Technique, armament and combat composition of the Air Force of Japan: history and modernity

The twentieth century was a period of intensive development of military aviation in many European countries. The reason for the appearance of the air force was the need of states for anti-air and anti-missile defense of economic and political centers. The development of combat aviation was observed not only in Europe. The twentieth century is a time of building up the power of the Air Force of Japan, whose government also sought to protect itself, strategic and state-important facilities.

How it all began? Japan in the years 1891-1910

In 1891, Japan launched the first flying machines. These were models using rubber motors. Over time, a larger aircraft was created, in the design of which there was a drive and a pushing screw. But this product of the Air Force of Japan is not interested. The birth of aviation occurred in 1910, after the acquisition of the aircraft "Farman" and "Grande".

1914 year. The First Air Combat

The first attempts to use Japanese combat aircraft were undertaken in September 1914. At this time, the Army of the Land of the Rising Sun, along with England and France, confronted the Germans deployed in China. A year before these events, the Air Force of Japan for training purposes purchased two two-seater aircraft "Newport NG" and one triple "Newport NM" in 1910. Soon these air units were also used for combat. The Air Force of Japan in 1913 had four "Farman" aircraft, which were designed for reconnaissance. Over time, they began to be used for air strikes against the enemy.

In 1914, German aircraft attacked the fleet in Qinggatao. Germany at that time used one of its best flying machines - "Taub". During this military campaign, the Air Force of Japan carried out 86 sorties and dropped 44 bombs.

1916-1930. Activities of manufacturing companies

At this time, Japanese companies "Kawasaki", "Nakajima" and "Mitsubishi" are developing a unique flying boat "Yokoso". Since 1916, Japanese manufacturers have created the designs of the best aircraft models in Germany, France and England. This state of affairs lasted fifteen years. Since 1930, companies have begun production of aircraft for the Air Force of Japan. Today, the armed forces of this state are among the ten strongest armies in the world.

Domestic developments

By 1936, Japanese aircraft manufacturers Kawasaki, Nakajima and Mitsubishi had built the first planes. The Japanese Air Force already possessed two-engine bombers of domestic production G3M1 and Ki-21, reconnaissance aircraft Ki-15 and A5M1 fighters. In 1937, the conflict between Japan and China flared up again. This entailed the privatization of large industrial enterprises by Japan and the restoration of state control over them.

Air Force of Japan. Command Organization

Head of the Air Force of Japan is the main headquarters. In his submission is the command:

• Combat support;
• Aviation;
• Communication;
• Educational;
• Security team;
• Test;
• hospital;
• Department of Counterintelligence of the Air Force of Japan.

The combat composition of the Air Force is represented by combat, training, transport and special aircraft and helicopters.

The structure of the command of aviation before the First World War

For a long time, the armed forces of the Japanese Empire were two independent military infrastructure - land forces and the Navy. The leadership of the first sought to have under their command own units of aviation for the transportation of their cargoes. To create such aircraft carriers in the city of Takinawa, at the Arsenal No. 1 military plant, which belonged to the ground forces, the already existing passenger and merchant vessels were refined and altered. They were auxiliary vehicles and were widely used to transport personnel and armored vehicles of the ground forces. On the territory of this plant was located an airfield, the infrastructure of which allowed to test captured aircraft equipment.

Before the First World War, Japan's army aviation had its main military unit - the air brigade of the ground forces. It consisted of squadrons (AE). Each contained eleven airplanes. Of these, three cars belonged to the reservoir. The same number constituted one link in the aviation line (LA) and was subordinated to the headquarters. Each squadron was intended for a separate task: carrying out reconnaissance, fighter and light-bomber tasks assigned to the Air Force of Japan. The equipment and armament of reconnaissance air regiments consisted of 30 units, the fighter - 45. Specialized air groups formed divisions, which had their airfields, garrisons. They were reduced to the army aviation corps. They were ruled by officers of no less than the captain.

Reorganization

In 1942 the army aviation corps was liquidated. Only the divisions remained, which with separate parts of the air regiments were the highest command operational-tactical structure. Before the Second World War, all Japanese aviation was not a separate type of troops, but was subordinated to the navy and the army of the emperor. Soon the reorganization of army aviation units was carried out, as a result of which associations or regiments (AAs) were formed, having an operational-strategic level:

• The first air army (IA) with a base in the Kanto area and headquarters in the city of Tokyo. The Danae Army controlled the Japanese and Kuril Islands, Korea, Taiwan.
• The second IA was deployed in the city of Xinjing. The zone of responsibility was Manchukuo.
• The third IA of the ground forces was in charge of the Southeast Asian region. The headquarters was stationed in Singapore.
• The Fourth IA controlled New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The headquarters was located in Rabaul.
• The Fifth IA had a zone of responsibility within the occupied southern and eastern territories of China. Headquarters - in the city of Nanjing.
• The sixth IA had its headquarters on the island of Kyushu. Controlled territory - the islands of Okinawa, Taiwan and the west of Japan.

