Tachikawa Aircraft In November 1924, Ishikawajima Shipyards (the future
IHI Corporation) established a subsidiary company, the . In 1936, the
Imperial Japanese Army acquired a controlling interest in the company, and renamed it the Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd. The company manufactured a number of types, mostly
training aircraft and
fighters for the
Imperial Japanese Army. Some were its own designs placed into full production, such as the
Ki-9 and
Ki-36. A number of others were either short-run specials, or prototypes that did not enter production, such as the
Ki-77. In 1940, the company received license-production rights to the
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra which it produced as the
Army Type LO transport. Tachikawa also produced aircraft designed by other Japanese manufacturers. As with all Japanese manufacturers, production of all types ceased after the
surrender of Japan to
Allied forces in August 1945. The facilities of Tachikawa Aircraft had been severely damaged by bombing during the war, and most of its property, including its airfield, were seized by the American military and become part of the
Tachikawa Air Base. Many of its engineers went to work for
Nissan and
Toyota, helping develop the technologies of the
Japanese automobile industry. The
Prince Motor Company (later acquired by Nissan) was a direct spin-out from the former Tachikawa Aircraft Company.
New Tachikawa Aircraft Company During the
occupation of Japan after the end of
World War II, all of Japan's aerospace industry was dismantled, designs destroyed and plants converted to other uses. After the ban on aircraft development was lifted in November 1949, Tachikawa Aircraft was reconstituted as the . Shin Tachikawa built prototype training aircraft, the
R-52 and
R-53 in the early 1950s. The R-52 was the first post-war, all-Japanese aircraft constructed. However, neither aircraft were commercially successful and the company survived by making precision components for aircraft, and for non-aircraft related industries. In 1955, the company name was changed to to emphasize its lack of involvement with the aviation industry. Since 1976, after the return of a large amount of land occupied by the
United States Air Force since the end of World War II, the company turned towards
real estate development,
consumer electronics, and the production of automotive parts. ==Ishikawajima Aircraft==