Misawa Naval Air Base

Misawa Naval Air Base (三沢海軍航空基地) was built by the Imperial Japanese Navy in what is now Misawa City, Aomori Prefecture, in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu. Construction began in 1938 (Showa 13), and the base opened in 1942; the Misawa Naval Air Group (三沢海軍航空隊) was formed on February 10, 1942, initially at Kisarazu airfield.

Pearl Harbor Connection — Lake Ogawara Training

According to U.S. Air Force histories of the base, before the outbreak of the Pacific War the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service used nearby Lake Ogawara (小川原湖) as a training ground for the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The lake was chosen because its shallow depth closely matched that of Pearl Harbor. Japanese military engineers fashioned earthen hills along the lakeshore to resemble the silhouettes of American battleships and cruisers anchored at Ford Island. Pilots from the Kido Butai (機動部隊) carrier strike force conducted repeated low-level torpedo bombing runs over the lake, perfecting the shallow-water aerial torpedo techniques that proved devastatingly effective at Pearl Harbor.

Misawa Naval Air Group — From Midway to Rabaul

The Misawa Naval Air Group was organized primarily as a land-based attack aircraft (陸上攻撃機, rikujō kōgekiki) unit, equipped with Mitsubishi G4M Type 1 land attack aircraft. The unit was intended as a core force for the Navy's planned second-phase invasion operations in mid-1942 — specifically, it was designated to advance to Midway Island after its expected capture and serve as the forward aerial strike force toward Hawaii.

However, the catastrophic failure of the Battle of Midway (June 1942) and the subsequent Guadalcanal campaign fundamentally altered these plans. From July 1942, when the group deployed to Saipan, the Misawa Air Group was drawn into the brutal South Pacific air war, becoming one of the principal components of the famed Rabaul Air Force (ラバウル航空隊). The unit fought continuously in the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and surrounding theaters without ever returning to its home base in Japan, until its dissolution in October 1944.

Wartime Base Operations (1942–1945)

Back at Misawa, the base continued to serve critical functions under the 22nd Imperial Naval Air Wing (第二十二航空隊), which assumed control and shifted the base's mission toward research and development. In 1944, as Japan's strategic situation grew desperate, new facilities were constructed to support tokubetsu kōgekitai (特別攻撃隊, Special Attack / kamikaze) operations.

The base also served as a staging and training facility for various naval aviation units throughout the war, leveraging its strategic position in northern Honshu — away from the main bombing routes targeting Japan's industrial heartland, yet positioned to defend against potential northern approaches.

Destruction in 1945

In the final months of the war, American fighters and bombers struck Misawa Air Base in devastating raids in 1945. These attacks destroyed about 90 percent of the base's structures and facilities. Following the Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945, the base was demobilized and military personnel dispersed.

American Occupation and Postwar Transformation

U.S. occupation forces arrived at Misawa in September 1945 and quickly recognized the base's strategic value. The former Imperial Navy installation was rebuilt and expanded into a major American military facility. Today, Misawa Air Base operates as a joint-use installation hosting the U.S. Air Force's 35th Fighter Wing (with F-16 Fighting Falcons), Naval Air Facility Misawa (U.S. Navy), and a Japan Air Self-Defense Force wing with the 3rd Air Wing.

Misawa Aviation & Science Museum (青森県立三沢航空科学館)

Opened on August 8, 2003, the Aomori Prefectural Misawa Aviation & Science Museum is located adjacent to the base on the site historically connected to Japanese aviation. The museum celebrates Misawa's broader aviation significance, including its role as the departure point for the first successful nonstop trans-Pacific flight in 1931, when Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon Jr. flew the "Miss Veedol" from Sabishiro Beach to Wenatchee, Washington. Exhibits include a full-scale replica of the Miss Veedol, a NAMC YS-11 airliner, various military aircraft displays, and interactive science exhibits. The outdoor "Great Sky Plaza" (大空ひろば) displays decommissioned JASDF aircraft.

Historical Significance

Misawa's wartime significance is multifaceted: it served as a Pearl Harbor attack training site, home base of one of the Navy's most combat-hardened air groups, a kamikaze staging facility, and ultimately a target of American carrier strikes. Its postwar transformation into a key US-Japan alliance facility adds another layer to its complex military heritage spanning the entire arc of the Pacific War and the Cold War era that followed.