"Kamikaze" of the Air Force of Japan

The history of the occurrence of this word stretches in 1944. At this time, Japan was reorganizing aviation. On the basis of the existing aviation regiments, the Japanese command formed shock troops. They were a squadron of suicides and in official documents were designated as a squadron of "Kamikaze". Their task was to physically destroy the B-17 and B-29 airbase bomber units. Since the Japanese special forces carried out their work with the help of a battering ram, there were no weapons on the sides of their aircraft.

The design of such aircraft units is characterized by a reinforced fuselage reinforcement. Over the whole history of the Japanese air force, over 160 shock aviation special units have been created. Of these, 57 were formed on the basis of air training.

In 1945, Operation Ketsu-go was carried out to protect the islands of Japan from the air forces of the United States of America. As a result of the reorganization, all the armies were united in a single structure under the leadership of M. Kawabe, General of Aviation.

Multipurpose model

Among the various military aircraft, Mitsubishi F-2 occupies a special place. The Japanese Air Force, for which it was designed, used this model as a training and as a fighter-bomber. The aircraft is considered a follower of the previous unsuccessful version of F-1, which was also created by the Japanese manufacturing company Mitsubishi. The disadvantages of the F-1 were that this model was released with insufficient range and low combat load. When designing a new model of F-2, Japanese designers-developers were influenced by the American project "Ejain Falcon". Despite the fact that the created F-2 visually resembles its prototype - the American model F-16, it is considered new in Japanese production, as it has some differences:

• The use of various structural materials. The production of the Japanese model is characterized by extensive use of promising composite materials, which significantly affected the weight reduction of the airframe.
• The design of the F-2 is different from the F-16.
• Various on-board systems.
• Difference in armament.
• F-2 and its prototype use different electronics.

The design of the Japanese F-2 aircraft favorably differs from the prototype by its simplicity, ease and manufacturability.

Model B6N1

Japan's air force in World War II used one of its best deck torpedo bombers B6N1 ("Tenzan"). The beginning of serial deliveries of this plane has begun in 1943. By the end of autumn, 133 aircraft had been constructed. The first samples were squadrons, which included aircraft carriers: 601st, 652nd and 653rd. Since there was a real threat from the US Air Force to the island of Bougainville, Japan's aviation leadership decided to transfer forty B6N1 units to Rabaul. In November, with the participation of this model, the first air battle took place, which was lost. It was attended by 16 combat "Tenzan". Of these, the Air Force of Japan lost four. The subsequent two combat sorties were also ineffective.

Construction B6N1

• "Tendzan" is equipped with a cylinder engine with air cooling.
• The engine "Mamoru" is designed for 1800 hp.
• The combat configuration of the aircraft is represented by an upper and lower installation of two 27.7 mm machine guns.
• The bomb load B6N1 is designed for 800 kg. This includes a torpedo (1pc) and bombs.
• Passenger capacity is three people.

War for the Marianas

In June 1944, the Japanese Air Force used decked "Tendzan" in the battle near the Mariana Islands. A total of 68 units took part. Model B6N1 in this battle served as torpedo bombers and radar leaders - they were the gunners for shock special groups of Japanese aviation. This battle with Japan and its aviation was lost. Of the 68 boards back to the base, only eight returned.

After the battle in the Mariana Islands, the Japanese aviation leadership decided to use this model of the aircraft only from the coastal base.

Confrontation of the USSR

The airborne aircraft "Tendzan" in battles for Okinawa were used as bombers and kamikaze machines. The B6N1 was equipped with special radars. Therefore, the aviation command of Japan, this model was assigned to the 93rd Kokutai (air group), which carried out antisubmarine patrols. Also, "Tendzans" entered the Kokutai 553rd. The Air Force of Japan's Air Force had 13 vehicles that took part in battles with Soviet aviation.

Despite their positive technical parameters, the Japanese "Tendzans" had a disadvantage, which was the unsuccessful choice of the engine. This slowed down the process of introducing B6N1 into batch production. As a result, the models released lagged far behind enemy aircraft.

Japanese Aviation Fleet

In 1975, the personnel of the Air Force of Japan consisted of 45 thousand people. The combat aircraft fleet had 500 units. Of these, 60 F-4EJs, 170 F10-4J and 250 F-86F units belonged to the fighters. For reconnaissance, the models RF-4E and RF-86F (20 units) were used. In the Air Force of Japan, 35 aircrafts and 20 helicopters were delivered to the Hajk-J ZUR for transportation of cargo and wounded. There were 350 airplanes in flight schools. For deployment, the command of the Japanese aviation had 15 airbases and airfields.

In 2012, the number of personnel decreased from 45,000 to 43,700. The aircraft fleet (by 200 units) significantly increased.

The Air Force of Japan today contains 700 units, among which:

• 260 - tactical and multi-purpose fighters;
• 200 - attack aircraft and training models;
• 17 - DRLO aircraft;
• 7 - models performing radio technical reconnaissance;
• 4 - strategic refuellers;
• 44 - military transport vehicles.

Defense plan

Decrease in the number of personnel with the expansion of the aircraft combat fleet attests to the attitude of the Japanese air force not to mass, but to point action. According to the new defense plan, the Air Force will not increase the forces of self-defense, but will relocate its squadrons, focusing them on strategically convenient positions. One of these places is Ryuko Island. The second stage in the activity of the air command will be the acquisition of fifth-generation fighter aircraft.