is a military aerodrome of the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force The , 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 ( ...

. It is located southwest of the city of

Kanoya file:Kanoya City Hall.jpg, 270px, Kanoya City Hall is a city in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 98,367 in 46114 households, and a population density of 100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . ...

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Runway 08R/26L is equipped with ILS.

History

The Kanoya Air Group was formed on 1 April 1936 and was the oldest medium bomber (''rikko'') air group in

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

, along with the Kisarazu Air Group. It initially was equipped with Type 96 Mitsubishi G3M medium bombers and first saw combat during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

from August 1937. In September 1941, was re-equipped with the new Type 1

Mitsubishi G4M The Mitsubishi G4M is a twin-engine, land-based medium bomber formerly manufactured by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Air Service (IJNAS) of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to ...

medium bombers. At the start of

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, Kanoya Air Group was considered the most highly trained medium bomber unit in torpedo attacks and fought in most battles through the end of the war. After the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

, Kanoya became the main base for the Operation Kikusui

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

operations. Following the end of the war, Kanoya was under control of the United States

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organ ...

from September 3, 1945 to November 1948. On December 1, 1950 the National Police Reserve, the predecessor to the Japan Self-Defense Force, established a garrison at Kanoya.The base was initially shared by ground and naval forces, but on November 21, 1955 the entire base came under the control of the JapanMaritime Self-Defense Force. It hosted the 1st Air Group, Kanoya Educational Aviation Group, and Kanoya Aircraft Workshop. On April 6, 2016 a U-125 airplane operated by the Flight Check Squadron of the

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

crashed near the base, and all six crew members were killed. It had been checking the base's air navigation aid system. After some years of discussion it was announced in July 2018 that the base would be used by the US military.

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

KC-130 aerial tankers will use the base. The Kanoya Air Base Museum is located at the base.

References

Airports in Kagoshima Prefecture Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force bases Kanoya, Kagoshima {{Kagoshima-geo-stub