JOINT ARMY-NAVY INTELLIGENCE STUDY OF SOUTHWEST JAPAN:

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01144A001500010014-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 32
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 10, 2004
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: August 1, 1944
• Content Type: STUDY

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JANIS 84
CHAPTER XIV
Hardcopy document
Released-in-Full
JOINT ARMY-NAVY INTELLIGENCE STUDY
of
SOUTHWEST JAPAN:
Kyushu, Shikoku, and Southwestern Honshu
AIR FACILITIES
AUGUST 1944
DOCUMENT NO.
NO CHANGE IN S. 0
L7E.CLASE F(Eb
/CLASS, CHANGED TO: TS S C
NEXT REVIEW DATE:
RUTH: 47D" 25X1
DATE/ AEMEwcR.
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List of Effective Pages, Chapter XIV
CHANGE IN
SUBJECT MATTER EFFECT PAGE NUMBERS
Cover Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Original unnumbered
list of Effective Pages and Table of Contents, Chapter XIV
(inside front cover) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Original unnumbered
Text and Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Original pp. XIV-1 to XIV-28
Figure (insert, reverse blank) . . . . . . . . . . . . Original Figure XIV-19
Imprint (inside back cover, reverse blank) . . . . . . . . Original unnumbered
Table of Contents
Note: This chapter is based on material available in Washington, D. C. on 1 August 1944.,
Page
140. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . XIV - 1
1.41. ORGANIZATION . . . . . . . . . . XIV - 1
A. Administration . . . . . . . . . . . XIV - 1
B. Tactical organization . . . . . . . . . XIV - 1
C. Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . XIV - 1
142. SUPPLY AND MAINTENANCE . . . . XIV - 1
A. Base facilities . . . . . . . . . . . XIV - 1
B. Supply routes . . . . . . . . . . . XIV - 2
143. PRINCIPAL SOURCES . . . . . . . . XIV - .2
`CABLE XIV - 1. Classified Airfields and Seaplane
Stations . . . . . . . . . XIV - 3
TABLE XIV - 2. Reported Airfields, Landing Grounds,
and Seaplane Stations . . . . . XIV - 10
TABLE XIV - 3. Possible Locations of Airfields and
Seaplane Stations . . . . . . XIV - 13
.444ual/
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Chapter XIV
AIR FACILITIES
140. Introduction
"I-he aim of this chapter is to present a clear and concise
summary of the air facilities in the area embraced by JAN iS
f4, together with a brief discussion of the organization, sup-
ple, and maintenance of the air defense system.
I'rct izr: NIV-(9 is a neap showing the location of all air
facilities listed in the tables.
"This chapter is compiled largely from prewar infortnrttion,
and in many instances it is incomplete. Information derived
from recent photography has been incorporai_ed, but the photo
coverage has been limited to the Sasebo, Omura, and Fukuoka
areas. Wherever possible reliable prisoner of war reports and
captured documents have been used to supplement earlier
reports, but for the most part these have been too generalized
to be of notch value. Until more detailed information is re-
ceived, however, this summary should provide a general out-
line of the known air facilities in this area.
The list includes all the known airfields and seaplane bases
in the area. It is divided into three categories: Ci..ASSiFIli!)
\[RiHhu i)S AND) Sli.APT ANF STA'T'IONS (T.visi.t: NTV-
RFPORTFi) ;AlRFTFLT)S, LANI)1N(; (;ROUNDS,
\ND ST?.APL.ANI_ STATIONS (T.viit,r: Al\-"-? ), and
STllLli LOCATIONS OF .ATRFIFLI)S .AND Si:APL.A\ii
STATIONS ("I',vti.i.: XIV-3). The classified list contains all
airfields and seaplane bases about it liich sufficient in foriua-
tion is available to classify than properly according to the
system adopted by the combined personnel of the fruited States
and 1>ritish Services. The reported list includes all otlhcr
airfields and seaplane bases that have been reported as naval
air bases, military airfields, or emergency landing grounds
but about which no details of dimensions or facilities are
known. The list of possible locations includes those areas which
have been reported as airfields and alighting areas but have not
been definitehv established as such.
