is an airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located 1.2 NM northwest Chōfu, Tokyo

Chofu, Tokyo

is a city located in the western end of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 224,878 and a population density of 10,440 persons per km². The total area was 21.53 km². Tokyo Stadium in Chōfu hosts soccer games for two J. League teams: F.C...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, west of central Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. It is administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The airport's main commercial activity is New Central Airlines

New Central Airlines

is an airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Ryūgasaki Airfield in Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It operates domestic services and its main base is Chofu Airport, Tokyo.- Destinations :...

 commuter flights to the islands south of Tokyo.

Airlines and destinations

History

Used as an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force base during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the airfield was equipped with Ki-61 Tony fighters used for air defense against USAAF B-29 Superfortress

B-29 Superfortress

The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

 attacks. Occupied after the war by American forces, the airport was briefly used as a photo-reconnaissance airfield by P-51D Mustang (F-6) aircraft of the 6th

6th Reconnaissance Group

The 6th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with Fifth Air Force, stationed at Irumagawa Air Base, Japan...

 and 71st Reconnaissance Groups beginning in late September 1945, mapping the extent of wartime damage over Honshū. The mapping flights ended in January 1946, ending operational military use by the Americans.

The United States Air Force saw no need for the facility, especially given it's proximity to the densely populated urban area. It was turned over to the Occupation Government in 1946, eventually being returned to Japanese control.

External links

• Chofu (in Japanese) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Japan)
  Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Japan)
  The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government. It is responsible for one-third of all the laws and orders in Japan and the largest Japanese ministry in terms of employees, as well as the second-largest organ of the Japanese government after the Ministry of Defense...
  
  Tokyo Civil Aviation Bureau
• Chōfu Hikōjō Mondai (in Japanese)
• Malibu.jp web site describes the fliers club and on airport "Propeller Cafe" (Japanese).