Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
The
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (more traditionally called the Japanese Army Air Force) was
Imperial Japan's land-based
aviation force.
Imperial Japan did not maintain a separate and independent
air force so both the
Imperial Japanese Army and the
Imperial Japanese Navy maintained their own air services. The IJA's Army Air Service was mainly responsible for the provision of tactical air support for ground troops while maintaining a limited air-to-air capability. The
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was responsible for
strategic bombing and national air defense. The Army Air Service also did not control the light aircraft deployed and operated by the IJA artillery as spotters or observers.
Operational
The Army Air Service was organized into 5
Air Armies,
koku-gun, with each maintaining a clear area of operations (ie, one per theater of war). These were:
* 1st - Home or General Air Army :HQ
Tokyo,
General Defense Command consisting of the
Japan Defence Army,
Formosa Army, and
Chosen Army of Japanese occupied
Korea.
* 2d -
Manchuria Air Army: HQ
Hsingking,
Kwangtung Army* 3rd - Southern Air Army: HQ
Singapore,
Southern Army* 4th -
New Guinea Air Army, formed in 1943, HQ
Rabaul and
Wewak,
8th Area Army* 5th -
China Air Army, formed in 1944, HQ
Nanking,
China Expeditionary ArmyFunctional
Each Air Army contains 2 or more Air Divisions,
hiko-shidan, containing 2 or more Air Brigades,
hiko-dan, each. Optiminally, an Air Division was assigned to each Group Army and an Air Brigade was assigned to a Field Army. Each Air Brigade contained a Headquarters,
chutai hombu, responsible for tactical planning and 3 or 4 Air Regiments,
hiko rentai, plus some reconnaissance and transport aircraft units. Air Regiments usually contained only one type and brand of aircraft, such as fighters or light or medium bombers. Air Regiments consisted of 3 or 4 Air Companies,
chutai, of, usually, 9-12 aircraft or two Air Battalions (hiko daitai) of 2 Air Companies.. These Air Companies contain 3 sections,
shotai, of 3 later 4 aircraft each. However, fighter Air Regiments contained 45 to 48 aircraft and the Bomber and/or Recon Air Regiments contained 27 to 36 aircraft. The Air Regiments themselves were later replaced with Air Groups called
Hiko Sentai which consisted of only one category of aircraft but could operate several different types as needed or available.
The IJAAS also organized Independent Air Companies or
dokurista Chutai and Independent Air Wings called
dokuristu hikotai whick performed missions such as reconnaissance,
VIP transport, etc.
The Heaven Shaking Air Superior Unit or
Shinten Seiku-tai were specially designated and trained sections of fighter units with the mission of air-to-air ramming of allied bomber aircraft. They usually had their armamnets removed and their airframes may have been reinforced.Lastly it raised the
Special Attack Units called the
Shimbu-tai which were dedicated suicide units for
Kamikaze missions. Around 170 of these units were formed, 57 by the Instructor Air Division alone. Notionally equipped with 12 aircraft each, it eventually comprised around 2000 aircraft.
*Hikoshidan Hikotai - The Instructor Air Divisions
**
Akeno,
Hakujoshi,
Hamamatsu,
Hitachi,
Hokota,
Kumagawa,
Mito,
Niigata,
Shimoshizu,
Tachiari,
Tachigawa,
Tokorozawa,
Utsonomiai Kyodo-Hikotai (Army Flying Schools)
*Kyoiku Hiko Rentai - Air Training Groups
**101st, 1-4th, 105th, 107th, and 115th
*Koku Shikan Gakko - Army Air Academy, located at
Irumagawa, Japan
*Tachigawa Army Air Test Center
*
Tokooya Army Air Officers School
*Tokorozawa Army Air Maintenance School
*Utsonomia Army Air Communications School
Japanese Air Army Service possessed one special air technical section, the First Tachikawa Air Army Arsenal. These section of the special workshop and air technical institution in charge of all aerial developments of Air Army service units. Between the technical branches was the Testing Section for Captured allied aircraft, with installations in Tachikawa, Philippines and Singapore. Another section of Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. and Rikugun Kokukosho K.K. the Army's aircraft companies, who was responsible for continuing aircraft development and, along with Tachikawa, the manufacture of some aircraft for Japanese Army. Its assignment was very similar to that of the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal testing center for
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.
In 1940 the Army Air Service consisted of the following:
** 33,000 personnel
** Over 1,600 aircraft (including 1,375 first line combat aircraft).
** The aircraft were organized into 85 Air Companies;
*** 36 fighter,
*** 28 light bomber, and
*** 22 medium bomber.
The Kitai system was the IJA's type number for its aircraft. It was abbreviated to Ki and subsets could be added for later modifications (Mitsubishi Ki-1-11). They were established in the sequence as different aircraft were adopted and not according to the aircraft type such as is used in the west.
As part of the IJA, the Army Air Service wore the standard army uniforms, Only Flying personnel and groundcrews wore theirs with sky blue trim and stripes, while officers wore their ranks on sky blue patches.
* Ikuhiko Hata, Yasuho Izawa, and Christopher Shores,
Japanese Army Air Force Fighter Units and Their Aces, 1931-1945 (London: Grub Street, 2002) ISBN 1902304896
*
List of military aircraft of Japan*
Giretsu special forces operations*
List of Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Service personnel (WWII)*
List of Radars in use by Imperial Japanese Army*
List of Bombs in use by Imperial Japanese Army*
List of weapons on Japanese combat aircraft*
An introduction to the Japanese Army Air Force*
Images of Axis aircraft: German, Italian and Japanese Army and Navy*
Advanced Japanese aircraft*
General resources on Japanese aircraft*
Some captured aircraft, or aircraft in evaluation*
Japanese armaments, vehicles, aircraft, electronic warfare and some Japanese special weapon technology*
http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/rdunn/248th248th.htm 248th Hiko Sentai {For reference only}