In the classified list the following abbreviations are used in
the column headed "I'vpe".
i i AI)-l I cavy bomber airfield.
MAD-Medium bomber airfield.
FAi) Fighter airfield.
[ It,G Tlcavv bomber landing ground.
MI ,G---M edium bomber landing ground.
FLG -Fighter landing ground.
SS -A fully equipped seaplane station.
ASS -Auxiliary seaplane station.
"Airfield" signifies the existence of paved runways or ex-
tensive facilities, or both. "Landing ground" signifies a suit-
able landing area without all-weather runway and with
incomplete facilities.
Other abbreviations used in the text include
a/c -aircraft
A/1) -airfield
a/w --all-weather
1)/F ---direction finder
F/11 -flying boat
F/ f' float plane
f/w --fair weather
The capacity
1I13 -heavy bomber
1,13 light bomber
.1113 --medium bomber
S
S.1,.
u/c
u/s
V'/T--wireless
--seaplane base
sea level
--under construction
---tin 1,C1, vic(lable
figure that is given for each airlield
or landint'-
ground in the classified list is an estimate of the suggested oper-
ational capacity based on facts gathered from all available in-
formation. It is not intended to be in estimate either of the
total number of Japanese aircraft that may be found at these
airfields or of the total number of Allied aircraft that may lie
accommodated i f the bases are eventually expanded or operated
under emergency conditions. Tt represents only the number of
:Allied aircraft that might be accommodated under conditions
that are known at this time.
\lany of the place names used in this chapter are spelled
differently- or are different entirely from those used in other
chapters of JAN IS 84. This is because o F agreement with
,A lied forces on standard nomenclature for air facilities, and
the use of different map sources. For these reasons Japanese
generics are not used consistently throughout the chapter.
Included in the chapter are photographs of some of the
more important areas. Many of these are prewar and do not
show the latest developments. It is quite probable that most of
the facilities have been expanded in the pasta years.
141. Organization
A. Administration.
The air services in this area are largely the responsibility of
the Navy. They are an integral part of the air defense of the
homeland. Like the United States, Japan has no independent
air force. The .Arnie and the Navy each have a separate air
aunt. Training is the principal function of the :Army Air Forces
in the area.
Organization of the naval air service is very flexible. .Ad-
ministratively, it is broken down into air fleets, air flotillas,
and air groups, in that order. "There is no uniform number of
aircraft in these various echelons.
B. Tactical organization.
Tactically, the Naval :\ir Forces are broken down on the
task force principle. The base force is the approximate equiva-
lent to the air fleet administrative unit, the attack force to the
air flotilla, and the daitai to the group. :Again, there is no
established number of aircraft to each echelon, although the
doi.tni generally- consists of about 27 aircraft. The daitai exists
only in the air, as a unit, and loses its entity as soon as the
planes land.
C. Strength.
'[lie air strength of this area, mainly naval air, has the
primary function of defending the industrial and military
Installations around and near the Inland Sea and defense of
the homeland, with the preponderance of strength in the south-
ern half of Japan proper. I)m-ing the first half of 1944, it is
estimated that air strength in this area has increased from
abotut 30'/ to more than 40'A of Japan's total operational
air strength.
142. Supply and Maintenance
A. Base facilities.
On the day Japan attacked Pearl Ilarbor, the majority of
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Page XI V - 2
Japanese fields in the area under discussion were civil and
training fiel('.s. Since then, the enemy has built many new air-
fields and has made extensive improvements and additions
to old ones. The closer our Navy has come to Japan proper,
the more feverish has been the enemy's preparation of air
ctefenses, particularly on Kyushu, where air facilities were
developed later than on Ilonshiu.
