was an aircraft manufacturer in the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

, specializing primarily in aircraft for the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...

. It was based at

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 households, and a populat ...

, in

Tokyo Prefecture Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

History

Tachikawa Aircraft

In November 1924, Ishikawajima Shipyards (the future

IHI Corporation , formerly known as , is a Japanese engineering corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan that produces and offers ships, space launch vehicles, aircraft engines, marine diesel engines, gas turbines, gas engines, railway systems, turbochargers ...

) established a subsidiary company, the . In 1936, the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

acquired a controlling interest in the company, and renamed it the Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd. The company manufactured a number of types, mostly

training aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

and

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

for the

. Some were its own designs placed into full production, such as the Ki-9 and Ki-36. A number of others were either short-run specials, or prototypes that did not enter production, such as the Ki-77. In 1940, the company received license-production rights to the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra which it produced as the ''Army Type LO'' transport. Tachikawa also produced aircraft designed by other Japanese manufacturers. As with all Japanese manufacturers, production of all types ceased after the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

to Allied forces in August 1945. The facilities of Tachikawa Aircraft had been severely damaged by bombing during the war, and most of its property, including its airfield, were seized by the American military and become part of the

Tachikawa Air Base is an airfield in the city of Tachikawa, the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense, it has also served as the civil aviation with Japan's first scheduled air service. History Origins Tach ...

. Many of its engineers went to work for

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, helping develop the technologies of the

Japanese automobile industry The automotive industry in Japan is one of the most prominent and largest industries in the world. Japan has been in the top three of the countries with most cars manufactured since the 1960s, surpassing Germany. The automotive industry in Japa ...

. The

Prince Motor Company The Prince Motor Company (Japanese: ) was an automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes for the Japanese Army in World War II, e.g. ...

(later acquired by Nissan) was a direct spin-out from the former Tachikawa Aircraft Company.

New Tachikawa Aircraft Company

During the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, all of Japan's aerospace industry was dismantled, designs destroyed and plants converted to other uses. After the ban on aircraft development was lifted in November 1949, Tachikawa Aircraft was reconstituted as the . Shin Tachikawa built prototype training aircraft, the R-52 and R-53 in the early 1950s. The R-52 was the first post-war, all-Japanese aircraft constructed. However, neither aircraft were commercially successful and the company survived by making precision components for aircraft, and for non-aircraft related industries. In 1955, the company name was changed to to emphasize its lack of involvement with the aviation industry. Since 1976, after the return of a large amount of land occupied by the

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 ...

since the end of World War II, the company turned towards

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...

, and the production of automotive parts.

Ishikawajima Aircraft

* Ishikawajima T-2 - 1927 prototype reconnaissance aircraft. Two built. * Ishikawajima CM-1 (later Ishikawajima R-1) - 1927 basic trainer with wooden structure. One built. * Ishikawajima R-2 - 1927 basic trainer with all metal structure. Two built. * Ishikawajima T-3 - 1928 prototype reconnaissance aircraft. One built. * Ishikawajima R-3 - 1929 basic trainer. Five built. * Ishikawajima R-5 - 1933 basic trainer. Two built.

Tachikawa Aircraft

* Ki-9 - 'Spruce' 1930 biplane intermediate trainer * KKY - Light ambulance aircraft - 23 built. * KS - Survey aircraft for

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Rai ...

- based on KKY. Two built 1939. * Ki-17 - 'Cedar' 1935 biplane basic trainer * Ki-24 - DFS SG 38 built under license * Ki-25 - 1937 prototype glider based on the Göppingen Gö 3 * Ki-26 - 1936 prototype training glider * Ki-29 - 1936 prototype light bomber; lost to the

Mitsubishi Ki-30 The was a Japanese light bomber of World War II. It was a single-engine, mid-wing, cantilever monoplane of stressed-skin construction with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and a long transparent cockpit canopy. The type had significance in bein ...

* Ki-36 - 'Ida' 1938 Army co-operation aircraft * Ki-54 - 'Hickory' 1940 twin-engine advanced monoplane trainer * Ki-55 - 'Ida' 1940 single-engine advanced trainer * Ki-70 - 'Clara' 1943 prototype high-speed photo reconnaissance aircraft * Ki-72 - Re-engined version of Ki-55 with retractable landing gear, not built * Ki-74 - 'Pat'/'Patsy' 1944 prototype high-altitude reconnaissance bomber * Ki-77 - 1942 experimental twin-engine long-range transport/communications aircraft * Ki-92 - experimental twin-engine long-range transport aircraft * Ki-94 - prototype high-altitude fighter-interceptor * Ki-104 - attack version of Ki-94, not built * Ki-110 - wooden prototype of Ki-54 * Ki-111 - fuel tanker project * Ki-114 - projected wooden fuel tanker * T.S. 1 - Light trainer * R-38 - Parasol-winged civil trainer. Two built. * Type LO Transport Aircraft - Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra built under license

Shin Tachikawa Aircraft

* Tachihi R-52 - civilian training aircraft * Tachihi R-53 - civilian training aircraft * Tachihi R-MH-310 - civilian training aircraft

References

External links

TACHIHI Holdings Co., Ltd. website
(In Japanese) {{Authority control Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Japan Defunct defense companies of Japan Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Army Auto parts suppliers of Japan Electronics companies of Japan Technology companies of Japan Manufacturing companies established in 1924 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1955 Japanese companies established in 1924 1955 disestablishments in Japan Postwar Japan

History

Tachikawa Aircraft

New Tachikawa Aircraft Company

Ishikawajima Aircraft

Tachikawa Aircraft

Shin Tachikawa Aircraft

See also

References

External links