The 301st Tactical Fighter Squadron () is a squadron of the 3rd Air Wing of the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warf ...

based at

Misawa Air Base is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), List of United States Air Force installations, the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, in the northern p ...

in Misawa, Japan. It is equipped with Mitsubishi F-35A Lightning II and

Kawasaki T-4 The Kawasaki T-4 is a Japanese subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft developed and manufactured by the commercial conglomerate Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Its sole operator is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), in part due to historic ...

aircraft.

History

Prior to the 301st being formed as a full-fledged unit, it originally came into being as the Provisional F-4EJ squadron with only two aircraft in service on August 1, 1972.Taghvaee April 2021, p. 46. It was the first unit of the JASDF to fly the F-4. On February 25, the first operational conversation course for F-4EJ pilots was started. The 301st Tactical Fighter Squadron was founded at Hyakuri Air Base on October 16, 1973 as an Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-4EJ Phantom II squadron. It was also equipped with Kawasaki-built

Lockheed T-33A The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

trainer/liaison aircraft. The squadron was tasked with being the operational conversion unit for the F-4EJ. On March 2, 1985, it moved to

Nyutabaru Air Base is a military aerodrome of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. It is located north of Miyazaki in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. In July 2021, Japan’s Defense Minister, Nobuo Kishi, announced that the base will host the F-35Bs of the JASDF. A ...

in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu, swapping bases with the 204th Tactical Fighter Squadron which was flying the F-104J Starfighter but was due to convert to the F-15J and F-15DJ Eagle at Hyakuri. In April 1991, the squadron updated from F-4EJ to F-4EJ Kai aircraft. On October 31, 2016, as part of a JASDF reorganization it switched bases with the F-15J equipped 305th Tactical Fighter Squadron and returned to Hyakuri Air Base. Thompson, Pau
JASDF Squadron Histories - 301st Squadron
''J-HangarSpace'' Retrieved August 14, 2017 By 2016, the 301st TFS was tasked primarily with an air-to-ground mission, with its secondary role being air-to-air. One of the aircraft operated by the squadron (''17-8440'') was the last of the 5,195 F-4 Phantoms to be produced. It was manufactured by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...

on May 21, 1981. "The Final Phantom" originally served with the 306th Tactical Fighter Squadron. In early December 2020, ''17-8440'' was withdrawn from use and flown to the Air Park Museum at

Hamamatsu Air Base is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located north of the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in central Japan. History Hamamatsu Air Base was established in 1925 as an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force base to be home to the newly f ...

for preservation.Taghvaee April 2021, p. 48. On November 20, 2020, it was announced the 301st TFS had retired its Phantoms. However, they continued to operate the Phantom up until December 10, finally being decommissioned on December 14. On December 15, 2020, the 301st TFS completed relocation to

and became operational with the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-35A Lightning II replacing their F-4EJs. By March 2021, four F-35As (''09-8719'', ''09-8721'', ''69-8701'' and ''89-8711'') had been delivered to the 301st TFS.Taghvaee April 2021, p. 49.

Tail marking

The squadron emblem of the 301st squadron is a frog wearing a scarf. The word for "frog" in Japanese is kaeru, the same sound (but different characters) as the word for "come home" (safely). The frog is based on the Japanese common toad, which is found by Mount Tsukuba nearby Hyakuri airbase where the squadron was formed. The frog wears a scarf adorned with stars. The number of stars represent the air wing it belongs to, and as it currently belongs to the 3rd Air Wing it has three stars. When it belonged to the 5th Air Wing at Nyutabaru in Miyazaki Prefecture from 1985 to 2016 it had five.

Aircraft operated

Fighter aircraft

* Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-4EJ Phantom II (1973–1990) * Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-4EJ Kai Phantom II (1991–2020) * Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-35A Lightning II (2020–present)

Liaison aircraft

* Kawasaki T-33A (1973–1993) *

(1991–present)

In popular culture

The squadron appeared operating navalized aircraft in the ''Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Shinano'' 1990s novels by Shou Narumi (Mitsui Shinpei). The squadron was also depicted in the 2012 '' Eureka Seven: AO'' manga. As the story took place in 2025, the squadron was depicted as having upgraded from F-4 to F-15J aircraft.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Taghvaee, Babak. ''Samurai Sunset (Air Forces Monthly #397)''. Stamford, Lincolnshire: Key Publishing Ltd., April 2021. {{Japan Air Self-Defense Force Units of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force