Kadena Air Base
| Kadena Air Base | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | RODN |
| IATA code | DNA |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 44 m (144 ft ) |
| Basic data | |
| opening | April 1945 (USA) |
| operator | United States Air Force |
| surface | 1995 ha |
| Runways | |
| 05R / 23L | 3689 m × 61 m concrete |
| 05L / 23R | 3689 m × 91 m asphalt |
The Kadena Air Base (short: Kadena AB ; Japanese 嘉 手 納 飛行 場 , Kadena-hikōjō ) is an air base of the US Air Force on the Japanese island of Okinawa , around 20 kilometers northeast of Naha . It extends over the communities of Kadena , Chatan and Okinawa .
It has two runways, each 3689 meters long and has an area of 19.95 km². Around 18,000 Americans and 4,000 Japanese were working on or for the base at the end of 2005. It is commanded by the 18th Squadron of the 5th Air Fleet of the Pacific Air Forces . Around 80 aircraft of the type F-15C Eagle , E-3 Sentry , KC-135 Stratotanker and HH-60G Pave Hawk are permanently stationed here . There are also MC-130s for special missions, RC-135s for reconnaissance and P-3 Orion sea reconnaissance aircraft for the US Navy . According to the current stationing concept, it is a main operating base .
history
During the Second World War, the 7th US Infantry Division captured an airfield near the town of Kadena on April 1, 1945 (the first day of the Battle of Okinawa ). A week later, the 1,524 meters (5,000 feet ) long runway made of paved coral limestone was prepared for flight operations again, and artillery observation planes were among the first to use it. By August 1945, the US armed forces expanded the space for the planned invasion of Japan by a new 1980 meter long asphalt runway and extended the old runway to 2285 meters for bombers. On September 7, 1945, the last Japanese fighters of the Ryūkyū Islands surrendered to the Americans.
After the conquest, the airfield was initially called Kadena Airfield , from November 20, 1945 Kadena Army Air Base and from March 8, 1948 Kadena Air Force Base . On November 1, 1949, it was finally given the current name Kadena Air Base .
Between 1951 and 1953 the main line was brought to its current length of 3,690 m. During the Korean War , the US Air Force mainly stationed B-29 Superfortress bombers in Kadena, which were replaced by F-86 combat aircraft in 1954 . They were followed by the F-100 Super Saber in 1957 , the F-105 Thunderchief in 1962 and the F-4 Phantom II in the early 1970s .
According to a US-Japanese agreement of May 15, 1972, the Ryukyu Islands with Okinawa were again administered by Japan. The US armed forces cleared smaller facilities on the island and concentrated on the Kadena Air Base, the US Navy and the US Marine Corps now also used them constantly.
During the Vietnam War , Kadena served as the base for B-52 bombers, the Lockheed A-12 and SR-71 Blackbird high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, and KC-135 Stratotanker tankers. At the end of the 1970s, F-15 Eagle took over the role of Phantom, plus an AWACS squadron with E-3 Sentry.
From February to May 2007, the US Air Force relocated a squadron of its most modern stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor, from Langley to Kadena. The hunters took part in exercises and demonstrations there. This was the first time F-22s were used outside of the United States. In March 2013, the US relocated from Kadena F-22 fighters to South Korea.
After a US soldier first raped and then murdered a 20-year-old resident of the island, there were several protests on the island demanding the evacuation of the US air base. Over 60,000 people took part in the June 20, 2016 demonstration in Okinawa and chanted placards against the base.
Web links
- The Kadena AB website (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2 空軍 . (PDF) (5) FAC 6037 嘉 手 納 飛行 場 (Kadena Air Base) . In: 沖 縄 の 米 軍 基地 . Okinawa Prefecture, Mar 2003, p. 298 , accessed Nov. 4, 2012 (Japanese).
- ↑ spiegel.de March 31, 2013: Crisis in the Far East: America sends F-22 jets to South Korea
- ↑ Ben Westscott: Japanese woman's murder provokes protests against US bases in Okinawa. CNN, June 20, 2016, accessed August 19, 2016 .