Chiran Airfield is an abandoned military airfield located in Chiran,

Minamikyūshū file:Minamikyusyu City Hall.jpg, 290px, Minamikyūshū City Hall file:Chiran Fumoto 01.JPG, 290px, Chiran Historical Preservation District file:Route226 ja Ei 01.JPG, 290px, Japan National Route 226 in Ei is a Cities of Japan, city in Kagoshim ...

, on the

Satsuma Peninsula The Satsuma Peninsula (薩摩半島 ''Satsuma-hantō'') is a peninsula which projects south from the southwest part of Kyūshū Island, Japan. To the west lies the East China Sea, while to the east it faces the Ōsumi Peninsula across Kagoshima ...

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

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 ...

. It was established in December 1941, and mainly served as training base for

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 ...

pilots. Today, the

Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots The airbase at Chiran, Minamikyūshū, on the Satsuma Peninsula of Kagoshima, Japan, served as the departure point for hundreds of Special Attack or kamikaze sorties launched in the final months of World War II. A peace museum dedicated to the ...

exists on the site of the former airfield.

History

In December 1941, Chiran Airfield was established as a military airfield, with the purpose of training aviation personnel. In order to facilitate the need of air operations against the Chinese, Americans, British and Dutch, preparations were done in Chiran Airfield. This included the establishment of Tachiarai Army Flight Training School Chiran Branch on 24 December, 1941, for flight training operations. In 1942, it became the site for the Tachiarai Joint Service Flight Training School. As the war progressed and worsened, the facilities at Chiran Airfield were expanded, including the runway, construction of revetments, and taxiways. By mid-1944, Chiran Airfield was mainly used for

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 ...

flight training, and approximately 600 pilots had been trained in the 3 year span.

Okinawa Campaign

During the

Okinawa campaign 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 ...

in April 1945, Chiran Airfield was used for kamikaze missions against Okinawa. The airfield continued as a training base until 26 March 1945, when it primarily operated kamikaze missions. In total, 439 flew from Giran Airfield, and 335 of the total number were young pilots. The campaign resulted in the sinking of 56 ships, 107 heavily damaged, and 300 damaged. Following this, from March to June 1945, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

launched attack missions against the airfield.

Legacy

In 1975, the

was established to commemorate the lives of the pilots. It was enlarged in 1985 and exhibits four planes: a

Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa The Nakajima Ki-43 ''Hayabusa'' (, "Peregrine falcon"), formal Japanese designation is a single-engine land-based tactical Fighter aircraft, fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II. The Allied World War II Allie ...

, a 1943 Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien, a 1944 Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate, and a

Mitsubishi Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

recovered from the seabed in 1980.

References

{{reflist Military history of Kagoshima Prefecture Defunct airports in Japan Kamikaze