is a military aerodrome of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. It is located outside the city of Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula.

Operations

JMSDF Tateyama Air Base is currently the headquarters of the 21st Fleet Air Squadron, with two squadrons equipped with Mitsubishi SH-60J/K helicopters optimized for anti-submarine warfare, and one flight of three Mitsubishi UH-60J helicopters which provide air ambulance services to the

Izu Islands The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo Prefecture. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ō ...

History

JMSDF Tateyama Air Base was initially founded in 1930 for the

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 ...

. It was part of the Yokosuka Naval District, and home to the Tateyama Naval Air Group, equipped with Mitsubishi G3M bombers, Mitsubishi A5M fighters, Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and the Kyūshū Q1W anti-submarine patrol aircraft. The artillery school for the Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces was at Tateyama. Due to its location, it was regarded as a strategic site for the defense of the entrance to Tokyo Bay, and was a base for kamikaze attack aircraft towards 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 ...

. 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 ...

at the end of World War II, the air field was occupied by the United States Army First Cavalry Division. It was returned to the Japanese government in 1953, and assigned to the Japanese

Safety Security Force , also simply known as the Coastal Security Force, was an organization under the jurisdiction of the National Safety Agency, and existed from 1 August 1952 to 30 June 1954 in Japan. It was a maritime security agency established for the purpose o ...

, the immediate predecessor to the JMSDF. Tateyama was rebuilt into the largest heliport in Japan under the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), supporting rotary wing operations in other locations around Japan, including Haneda airport,

JMSDF Ōminato Air Base , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

JMSDF Maizuru Naval Air Base , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

and

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

. The JMSDF Fleet Air Wing 21 has been headquartered at Tateyama since 1961.

References

• Wertheim, Eric. ''Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft and Systems''. Naval Institute Press. (2007).

External links

Official home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:JMSDF Tateyama Air Base Japanese airbases Tateyama Tateyama