Yokota Air Base 1947-1954

Extremely rare B&W film footage of Yokota Air Base from 1947-1954. Features a 1947 tour of the base when it was designated Yokota Army Air Base, including the North and South Family Housing Areas, Officers Club, Post Exchange and Gym.

Yokota's history began well before World War II as Tama Army Airfield. Located in what was then a largely rural area about 28 miles northwest of Tokyo near the town of Fussa, it was built in 1940 by the Japanese Imperial Army as an aircraft test facility with a 3,937-foot runway. At war's end, it was requisitioned on September 3, 1945 by U.S. occupation forces. Tama was formally dedicated as Yokota Army Air Base on August 15, 1946 and the runway extended to 6,000 ft. to accommodate heavy aircraft such as the B-29 strategic bomber. Soon thereafter, two family housing areas -- north and south -- were constructed to house dependents of service personnel. With the creation of the U.S. Air Force in 1947 it was redesignated Yokota Air Base. The runway was later extended to 11,000 feet. Yokota saw intensive activity during the Korean War 1950-1953 when it hosted the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) Bomber Command and served as the Air Force's main B-29 bomber base. Activity intensified again during the Vietnam War, from 1955-1975. Today, Yokota is a joint-use facility with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. It serves as a principal transportation base and is home to the 374th Airlift Wing and headquarters of U.S.Forces Japan and 5th Air Force. It is also the Japan Air Defense Command headquarters.

BGM: Soundtrack from The Sand Pebbles by Jerry Goldsmith

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