Maehama Aircraft Shelters (Former Kochi Naval Air Group)
前浜掩体群（旧高知海軍航空隊）
Seven surviving concrete aircraft shelters in fields south of Kochi Airport. Built for the wartime naval airfield, the group includes a conserved public park around Shelter No. 5; shelter interiors are closed.
History
The arched concrete structures in Maehama were built in 1944 to protect aircraft at the Kochi naval airfield, the predecessor of today's airport. Seven survive among the fields: one larger shelter and six smaller ones. Their dispersed positions show how aircraft protection extended beyond the runway itself.
The shelters also preserve traces of construction and later use. At No. 5, archaeological work identified a recessed floor shaped for an aircraft and wheel-guidance grooves. Marks left by formwork and footwear remain in the concrete. The structure was used as a dwelling after the war before conservation and reinforcement work secured it as a historical site.
No. 5 is now surrounded by a small park with interpretation and seating. The local tourism association suggests allowing roughly an hour to walk around the group from the Maehama community centre. The city prohibits entering shelter interiors; the land surrounding the other six shelters is privately owned farmland. Viewing from permitted paths and respecting agricultural activity are therefore part of visiting this dispersed site. The map uses the prefectural tourism listing's representative point, not the boundary of the former airfield or a promise of access to every structure.
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Sources
- 「前浜掩体群」５号掩体公園の整備Government南国市 生涯学習課{"batch":"20261003","sourceNotes":"Official page dated 2025-02-14, read 2026-10-03. Supports 1944 construction, No. 5 address, archaeological findings, postwar dwelling, reinforcement. Explicit instructions prohibit entering interiors and state all surroundings except No. 5 are private land.","verification":{"coordinateSourceUrl":"https://kochi-tabi.jp/search_spot.html?id=1139","coordinateEvidence":"Official prefectural tourism page has L.marker([33.542805, 133.66222]) labelled 前浜掩体群 and https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=33.542805,133.66222&zoom=18 . This is the published representative point for a dispersed group; approximate avoids claiming a specific numbered shelter without a numbered survey.","accessCheckedAt":"2026-10-03","duplicateCheck":"Inventory search found no 前浜, maehama, 高知海軍航空隊 or Nankoku shelter record. kochi-city-peace-memorial-monument is a separate urban memorial in Kochi city, not these naval-airfield remains.","uncertainties":["Published dimensions of the largest shelter disagree between local and prefectural tourism pages; measurements omitted.","A group marker does not identify the exact entrance of any individual shelter; interiors are explicitly closed."]}}
- 前浜掩体（えんたい）群Website南国市観光協会{"batch":"20261003","sourceNotes":"2024-01-09 visitor account supports seven structures, one larger shelter, approximately one-hour walking circuit, community-centre starting point and No. 5 park. Dimensions differ from prefectural tourism listing, so dimensions and aircraft-identification testimony are omitted.","verification":{"coordinateSourceUrl":"https://kochi-tabi.jp/search_spot.html?id=1139","coordinateEvidence":"Official prefectural tourism page has L.marker([33.542805, 133.66222]) labelled 前浜掩体群 and https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=33.542805,133.66222&zoom=18 . This is the published representative point for a dispersed group; approximate avoids claiming a specific numbered shelter without a numbered survey.","accessCheckedAt":"2026-10-03","duplicateCheck":"Inventory search found no 前浜, maehama, 高知海軍航空隊 or Nankoku shelter record. kochi-city-peace-memorial-monument is a separate urban memorial in Kochi city, not these naval-airfield remains.","uncertainties":["Published dimensions of the largest shelter disagree between local and prefectural tourism pages; measurements omitted.","A group marker does not identify the exact entrance of any individual shelter; interiors are explicitly closed."]}}
- 前浜掩体群Website高知県観光コンベンション協会{"batch":"20261003","sourceNotes":"Updated 2026-01-29. Page source directly supplies L.marker([33.542805,133.66222]) and a Google Maps query using the same coordinates; used as approximate group representative point. Confirms seven shelters and No. 5 park.","verification":{"coordinateSourceUrl":"https://kochi-tabi.jp/search_spot.html?id=1139","coordinateEvidence":"Official prefectural tourism page has L.marker([33.542805, 133.66222]) labelled 前浜掩体群 and https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=33.542805,133.66222&zoom=18 . This is the published representative point for a dispersed group; approximate avoids claiming a specific numbered shelter without a numbered survey.","accessCheckedAt":"2026-10-03","duplicateCheck":"Inventory search found no 前浜, maehama, 高知海軍航空隊 or Nankoku shelter record. kochi-city-peace-memorial-monument is a separate urban memorial in Kochi city, not these naval-airfield remains.","uncertainties":["Published dimensions of the largest shelter disagree between local and prefectural tourism pages; measurements omitted.","A group marker does not identify the exact entrance of any individual shelter; interiors are explicitly closed."]}}
- 高知海軍航空隊 - Wikipedia（日本語）Website