Miho Naval Air Base

Miho Naval Air Base (美保海軍航空基地, Miho Kaigun Kōkū Kichi) was an Imperial Japanese Navy aviation facility located on the Yumigahama Peninsula in Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture. It occupies a historically and strategically significant position on the narrow sandy peninsula that separates Nakaumi Lagoon from the Sea of Japan, in the western San'in region of Honshū.

Construction (1939–1943)

Construction of the airfield began in October 1939 (some sources cite March 1939) under the direction of the Maizuru Naval District (舞鶴鎮守府), which administered naval facilities along the Sea of Japan coast. The project required extensive land reclamation and grading work on the sandy peninsula terrain. The airfield was built to serve the Imperial Japanese Navy's rapidly expanding demand for trained aviators as Japan's military commitments in China deepened and the prospect of wider Pacific conflict grew.

Miho Naval Air Group (1943–1945)

The airfield was formally commissioned on 1 October 1943 as the Miho Naval Air Group (美保海軍航空隊, Miho Kaigun Kōkūtai). Its primary mission was the preliminary flight education (予科練, Yokaren) of naval aviation cadets. The base received approximately 1,200 trainees from the Kō-class 13th intake (甲飛第13期), one of the largest cohorts in the Yokaren program, which had attracted over 30,000 applicants nationwide.

Training at Miho encompassed ground-based academic instruction, physical conditioning, and progressive flight education including day and night flying exercises, formation flying, navigation training, and basic combat maneuvers. The curriculum was designed to prepare cadets for advancement to operational flight training units where they would specialize in carrier-based or land-based naval aviation roles.

In January 1944, the 2nd Miho Naval Air Group (第二美保海軍航空隊) was established as an elementary flight training unit, operating trainer aircraft for cadets who had completed preliminary ground instruction and were beginning actual flight training.

Wartime Operations and Attack

As the war situation deteriorated through 1944–1945, the training mission at Miho was progressively compressed and accelerated. The base's relatively remote location in western Japan initially shielded it from Allied air attack, but in July 1945, USAAF B-24 Liberator very-long-range bombers struck the airfield, causing damage to facilities and the runway.

Allied Occupation (1945–1957)

Following Japan's surrender in August 1945, Miho Airfield was occupied by the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) beginning in November 1945. The Royal Australian Air Force's No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron undertook the refurbishment of the war-damaged runways and infrastructure. RAAF No. 77 Squadron was subsequently stationed at Miho for patrol and armament training duties, remaining there until 1950.

During the Korean War, the United States Air Force established operations at Miho. In December 1950, the 452nd Bombardment Wing deployed B-26 Invader light bombers to the base before relocating to South Korea by May 1951. The 618th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron operated radar facilities at Miho from December 1950. The 17th Bombardment Wing flew B-26s from the field between October 1954 and March 1955. USAF units were withdrawn in May 1957, and Japanese records date the formal return of the base to September 15, 1958.

JASDF Miho Air Base (1958–present)

In 1958, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) established Miho Air Base (美保基地) with the formation of a transport unit built around C-46 aircraft transferred from Tachikawa. The base grew to become the home of the 3rd Tactical Airlift Group and the 403rd Tactical Airlift Squadron, the sole transport squadron in western Japan. Today, the base operates Kawasaki C-2 transport aircraft and KC-46A aerial refueling tankers, while sharing its runway with civilian operations as Yonago Kitarō Airport.

Several memorial cenotaphs (慰霊碑) erected by the Miho Kūkai (美保空会), an association of former Miho Naval Air Group trainees, stand within the base grounds, commemorating the young aviators who trained at Miho and perished in the Pacific War.