Photo coverage has provided considerable information on
the air installations on Kyushu island, but much of the in-
formation on Shikoku and 1lonshft is prewar, or taken from
prisoners of war or captured documents, and is not as complete.
Since the primary function of the Army and Navv Air
forces in Japan is the defense of the homeland, there are many
more fighter than heavy or taaedium bomber airfields. .Army
and Navv bases are about equally divided, but the Navy op-
erates many of the Army bases. The majority of fields basing
Army aircraft are training fields.
\Vhile there are fields scattered throughout the area, the
principal concentrations of first-class fields are as Follows:
(i) K'yushii:
1. Steel area, along the northern and northwestern shore of
the island.
2. Southern tip of the island, or the closest point on the
homeland to China or the Central Pacific approaches.
3. Port area (to a lesser extent) near Sasebo and Nagasaki
on the west coast.
l?) Shikoku:
1. Northern shore. There is mach less devclopnient on
Shikoku than on Kyushu and Honshu.
l_,') II~~1l.c/m
1. Osai,a-Kobe-heavy industry and port area on the north-
east coast of the Inland Sea.
2. Nagoya industrial (aircraft) area, around the Ise l'>av.
3. ihe.cli.in'ia Kute (to a lesser extent) Naval base and
port area, along the northwest shores of the Inland Sea
In addition, there are several important seaplane bases
along the shores of the Inland Sea, on the north coast of
Ilonshu, and the western coast of Kyushfi. Near each sea-
plane base is one or more airfields, capable of handling carrier-
based fighters and light bombers.
-Almost all the airfields on the classified list XtV-t)
have coritplete facilities For maintenance, servicing. and repair
of aircra ft. VI any of the fields on the supplemental list (fAlit.r
MV-2) undoubtedly have these facilities too, but information
regarding the specific airfields is still lacking. The usual Jap-
anese procedure is to incorporate some bases with modification
and assenihfv, as well as maintenance, service, and repair
facilities in each ,-roup. For example, in the Saseho complex.
there are 2 known seaplane bases and a third reported, with
assembly futilities, and 2 known airfields and a probable third
capable of assembling aircraft. The Omura complex, south-
west of Sasebo, includes i seaplane base, r airbase, and a
repair and assembly plant.
All the first-class fields in the various complexes have ade-
quate storage facilities for fuel, materials, and supplies. Each
concentration of fields is either adjacent to, or within easy
transportation distance of, very extensive supply and storage
centers, such as Kagoshima, Sasebo, Moji, and Saeki Bay on
Kvfishu : Zentsftji on Shikoku ; and Hiroshima, Kvc)to, and
Nagoya on Honshu.
B. Supply routes.
( wricrall',- speaking, rail and road communications in South-
west Japan fallow tlic coast, because of the rntiforn lv mountain-
ous terrain in the inland areas. Cross-island communications
through the valleys a -e somewhat limited.
Southwest Japan is thickly populated and is highly de-
eloped and industrialized. The airfield concentrations are
consequently served by the best supply routes of the Empire.
Communication facilities to the southern kvfishft airfields
are less developed than on Honsltft. -There is a 2-shaft rail
tunnel connecting Kyitshfi with Honshu, at Shimonoseki. .An
elaborate network of rail lines on the northernI section of the
island, with double-trackage on the main line, extends only
as Far south as 1F ukuoka. Single-track lines extend down the
east and vest coasts of the island, meeting at Kagoshima. The
main highway also hogs the shoreline and is not a first-class
road. T. are few cross-island roads.
The airfields on the northern section of Shikoku are served
by a single-track coastal rail line, and by a network of first-
class highways running roughly along the coast. 'I"akaniatsu,
on the northeast coast, is the terminus of a car ferry From
I honshft. In addition to "I'ak._Iniatsu, there are many smaller
lawns and hamlets on the north shore through which supplies
how From the Inland Sea.
