Japanese Airfields

[Fighterplane]

How were Japanese airfields defended in the Pacific area? What armory, how many people were available to defend them,...?

 

[Admiral Beez]

AIUI, these chaps manned the air bases defences that fell under IJN control. I imagine the army airfields brought their own guys, but perhaps they overlapped with the navy.

Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces - Wikipedia

• Anti-Aircraft Defense Units or 防空隊 Bōkū-tai: Anti-aircraft artillery units of 200–350 men. There were three types which differed based on the number and kind of anti-aircraft weapons assigned. The Japanese formed over two hundred of these units which were primarily located in areas outside Japan, Formosa, and Korea. They were usually assigned to Base Forces, Special Base Forces, Special Naval Landing Forces, and Guard Forces.

 

[mokyme]

Hi,

In the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) Japanese airfields were mostly protected by medium calibre AAA (75mm guns) and light calibre rapid fire AAA (20mm, 25mm & 40mm cannon). Some airfields had light calibre (7.7mm MG) and heayv calibre (120mm naval guns) AAA.

I have many low level strike photos showing the AAA batteries in action during strikes by B-25 and A-20 strafers. The life of the gunners was often short as the strafers plastered the airfields with their multiple .50 calibre MGs.

Darryl