The Manchukuo Imperial Air Force (') ( was the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

of the

Empire of Manchuria Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

, a

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...

Imperial 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 forma ...

. The air force's predecessor was the Manchukuo Air Transport Company (later renamed the

Manchukuo National Airways Manchuria Aviation Company(traditional Chinese/Kyūjitai: 滿洲航空株式會社; simplified Chinese: 满州航空株式会社; Shinjitai: 満州航空株式会社; Japanese Hepburn: ''Manshū Kōkū Kabushiki-gaisha, "MKKK"'') was the nationa ...

), a

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

airline formed in 1931, which undertook transport and reconnaissance missions for the Japanese military.

History

Since the creation of the state in 1932, an airline called the Manchukuo Paramilitary Airline operated as a fleet of transports, consisting mainly of passenger aircraft. The only military action it saw was providing support to the

Inner Mongolian Army The Inner Mongolian Army, also sometimes called the Mengjiang National Army, referred to the Inner Mongolian military units in service of Imperial Japan and its puppet state of Mengjiang during the Second Sino-Japanese War, particularly those led ...

during the Suiyuan Campaign in 1936. An "independent volunteer battalion" which included thirteen planes assisted the Inner Mongolian troops in their attempt to drive the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

out of the

Suiyuan Suiyuan () is a ''de jure'' province of the Republic of China according to the ROC law, as the ROC government formally claims to be the legitimate government of China, with its capital located Guisui (now Hohhot). The abbreviation was (pinyi ...

province. The official Manchukuo Air Force was not established until February 1937, when thirty volunteers from the

Manchukuo Imperial Army The Manchukuo Imperial Army ( zh, s=滿洲國軍, p=Mǎnzhōuguó jūn) was the ground force of the military of the Empire of Manchukuo, a puppet state established by Imperial Japan in Manchuria, a region of northeastern China. The force was prim ...

were sent to

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

for training. Initially the

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...

commanders did not trust the Manchukuoans enough to give them an independent air arm and the early air force consisted of mostly Japanese pilots. Starting out with just one

Nieuport-Delage NiD 29 The Nieuport-Delage NiD.29 was a French single-seat biplane fighter (C.I category) designed and built by Nieuport-Delage for the French Air Force. Design and development The prototype NiD.29 was an equal-span biplane with ailerons on both u ...

, first air unit was based in

Hsinking Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...

. They were soon expanded with the addition of

Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter The Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter was a Japanese fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-engine, single-seat parasol monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage. Development Designed in response to an Army requirement of 1927, the Type 91 wa ...

s and

Kawasaki Type 88 The Kawasaki Army Type 88 Reconnaissance Aircraft was a Japanese single-engined biplane designed for Kawasaki by Richard Vogt. Originally known by its company designation KDA-2, it was accepted by the Imperial Japanese Army as the Type 88 Reconn ...

light bombers. A second air unit was formed in Fengtien and a third was formed in

between 1938–39, and in July 1940 a Manchukuo Air Defense headquarters was established in Hsinking. At that time the Japanese finally decided to give the state its own air force with Manchukuoan pilots and more modern aircraft. A flying school was opened in

Mukden Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the provi ...

for both military and civil pilots as part of this effort. This program suffered a major setback when one hundred Manchukuoan pilots rebelled and tried to join the guerrillas after murdering their Japanese instructors. Nonetheless the project to create an air force for Manchukuo continued. Three fighter squadrons were formed from cadets in 1942. In the 1940s the Manchukuo Air Force was greatly expanded with an influx of new trainers, transports, and its first fighters. The latter were

Nakajima Ki-27 The was the main fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service up until 1940. Its Allied nickname was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" (CBI) theater by many post war sources; Allied Intelligen ...

fighters which were presented on Aviation Day, 20 September 1942. The trainers included

Tachikawa Ki-9 The was an intermediate training aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force built by Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd in the 1930s. It was known to the Allies of World War II, Allies World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft, under t ...

s and

Tachikawa Ki-55 The Tachikawa Ki-55 was a Japanese advanced trainer. Design and development The excellent characteristics of the Tachikawa Ki-36 made it potentially ideal as a trainer. This led to the development of the Ki-55 with a single machine gun. Afte ...

s, while some

Mitsubishi Ki-57 The Mitsubishi Ki-57 was a Japanese passenger transport aircraft, developed from the Ki-21 bomber, during the early 1940s. Development In 1938, when the Ki-21 heavy bomber began to enter service with the Imperial Japanese Army, its capability ...

transports were also provided. The only bomber craft it had were provided by

Kawasaki Ki-32 The was a Japanese light bomber aircraft of World War II. It was a single-engine, two-seat, mid-wing, cantilever monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. An internal bomb bay accommodated a offensive load, supplemented by of bombs on e ...

light bombers. Money to pay for these craft was donated by local companies in Manchukuo with Japanese "encouragement". They were also given

Nakajima Ki-43 The Nakajima Ki-43 ''Hayabusa'' (, "Peregrine falcon", "Army Type 1 Fighter" ) is a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was o ...

s in 1945 to have a better chance of intercepting the American

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

es. The Manchukuoan pilots were given the estimated arrival time of the bombers and would take off about twenty minutes before they were due to arrive, climbing to 7,000 meters to make head-on passes before the B-29s got out of range. Some Manchukuoan pilots were also given kamikaze training and at least one downed a B-29 by crashing a Ki-27 into it. By the time the

Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

was launched by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

in August 1945, the Manchukuo Air Force had practically ceased to exist, although there were isolated incidents of Manchukuoan planes attacking Soviet aircraft.

Organization

Three fighters squadrons were formed in 1942 from flying school cadets, with the typical strength of a squadron being as follows: 11 officers, 12 to 14

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s, and 90 enlisted men. The organization of the air force in 1941 was as follows: *1st Air Unit (Hsinking) *2nd Air Unit (Fengtien) *3rd Air Unit (Harbin) *Tongliao Independent Air Unit *Flying School

List of aircraft

An aircraft construction industry existed in Manchukuo. It produced Nakajima Ki-27 fighters, among others, although the majority of them went to the Japanese air services rather than the Manchukuoan Air Force. The Manchukuoans had the following aircraft:

Sources

Citations

References

External links

2014 interview with Manchukuo Air Force veteran

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Military units and formations established in 1932 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Disbanded air forces