Naha Air Base

History

Naha Airfield was constructed in 1933 as Oroku Naval Air Base, an air base of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). In 1936 control of the air base was transferred to the Japanese Ministry of Communications and formally renamed Naha Airfield. In 1942 control of the air base again reverted to the IJN, which reverted the name of the installation to Oroku Naval Air Base. The facility was captured by the United States during World War II in the Battle of Okinawa on April 1, 1945.

After World War II the installation became a major United States Air Force (USAF) base under the operational control of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), and was known as Naha Air Base (Naha AB). The installation became a joint military-civilian air field in 1954 with the resumption of civilian air service between Tokyo and Okinawa. The USAF ended its use of Naha AB on 31 May 1971 and control of civil aviation was transferred to the Japanese Ministry of Transportation, which established Naha Airport on the site; control of the military air field was officially transferred to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in 1979. As of 2015, "Lt. Colonel George W. Mickey, the last US Military Base Commander at Naha AB.

Japanese F-15s have been stationed there, with a second squadron of F-15s added in 2014.

Former units

Major USAF units assigned to Naha AB were:

Headquarters, 301st Fighter Wing, 12 May 1947 – 20 January 1949

51st Fighter Group, 22 May 1947 – 22 September 1950

16th Fighter Squadron, 22 May 1947-22 September 1950 (F-80 Shooting Star)25th Fighter Squadron, 22 May 1947-22 September 1950 (F-80 Shooting Star)26th Fighter Squadron, 22 May 1947-22 September 1950 (F-80 Shooting Star)

4th Fighter (All-Weather) Squadron, 19 August 1948 – 16 February 1953 (P-61 Black Widow, F-82 Twin Mustang)

Assigned to: 347th Fighter (later Fighter-All Weather) Group, Kadena Air Base, OkinawaAssigned to: Twentieth Air Force, June 24, 1950

Redesignated: 4th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (F-94 Starfire)

Assigned to: 6351st Air Base Wing, 25 February-1 August 1954

6351st Air Base Wing, 22 September 1950 – 1 August 1954

51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 1 August 1954 – 31 May 1971

16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 August 1954-31 May 1971, (F-86 Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger)25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 August 1954-8 June 1960, (F-86 Sabre)26th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 August 1954-11 July 1955, (F-86 Sabre)

623rd Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, 20 December 1957 - 8 Jul 1973

Assigned to: 313th Air Division, 15 Mar 1955 - 17 Jul 1960Assigned to: 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 18 July 1960 - 20 May 1971Assigned to: 18th Tactical Fighter Wing, 21 May 1971 - 8 July 1973

21st Troop Carrier (Tactical Airlift) Squadron 15 November 1958 – 31 May 1971, (C-119 Flying Boxcar, C-130 Hercules)

Assigned to: 483rd Troop Carrier Wing (1958-1960); 315th Air Division (1960 - 1963) 6315th Operations Group (1963-1966); 374th Tactical Airlift Wing (1966 - 1971)

35th Troop Carrier Squadron (315th Air Division), 8 January 1963 – 8 August 1966, (C-130 Hercules)

817th Troop Carrier Squadron (315th Air Division), 25 June 1960 – 8 August 1966, (C-130 Hercules)

Current units

Naha AB currently hosts JASDF units flying modified F-15J/DJ fighter aircraft, Kawasaki T-4 trainers, UH-60J Black Hawk and CH-47J Chinook helicopters. Units of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are also based at Naha, flying the P-3 Orion patrol aircraft. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Okinawa Prefectural Police, and the Japan Coast Guard also utilize facilities at Naha Airport.

As of 2013, funding in the region of ¥0.3 billion has been requested for preparing the base to host JASDF E-2C aircraft, including ¥70million for new repair and maintenance facilities.