...
on southern
Jeju Island. It was mostly returned to farm land from the late 1960s onwards, though the site is still owned and used to some extent by the
Republic of Korea Air Force
The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ko, 대한민국 공군; RR: ''Daehanminguk Gong-gun''), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the aerial warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of N ...
, in particular a
grass airstrip
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, o ...
known semi-officially as ''Alddreu Airport''.
History
The airfield, then known as ''Altehru Airfield'', was originally developed in 1926-30 during the
Japanese Imperial period. The local population were used as forced labour to flatten and clear the landscape, and later to build underground tunnels. Initially, it was primarily used as a refueling station, as well as a base for
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
and
maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008
Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities.
Maritime patrol refers to ac ...
aircraft. During the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
it was also used as a forward base of the
Omura Naval Air Group for the bombing of cities in China such as Shanghai and Nanjing.
World War II
Among other things, the base was used for the training of
Kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
pilots and by the end of the war it housed 2500 naval aviation troops and 25 aircraft in hardened aircraft shelters. Nearing the end of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
the Japanese were facing an inevitable defeat. Fearing a fight on Japanese soil, they planned on using Jeju's Alddreu Airfield as a last resort to defend against the
Allied forces.
Korean War
The USAF designated the base as Cheju-do No.2 or K-40. It was apparently mainly used as a refueling & communications facility and came under the umbrella of the ''100th Air Base Wing'' from 5 August 1951. Along with an airfield security
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
of the USAF's
Air Police
The United States Air Force Security Forces (SF) are the ground combat force and military police service of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. USAF Security Forces (SF) were formerly known as Military Police (MP), Air Police (AP), and Sec ...
, there were communications, civil engineering, and food service companies permanently based at K-40 during this period.
Postwar
A
TACAN
A tactical air navigation system, commonly referred to by the acronym TACAN, is a navigation system used by military aircraft. It provides the user with bearing and distance (slant-range or hypotenuse) to a ground or ship-borne station. It is a mor ...
facility was built on the base, now known as ''Alddreu Airfield'', during the early 1960s. Alddreu was handed over by the USAF to the ROKAF in the later part of that decade. The base continues to be owned by the Korean Air Force but has been largely leased to civilians since the time of the handover, with most of the site being currently used as
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
fields, though a large number of pre- and post-war facilities are still intact to one degree or another. These include 19 (out of an original 20) World War II
aircraft bunkers, and a 1,400-meter grass runway which is still in use as a
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
airstrip
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
by the ROKAF.
Seogwipo City planned at one stage during the late 2000s to develop the area as a theme park.
See also
*
Jeju International Airport
Jeju International Airport () is the second largest airport in South Korea, just behind Incheon Airport in Incheon. It is located in the city of Jeju. The airport opened in 1968.
Jeju International Airport serves many mainland destinations in ...
*
Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau
The of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan was responsible for the development and training of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. In 1941 it was headed by Vice-Admiral Eikichi Katagiri and was organized as follows:
* General Affairs Department ...
*
Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces
Imperial Japanese Naval Landing Forces refers to a number of naval infantry units in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) organized for offensive operations and for the defense of Japanese naval facilities both overseas and in the Japanese home isla ...
*
Operation Blacklist Forty
Operation Blacklist Forty was the codename for the United States occupation of Korea between 1945 and 1948. Following the end of World War II, U.S. forces landed within the present-day South Korea to accept the surrender of the Japanese, and help ...
*
United States Army Military Government in Korea
The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the Southern half of the Korean Peninsula from 8 September 1945 to 15 August 1948.
The country during this period was plagued with political and eco ...
*
United States Air Force In South Korea
The United States Air Force in South Korea is composed of units assigned to Pacific Air Forces Seventh Air Force. The mission of the personnel, equipment and aircraft is to deter, protect and defend the Republic of Korea from attack from the Democ ...
References
External links
*'
S. Korean island still holds Japan’s final fortifications to oppose U.S. invasion'' - ''
The Asahi Shimbun
is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
'', January 28, 2016
{{authority control
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Installations of the United States Air Force in South Korea
Republic of Korea Air Force
Korea under Japanese rule
Second Sino-Japanese War
Japan campaign
Allied occupation of Korea
Korean War air bases
Modern ruins
Archaeological sites in South Korea
Contemporary archaeology
Agriculture in South Korea