Naval Air Facility Atsugi
厚木海軍飛行場
A major Imperial Japanese Navy airfield in Kanagawa Prefecture, begun in 1938 and opened in 1943, home to the elite 302nd Naval Air Group that defended Tokyo against B-29 raids. On August 30, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur landed here aboard his C-54 "Bataan," marking the first step of the Allied occupation of Japan.
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History
Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a military airfield straddling the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, approximately 35 kilometers southwest of central Tokyo. The Imperial Japanese Navy began construction in 1938; work on office buildings and workshops started in 1942, and naval air units were established at the base in 1943.
The airfield served as the home base of the 302nd Naval Air Group (第302海軍航空隊), one of the most formidable fighter units tasked with the air defense of the Tokyo metropolitan area. Equipped with Raiden (J2M) and Gekko (J1N) night fighters, the 302nd Kokutai intercepted American B-29 Superfortress bombing raids throughout 1944-1945, claiming over 300 aircraft shot down during the firebombing campaign against Japan's cities.
On August 15, 1945, following Emperor Hirohito's surrender broadcast, a group of officers from the 302nd Air Group staged a brief rebellion at Atsugi, distributing leaflets urging continued resistance. Captain Yasuna Kozono, the air group commander, refused to accept the surrender order. The mutiny was suppressed within days by senior naval officers.
On August 28, 1945, an advance party of the 11th Airborne Division and the 139th Army Airways Communication System landed at Atsugi to secure the airfield and establish communications. Two days later, on the afternoon of August 30, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur's personal C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft — named "Bataan" — touched down at Atsugi. MacArthur emerged wearing his trademark sunglasses and corncob pipe, descended the aircraft stairs, and was greeted by Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger. His first words were reportedly: "Melbourne to Tokyo — it was a long road." This moment marked the beginning of the Allied occupation of Japan and the Supreme Commander's journey to establish SCAP headquarters in Yokohama and later Tokyo.
The airfield was subsequently taken over by the United States military; after serving as an overflow and storage area for nearby Camp Zama during the occupation, it reopened as Naval Air Station Atsugi in December 1950 and is used today as a joint US Navy–Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force installation.