Japan's most important railroads and highways serve the
airfield concentrations on Ilonshu, mentioned in Topic .A. '[lte
main south shore lice from Tokyo runs thrrnugli Nagoya,
Osaka, Kobe, and Iliroshinta to Shimonoseki. It is double-
tracked all the way. 'there is also a single--track line along the
north shore, with 7 cross-island single-'`raclt lines between
Nagoya and Hiroshima. The coastal i igh ways on I lonshu
are hard-surfaced first-class roads.
Along- the Inland Sea are innumerable small harbors and
inlets capable of handling water-borne traffic, which is limited
only by the number of available vessels.
"There are severa large harbors in Southwest Japan.
namely Sasebo, I'ukuoka, Shimonoseki-\ioji, Kure, Iala just if of Waka
Reported as Army A/I) and as landing-
fonslau 1.
135? 11' If
River, and just W of Wakayama-Ilikata road and
R IR ; 10 mi. NNE if Miu nshinia.
ground.
I arnagul hi
r\/I)
34? 09' N
Relieved to be about IL mi. ',;SR of Yamaguchi, just
I lonshu I.
131?29'If
N of small stream and just SW of Yamaguchi-
'[okuyama road; about I',/! mi. SIf of Yamaguchi-
Ogori road and RR ; about 6/a mi. N E of Ogori.
i'rma(liyam'a
AiD
33?33'N
328
lust S of Yanagigaura RR stn., just E of Nagasu-
Six large hangars, uomerous bldgs. Military
Kyushu I.
131? 21' if
(est. )
Usa road, and just S of Nagasu-M6ji PR; 1'/r mi.
S\V of Nagasu; I'Y mi. AN' of Sliattate River. About
2 mi. NNW of Usa; 5 mi. AV" of Takata.
A/D. Reported as hones base of Usa Naval
Air ,'nit. 75 to 80 different types of a/c.
seen here.
I`oloti
A/l l
33? 58'N
328
Reported to be at Yanai which is on 0h;ttake-Murozumi
Ionshu I.
1.32? 06' E
(town)
(est.)
road and RR : mi. NW of S coast of Honshu I.;
5'/ mi. N\\' of O-sliima; 7 nii. NI of Vluroztmmi.
I'asako
A/I)
35? I1'N
328
Believed to he just NW of Yasako; 2 mi. S of Mori-
May l,c same as Seto .A/I) or Ohatagahara
IIonshu I.
137? 02' E
(est.)
yama-Seto road and RR ; 4',`/i mi. SW of Seto.
]CAI) Reported landing ground.
Yazetatahaa a
S
33? 27' N
S.L.
Just W of Yawatahuna; and just S of Kawanoishi,
Shikoku 1.
1.32? 22' 1,'
(est.)
in Vawatahama Rae, which is in Olsuchi Bay; 12%
mi. SW of Nakahania.
I'onago
A/D
35? 26' N
52
Relieved to be 2 mi. NW of Youago, just If of Sumi-
Seven hangars. Reported to have all facilities.
I Ionslii) 1.
133` 16' 1?
(est.)
yosi and just S of Vonago-Sakai road and RR; E
end of a lagoon ; about 2 mi. S of Miho Bay; 4'/
Flying training hare. Reported as Army
A/D also as Naval air base. Reported 6000'
mi. NE of Iloto; 15 mi. if of Matsue.
x 3(10(1'; also 3600' ifAV x 1500' N/S.
I oao ;u Ifay
32? 54' N
S.1..
In Vonozu Ray just S of small cape and just S of
Kvfishfi I.
131? 59' E
(est.)
Urasiro; 0 no. WSW of Cape Tsurumi; (i'/t mi. SE
of Sacki.
I ' lutsa
A/D
34? 02' N
Reported to he at \ uasa, which is on Minoshima
IIonshu 1.
