After the defeat of Imperial Japan in World War II, the country under American occupation was prohibited from having its own armed forces. The Japanese Constitution adopted in 1947 proclaimed the renunciation of the creation of the armed forces and the right to wage war. However, in 1952, the National Security Forces were formed, and in 1954, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces began to be created on their basis.
Formally, this organization is not the armed forces and in Japan itself is considered a civilian agency. The Prime Minister of Japan is in charge of the Self-Defense Forces. Nevertheless, this "non-military organization" with a budget of $ 59 billion and a number of almost 250,000 people is equipped with sufficiently modern weapons and equipment.
Simultaneously with the creation of the Self-Defense Forces, the reconstruction of the Air Force - the Air Self-Defense Forces of Japan began. In March 1954, Japan signed a military assistance treaty with the United States, and in January 1960, Japan and the United States signed a "treaty on mutual cooperation and security guarantees." In accordance with these agreements, the Air Self-Defense Forces began to receive American-made aircraft. The first Japanese air wing was organized on October 1, 1956, which included 68 T-33A and 20 F-86F.
F-86F fighters of the Japanese Air Defense Forces
In 1957, licensed production of American F-86F Saber fighters began. Mitsubishi built 300 F-86Fs from 1956 to 1961. These aircraft served with the Air Self-Defense Force until 1982.
After the adoption and the start of licensed production of the F-86F aircraft, the Air Self-Defense Forces required two-seat jet trainer aircraft (TCB), similar in their characteristics to combat fighters. The T-33 jet trainer with a straight wing produced by the Kawasaki Corporation under license (210 aircraft built), created on the basis of the first serial American jet fighter F-80 "Shooting Star", did not fully meet the requirements.
In this regard, the Fuji company on the basis of the American F-86F Saber fighter developed the T-1 TCB. Two crew members were accommodated in the cockpit in tandem under a common canopy that can be folded back. The first plane took off in 1958. Due to problems with the fine-tuning of the Japanese engine, the first version of the T-1 was equipped with imported British Bristol Aero Engines Orpheus engines with a thrust of 17.79 kN.
Japanese TCB T-1
The aircraft was recognized as meeting the requirements of the Air Force, after which two batches of 22 aircraft were ordered under the designation T-1A. The aircraft of both parties were delivered to the customer in 1961-1962. From September 1962 to June 1963, 20 production aircraft were built under the designation T-1B with the Japanese Ishikawajima-Harima J3-IHI-3 engine with a thrust of 11.77 kN. Thus, the T-1 TCB became the first post-war Japanese jet aircraft designed by its own designers, the construction of which was carried out at national enterprises from Japanese components.
The Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces have operated the T-1 trainer for over 40 years, several generations of Japanese pilots have been trained on this training aircraft, the last aircraft of this type was decommissioned in 2006.
With a takeoff weight of up to 5 tons, the aircraft developed a speed of up to 930 km / h. It was armed with one machine gun of 12.7 mm caliber, it could carry a combat load in the form of NAR or bombs weighing up to 700 kg. In terms of its main characteristics, the Japanese T-1 roughly corresponded to the widespread Soviet UTS - the UTI MiG-15.
In 1959, the Japanese company Kawasaki acquired a license to manufacture the Lockheed P-2H Neptune marine anti-submarine patrol aircraft. Since 1959, serial production began at the plant in the city of Gifu, which ended with the release of 48 aircraft. In 1961, Kawasaki began developing her own modification of the Neptune. The aircraft received the designation P-2J. On it, instead of piston engines, they installed two General Electric T64-IHI-10 turboprop engines with a capacity of 2850 hp each, produced in Japan. Auxiliary turbojet engines Westinghouse J34 were replaced with turbojet engines Ishikawajima-Harima IHI-J3.
In addition to the installation of turboprop engines, there were other changes: the fuel supply was increased, new anti-submarine and navigation equipment was installed. The engine nacelles were redesigned to reduce drag. To improve takeoff and landing characteristics on soft ground, the chassis was redesigned - instead of one large diameter wheel, the main struts received twin wheels of a smaller diameter.
Marine patrol aircraft Kawasaki P-2J
In August 1969, the serial production of the P-2J began. In the period from 1969 to 1982, 82 cars were produced. Patrol aircraft of this type were operated in the Japanese naval aviation until 1996.
Realizing that the American subsonic jet fighters F-86 by the beginning of the 60s no longer met modern requirements, the command of the Self-Defense Forces began to look for a replacement for them. In those years, the concept became widespread, according to which air combat in the future would be reduced to supersonic interception of attack aircraft and missile duels between fighters.
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter supersonic fighter, developed in the United States in the late 1950s, fully corresponded to these ideas.
During the development of this aircraft, high speed characteristics were put at the forefront. The Starfighter was later often referred to as the "rocket with the man inside." US Air Force pilots quickly became disillusioned with this capricious and emergency aircraft, and they began to offer it to the Allies.
