Airfields
I was always under the impression that almost all Japanese airfields, with the exception perhaps of Haneda, Tokyo, were unpaved except for the area right in front of hangars.
Although the bibliography is virtually non-existent in any language, I discovered that many IJAAF airfields in Japan mainland but also in Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria had at least paved runways and were surrounded by open areas that could be also used for taking off and landing.
There were various kinds of IJAAF airfields. The unpaved and most basic one had the earth of the designated area flattened and pressed, with one layer of gravel, one of clay and then another layer of pressed earth. Often on top grass was planted. This construction needed constant care and maintenance since the taking off and landing of aircraft as well as the rain destroyed the surface.
The Japanese used many ways to pave airfields. One was with concrete, another was with asphalt and these provided the most permanent construction. In all cases, they used the macadam method, including water-bound macadam, macadam with clay and macadam with cement. Another material was called "tataki", originally the material used to pave the entrance of traditional Japanese houses. There were two types of "tataki" to pave airfields, the first was a mixture of quicklime, cement and clay the other was a mixture of quicklime, clay and gravel.
I was always under the impression that almost all Japanese airfields, with the exception perhaps of Haneda, Tokyo, were unpaved except for the area right in front of hangars.
Although the bibliography is virtually non-existent in any language, I discovered that many IJAAF airfields in Japan mainland but also in Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria had at least paved runways and were surrounded by open areas that could be also used for taking off and landing.
There were various kinds of IJAAF airfields. The unpaved and most basic one had the earth of the designated area flattened and pressed, with one layer of gravel, one of clay and then another layer of pressed earth. Often on top grass was planted. This construction needed constant care and maintenance since the taking off and landing of aircraft as well as the rain destroyed the surface.
The Japanese used many ways to pave airfields. One was with concrete, another was with asphalt and these provided the most permanent construction. In all cases, they used the macadam method, including water-bound macadam, macadam with clay and macadam with cement. Another material was called "tataki", originally the material used to pave the entrance of traditional Japanese houses. There were two types of "tataki" to pave airfields, the first was a mixture of quicklime, cement and clay the other was a mixture of quicklime, clay and gravel.
An example of an unpaved airfield except for the area right in front of hangars was the airfield in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Note the huge hangars.
Chofu airfield in Tokyo, home of the famous 244 Sentai. The attached aerial photo (from the 244 Sentai site) taken in July 1941 by the IJAAF, clearly shows the paved runways and the surrounding area as well as the location of hangars and the air control building indicated by the letter E. The longer runway had a length of 100m and width 80m, while the shorter one was 75m in length and 80m wide.
Many well-known photos, like the one attached, show 244 Sentai "Hien" fighters on the paved runway or the area in front of the hangars with small puddles of water after a rainfall but I have never seen a diorama featuring the "Hien" of Major Kobayashi on such a base.
The paved airfields had gutters of different shape to collect rainwater.
One such well-maintained and paved airfield is the well-photographed one the Akeno Flight School operated from.
Attached is a map I located on the net of the area the Akeno school airfield was based. The Akeno school was in "1", the paved (concrete) part of the airfield was in "2". The red line "5" shows the outline of the whole airfield in 1945.
Below are some photos of green in Japan I found online to give you an idea how the airfield looked like.
This is one of my most favorite IJNAF photos (source: Maru Special #2). It features "Kataoka Base" (a.k.a. Miyoshino Airfield) on Shumshu Island in the Chishima (or Kuril) Islands.
The photo, full of many interesting details offers a clear view of the side of the runway and hints about its construction process.
Note the Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zeros" of the 203 Kokutai and also the bicycle, the fire extinguisher and the fuel truck we presented in previous posts, among other small details. Can you see the Showa L2D?
The whole view gives a rather different diorama idea than the classic and, in my opinion completely borrrrrring, "Zero under palm trees" setup, isn't it?
A present-day Google view of the same airfield. Note the same construction features on the right side of the runway, around the middle.
A present-day Google view of the Shumshu Island. Next to it is Paramushir Island. The Kataoka Base can be seen above the letters "Baykovo".
For history buffs, check here.
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