JMSDF Tateyama Air Base was initially founded in 1930 for the
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. It was part of the
Yokosuka Naval District, and home to the
Tateyama Naval Air Group, equipped with
Mitsubishi G3M bombers,
Mitsubishi A5M fighters,
Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and the
Kyūshū Q1W anti-submarine patrol aircraft. The artillery school for the
Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces was at Tateyama. Due to its location, it was regarded as a strategic site for the defense of the entrance to
Tokyo Bay, and was a base for
kamikaze attack aircraft towards the end of the
Pacific War. After the
surrender of Japan at the end of
World War II, the air field was occupied by the
United States Army First Cavalry Division. It was returned to the Japanese government in 1953, and assigned to the Japanese
Safety Security Force, the immediate predecessor to the JMSDF. Tateyama was rebuilt into the largest
heliport in Japan under the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), supporting rotary wing operations in other locations around Japan, including
Haneda airport,
JMSDF Ōminato Air Base,
JMSDF Maizuru Naval Air Base and
Iwo Jima. The JMSDF Fleet Air Wing 21 has been headquartered at Tateyama since 1961. ==References==