In the late 1950s, the Starfighter, despite the high accident rate, became one of the main fighters of the Air Force in many countries, produced in various modifications, including in Japan. It was the F-104J all-weather interceptor. On March 8, 1962, the first Japanese-assembled Starfighter was rolled out of the gates of the Mitsubishi plant in the city of Komaki. By design, it almost did not differ from the German F-104G, and the letter "J" designates only the country of the customer (J - Japan).
F-104J
Since 1961, the Air Force of the Land of the Rising Sun has received 210 Starfighter aircraft, and 178 of them were produced by the Japanese concern Mitsubishi under license.
In 1962, construction began on the first Japanese turboprop airliner for short and medium-haul lines. The aircraft was produced by the consortium Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation. It includes almost all Japanese aircraft manufacturers, such as Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, Fuji and Shin Meiwa.
YS-11
The passenger turboprop aircraft, designated YS-11, was intended to replace the Douglas DC-3 on domestic routes and could carry up to 60 passengers at a cruising speed of 454 km / h. From 1962 to 1974, 182 aircraft were produced. To this day, the YS-11 remains the only commercially successful passenger aircraft produced by a Japanese company. Of the 182 aircraft produced, 82 were sold to 15 countries. A dozen and a half of these aircraft were delivered to the military department, where they were used as transport and training aircraft. Four aircraft were used in the electronic warfare version. In 2014, a decision was made to write off all YS-11 variants.
By the mid-1960s, the F-104J was beginning to be regarded as an obsolete machine. Therefore, in January 1969, the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers raised the issue of equipping the country's Air Force with new fighter-interceptors, which were supposed to replace the Starfighters. The American third-generation F-4E Phantom multirole fighter was chosen as a prototype. But the Japanese, when ordering the F-4EJ variant, set a condition for it to be a "clean" interceptor fighter. The Americans did not mind, and all equipment for work on ground targets was removed from the F-4EJ, but the air-to-air weapons were reinforced. Everything in this was done in line with the Japanese concept of "only in the interests of defense".
F-4FJ
The first licensed Japanese-built aircraft took off for the first time on May 12, 1972. Subsequently, Mitsubishi built 127 F-4FJs under license.
A "softening" of Tokyo's approaches to offensive weapons, including in the Air Force, began to be observed in the second half of the 1970s under pressure from Washington, especially after the adoption in 1978 of the so-called "Guidelines for Japanese-American Defense Cooperation." Prior to that, no joint actions, not even exercises, were conducted by the self-defense forces and American units in Japan. Since then, much, including in the performance characteristics of aviation technology, in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces has been changing in the hope of joint offensive actions.
For example, air refueling equipment began to be installed on the still produced F-4EJ fighters. The last Phantom for the Japanese Air Force was built in 1981. But already in 1984, a program was adopted to extend their service life. At the same time, "Phantoms" began to be equipped with bombing means. These aircraft were named Kai. Most of the "Phantoms" that had a large residual resource were modernized.
F-4EJ Kai fighters continue to be in service with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces. Recently, about 10 aircraft of this type have been written off annually. About 50 F-4EJ Kai fighters and RF-4EJ reconnaissance aircraft are still in service. Apparently, this type of aircraft will be finally decommissioned after receiving the American F-35A fighters.
In the early 60s, the Japanese company Kawanishi, renamed Shin Maywa, known for its seaplanes, began research to create a new generation anti-submarine seaplane. In 1966, the design was completed, and in 1967 the first prototype took off.
The new Japanese flying boat, designated PS-1, was a cantilever high-wing aircraft with a straight wing and a T-tail. The structure of the seaplane is an all-metal single-edged one, with a sealed fuselage of the semi-monocoque type. The power plant consists of four T64 turboprop engines with a capacity of 3060 hp., each of which drove a three-bladed propeller in rotation. There are floats under the wing for additional stability during takeoff and landing. A retractable wheel chassis is used to move along the slip.
To solve anti-submarine problems, the PS-1 had a powerful search radar, a magnetometer, a receiver and an indicator for signals from hydroacoustic buoys, a flight indicator over the buoy, as well as an active and passive submarine detection system. Under the wing, between the engine nacelles, there were nodes for the suspension of four anti-submarine torpedoes.
In January 1973, the first aircraft entered service. The prototype and two pre-production aircraft were followed by a batch of 12 production vehicles, followed by eight more aircraft. During the operation, six PS-1s were lost.
Subsequently, the Maritime Self-Defense Forces abandoned the use of the PS-1 as an anti-submarine aircraft, and all the vehicles remaining in service were focused on the tasks of search and rescue at sea, the anti-submarine equipment from seaplanes was dismantled.
