is a military aerodrome 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 warfa ...

. It is located southwest of

Hōfu is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. As of September 30, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 117,387 and a population density of 622.44 people per km2. The total area is 188.59 km2. History Hōfu (防府) means "the c ...

in the

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

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 ...

History

Hōfu Airfield's origins appear to begin as a

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 ...

airfield, as its runway pattern is indicative of wartime fields built in that era. It was the main

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

base during the early part of 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 ...

and was repaired by

No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron RAAF No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron (5ACS) was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) construction Squadron (aviation), squadron. The unit was first formed in July 1942 and served in the New Guinea Campaign and Borneo Campaign (1945), Borneo Campa ...

. From September 1947 the United States Air Force's 347th Fighter Wing (All Weather) based

F-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night fight ...

night fighters at the airfield as part of the air defense of Japan, but moved shortly afterwards to

Ashiya Airfield is a military airdrome of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force . It is located north of Ashiya in the Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. History Ashiya Airfield was established as a Japanese Army Air Force facility in 1944, and was used primarily as a d ...

. The 347th later stationed new

F-82 Twin Mustang The North American F-82 Twin Mustang is the last American piston-engined fighter ordered into production by the United States Air Force. Based on the North American P-51 Mustang, the F-82 was originally designed as a long-range escort fighter ...

s at the airfield in October 1948, moving them to Ashiya in May 1949. It was apparently placed in reserve status afterwards, the 6134th Air Base Squadron being a housekeeping unit until 31 August 1951.

Tenant squadrons

Hōfu Air Field provides pilot

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

for the Japan Air Self Defense Force. It reports to JASDF Air Training Command, headquartered 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 ...

. * 12th Flight Training Wing ** 1st Flight Training Squadron (

Fuji T-7 The Fuji T-7 (previously T-3 Kai) is a Japanese primary trainer aircraft built by Fuji Heavy Industries for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. A development of Fuji's earlier T-3 trainer, it is a single-engined monoplane powered by a turboprop e ...

) ** 2nd Flight Training Squadron (

)

References

* * Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . Airports in Japan Transport in Yamaguchi Prefecture Japan Air Self-Defense Force bases Buildings and structures in Yamaguchi Prefecture Hōfu, Yamaguchi {{Yamaguchi-geo-stub