135? 10' If
(town)
Yura road and RR on Yuasa Bay; 4'/t mi. SE of
Minoshima ; 13 mi. S of \Vakayama.
I'uasa
5
34?02' N
Just W of V'uasa in Yuasa Ray; 3 mi. SE of Mino-
Seaplane alighting area reported. 2 x %, mi.
lonshu I.
135? 07' E
shima; 13'/ mi. SSW of Wakayama,.
(approx.).
I'ukuhashi
A/I)
33? 45' N
Believed to be about 1'/i mi. NE of Yukuhashi; IV.-,
Reported as landing ground. Naval air base
Kyushu 1.
131?00'E
mi. W of Suo Sea; 11'%t mi. SSE of Kokura.
being developed.
I'umachi
A/D
35? 26' N
Believed to be just N of Yumachi on small cape on S
Naval air base. Reported A/D or S.
I lonshu 1
133? 01' h:
side of Shinji Lake, just N of Matsue-Shinji road
and RR; 3:ii mi. SW of Matsue ; about 6'L?, mi. ENE
of Shinji; 17'/t mi. N of Youago.
I'umachi
35?26'N
S.L.
Reported to be just N of Yumachi in Shinji Lake;
Naval air base. Reported S or A/I).
Ilonsliu I.
133?01' E
(est.)
just N of Idatsue-Shinji road and RR; 3'/t mi. SW
of :Matsue; about 6'/z mi. ENIf of Shinji ; 171!: mi.
W of Youago.
I'urau 01" hi
33? 57' N
S.L.
In Yuran Ouchi (inlet) just W of Sato; Ari I. lies
Ifa.saneyama, an 886' smooth round hill,
Iloushu 1.
135?07'L
in entrance of inlet; 5'/ mi. NNW of (;oho; 61/-1
mi. NNIf of Khinomi Cape.
just N. Naval air base. 2 x 1'/ mi. NF/SW.
%cottsti/i
A/D
34? 13' N
Reported at Zentsuji.
Shikoku 1.
133? 42' E
Ai D
32? 53' N
K_yftshu I.
130? 32' H.
POSSIBLE LOCA'FIONS OF AIRFIELDS
AND
Kikuchiga'tea
32? 53' N
SLAPLANL S ATIONS
Kyushu I.
130? 32' If
Nsraa
GR l.'.
Posrrlov
lS ogushi
A/D
34? 10' N
Fukue
A/D
34?37'N
IIonshu 1.
130? 56' if
IIonshu 1.
137? 07' If
K okubo
34?21'N
lukur I.
32?41'N
Shikoku 1.
133? 53' E
Near Kyushu 1.
128? 50' L'
1s okubo
34? 21' N
?
'
Shikoku I
133? 53' E
(; obo
33
53
N
.
I lonshu 1.
135? 10' E
Komatsu
33?56'N
Il ilo yoshi
32? 20' N
Near lloushu I.
132? 12' If
Kyushu 1.
131 ? 00' E
A urashiki
34? 36' N
?
'
IIonshu 1
133? 46' E
I h oua..ttvtnaa
N
34
37
.
Ilotashn 1.
135? 38' .12
Kusu
34?23'N
Iuuo 1.
34?17'N
Near llonshu I.
133? 33' If
Near llonsln3 1.
133? 12' L
M1~Iaiko
34? 38' N
Kikuchi
32? (1.3' N
I lonshu I.
135? 03' E
Kyushu 1.
131? 27' E
illiV Naki Aorlh,?asl
31 ? 56' N
Kyushu 1.
131? 27' E
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I'AlsL : X l - 3 (Continnc(I)
1:~ m is I'o?rl [o.N
A"i.ii/aIulnia A/I) 3-4? (1(1'
f4onshu I. 131? 55' I1:
O lalanul S 33? 04' N
year Kyushu I. 129? 38' I :
Uunnr A/I) 34? 43'
Ilonshu I. 1.34? 54' I :
S