Seaplane US-1A
In 1976, a search and rescue version of the US-1A appeared with higher-power T64-IHI-10J engines of 3490 hp each. Orders for the new US-1A came in 1992-1995, with a total of 16 aircraft ordered by 1997.
There are currently two US-1A search and rescue units in the Japanese naval aviation.
US-2
A further development option for this seaplane was the US-2. It differs from the US-1A in the glazing of the cockpit and the updated composition of the onboard equipment. The aircraft was equipped with new Rolls-Royce AE 2100 turboprop engines with a capacity of 4500 kW. The wings have been redesigned with integrated fuel tanks. Also, the search and rescue option has a new Thales Ocean Master radar in the bow. A total of 14 US-2 aircraft were built; five aircraft of this type are operated in the naval aviation.
By the end of the 60s, the Japanese aviation industry had accumulated significant experience in the licensed construction of foreign aircraft models. By that time, the design and industrial potential of Japan made it possible to design and build independently aircraft that were not inferior in terms of basic parameters to world standards.
In 1966, Kawasaki, the main contractor for the Nihon Airplane Manufacturing Company (NAMC) consortium, began development of a twin-engine jet military transport aircraft (MTC) under the terms of reference of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces. The projected aircraft, intended to replace obsolete American-made piston transport aircraft, received the designation C-1. The first of the prototypes took off in November 1970, and flight tests were completed in March 1973.
The aircraft is equipped with two JT8D-M-9 turbojet engines of the American company Pratt-Whitney, located in nacelles under the wing, manufactured in Japan under license. The S-1 avionics make it possible to fly in difficult meteorological conditions at any time of the day.
C-1
The C-1 has a design common to modern transport workers. The cargo compartment is pressurized and equipped with an air conditioning system, and the tail ramp can be opened in flight for the landing of troops and the release of cargo. The C-1 crew consists of five people, and the typical load includes either 60 fully equipped infantrymen, or 45 paratroopers, or up to 36 stretchers for the wounded with escorts, or various equipment and cargo on landing platforms. Through the cargo hatch in the rear of the aircraft, the following can be loaded into the cockpit: a 105-mm howitzer or a 2.5-ton truck, or three off-road vehicles.
In 1973, an order was received for the first batch of 11 vehicles. The modernized and modified version of the operating experience received the designation - S-1A. Its production ended in 1980, a total of 31 vehicles of all modifications were built. The main reason for the termination of production of the C-1A was pressure from the United States, which saw the Japanese transport aircraft as a competitor to their C-130.
Despite the "defensive focus" of the Self-Defense Forces, an inexpensive fighter-bomber was required to provide air support to the Japanese ground units.
In the early 70s, the SEPECAT Jaguar began to enter service with European countries, and the Japanese military showed a desire to have an aircraft of a similar class. At the same time in Japan, Mitsubishi was developing the T-2 supersonic trainer aircraft. It first flew in July 1971, becoming the second jet trainer developed in Japan and the first Japanese supersonic aircraft.
Japanese TCB T-2
The T-2 aircraft is a monoplane with a high-positioned swept wing of variable sweep, an all-turning stabilizer and a single-fin vertical tail.
A significant part of the components on this machine were imported, including the R. B. engines. 172D.260-50 "Adur" by Rolls-Royce and Turbomeka with static thrust of 20.95 kN without forcing and 31.77 kN with forcing each, produced under license by Ishikawajima. In total, from 1975 to 1988, 90 aircraft were manufactured, of which 28 were unarmed T-2Z trainers, and 62 were T-2K combat trainers.
The aircraft had a maximum takeoff weight of 12,800 kg, a maximum speed at altitude of 1,700 km / h, and a ferry range with a PTB of 2,870 km. The armament consisted of a 20 mm cannon, missiles and bombs on seven suspension points, weighing up to 2700 kg.
In 1972, Mitsubishi, commissioned by the Air Self-Defense Forces, began developing the F-1 single-seat combat fighter-bomber based on the T-2 trainer, the first Japanese combat aircraft of its own design since World War II. By design, it is a copy of the T-2 aircraft, but it has a single-seat cockpit and more advanced sighting and navigation equipment. The F-1 fighter-bomber made its first flight in June 1975, serial production began in 1977.
F-1
The Japanese aircraft conceptually repeated the Franco-British Jaguar, but could not even come close to it in terms of the number of built. A total of 77 F-1 fighter-bombers were delivered to the Air Self-Defense Force. For comparison: SEPECAT Jaguar produced 573 aircraft. The last F-1 aircraft were decommissioned in 2006.
The decision to build a training aircraft and a fighter-bomber on the same base was not very successful. As an aircraft for the preparation and training of pilots, the T-2 turned out to be very expensive to operate, and its flight characteristics did little to meet the requirements for training. The F-1 fighter-bomber, while being similar to the Jaguar, was seriously inferior to the latter in terms of combat load and range.
