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Still
turning Japanese...
Corne Rodenburg was there last October/November and had a very good time...During his three weeks of photography he 'only' shot 53 films, but because of the 11 September disaster the security level was high. Here are some notes from his trip:
"At
Kasumigaura (Army) Base they politely requested us to go away. The photo
opportunities at this base are very good because you are able to get close
to the taxiway. At other bases we were questioned and photographed by
police detectives and base personnel. At Misawa the Americans were very
nervous and after one and a half hours USAF Military Police, US Intell,
Japanese detectives and others surrounded us! But, after a half hour and
writing down our personal details they wished us a pleasant day. When
the aircraft are using the runway from south to north you are quite easily
able to photograph a F-4 with 300mm lens."
Gallery (some information courtesy of Scramble)
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Matsushima
will be the first airbase to get the F-2B. At the same time the
Aggressor unit at Nyutabaru will get F-2As. After that the F-1 at
Tsuiki will be phased out and replaced by the F-2A.
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F-1
of 6 Hikotai based at Tsuiki. The F-1s will be replaced by the F-2
in the next few years.
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F-15CJ
of 304 Hikotai, part of 8 Kokudan wing based at Tsuiki in the Southern
island of Japan.
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E-2C
of 601 Hikotai based at Misawa. Thirteen aircraft were ordered and
the type has been augmented by four E-767s which entered service
in 1998 and 1999. The E-767s are based at Hamamatsu.
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F-4EJ
of 8 Hikotai, normally based at Misawa together with the USAF's
PACAF wing. 8 Hikotai is planned to replace its F-4EJs with the
Mitsubishi F-2A in fy2006.
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The
US-1A 'Shin Maywa' is the Search and Rescue variant of the PS-1
ASW flying boat. Eight US-1s were procured between 1975 and 2000,
all serving with 71 Kokutai at Iwakuni which was formed on 1 July
1976. Two more are believed to be on order.
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The
YS11 is operated in a wide variety of roles. The YS11E and EA is
in service is a ECM/EW trainer, four YS11ELs have ELINT tasks, two
YS11FCs serve as flight checkers, one YS11NT is a navigation trainer
while the remainder are still configured for transport duties. This
YS-11 serves with the Denshi Shientai at Iruma.
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The
ubiquitous UH-1 - hundreds are in use with the JGSDF (Ground defence).
From the earlier variants, the UH-1B has completely been retired
but about 80 UH-1Hs remain in use. The UH-1B and the UH-1H are often
referred to as the HU-1B and HU-1H in Japanese service.
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The
days of the KV-107 are numbered. The last unit to operate it is
3 Hikotai of the Seibu Homen Herikoputatai at Takayubaru, which
has already received its first CH-47JAs as replacement.
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