The 21st Fighter Training Squadron is a squadron of the 4th Air Wing of Air Training Command 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 based at Matsushima Air Base in

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the n ...

, Japan.

History

The predecessor to the squadron was formed on March 31, 1975, and it formally became the 21st squadron on October 1, 1976. After retiring their original North American F-86F Sabres, from January 12, 1982 to December 22, 1995 the JASDF aerobatics team

Blue Impulse (currently 11 Squadron 4th Air Wing, previously 21 Squadron 4th Air Wing) is the aerobatic demonstration team of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The team was founded in 1960 as a team of six F-86 Sabres. They changed mounts to the Mits ...

flew

Mitsubishi T-2 The Mitsubishi T-2 was a supersonic jet trainer aircraft used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Introduced in 1975, it was the first Japanese-designed aircraft to break the sound barrier. It was the basis of the Mitsubishi F-1 military aircra ...

aircraft as part of the squadron. During the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six m ...

, Matsushima Air Field was flooded with seawater, and eighteen Mitsubishi F-2B's belonging to 21st Squadron, as well as other aircraft, were damaged or destroyed. In the aftermath of this event, the 21st was relocated to

Misawa Air Base is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, in the northern part of the island of Honshū of Japan. It is located northeast of Misawa rail ...

where it conducted a reduced schedule of training while both the airfield and its damaged aircraft were repaired. A ceremony marking the 21st's return to Matsushima was held on March 28, 2016.

Tail marking

The squadron has a unique tail marking. Tail marking of a 21st Fighter Training Squadron Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2B

Aircraft operated

Trainer

(1976-2004) * Mitsubishi F-2B (2002–present)

Liaison

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 ...

(1976-1994) *

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 ...

(1992–present)

References