Tachikawa AB

  March 1922 to present

  Japan

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CITY: Tachikawa

IATA/ICAO CODES: --- / RJTC

COORDINATES: 35°43'N / 139°24'E

OTHER NAMES: Nil

 

Right: Commandos & Skymasters: Tachikawa's flight line in 1946.
Photo credit: unknown

Tachikawa is an airfield opened on 14 March 1922 in the western suburbs of Tokyo. Initially a military base, it started offering civilian services when Japan Air Transport inaugurated commercial flights from there to Osaka in 1929. JAT operations continued until 1933, when they transferred to Haneda. In the 1930's, Tachikawa became an industrial center, where over 6,000 aircraft would be built until the end of the war. From 1939, it also hosted a military air academy. From April 1945, the airfield was bombed repeatedly by USAAF B-29 Super Fortresses, and eventually rendered unusable.

The USAAF moved into Tachikawa AB on 5 September 1945 and started rebuilding the airfield. From January 1946, it was able to host C-46 & C-47 flights, and the first C-54s landed there in April 1946. From 1947, Air Transport Command started supporting JAMA (Japan Air Material Area) which was based at Tachikawa. During the Cold War era, Tachikawa became a major logistical hub for the USAF. It hosted a hospital during the Korean War, and later an air bridge was established between the airfield and US bases in South Vietnam. By 1964, operations in Tachikawa began to wind down, as the base was deemed too close to the Tokyo urban area. The base was eventually closed on 30 September 1977, and returned to the Japanese government.

Today, Tachikawa AB is mainly used by helicopters of the Tokyo Fire Department, of the Japanese Coast Guards and of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

1503^rd AAF Base Unit (Tachikawa AB) (1946 to 1948)

JAMA (Japan Air Material Area) (1947 to 1949)

54^th Troop Carrier Wing, 375^th Troop Carrier Group (September 1945 to March 1946)