Update Hamamatsu Air Base Museum

On 30 November 2020, we reported on the plans of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Hamamatsu Air Base Museum or Air Park for additional aircraft to be put up for display.

Monday 8 March 2021 saw the start of the major re-shuffle in the main display-hall content of the museum. Part of the aircraft and helicopters on display were moved outside awaiting their future place in the museum. The next day two new display aircraft were towed to the museum to take their place in the main exhibition-hall. These are F-4EJ Kai Phantom 17-8440 with a 301 Hikotai badge and Kawasaki T-4 66-5745/3 in Blue Impulse colours. The T-4 will be part of a special, but maybe temporary, Blue Impulse theme area together with F-86F 02-7960 and T-2 59-5111.

Also on 9 March 2021, DH115 Vampire 63-5571 and Sikorsky S-62J 53-4774 were towed in the opposite direction for storage. Wednesday 10 March saw the other five aircraft and one helicopter being towed away for storage. These are: Beech 65 Queen Air 03-3094, Fuji T-1A 15-5825, North American T-6F Texan 52-0010, North American T-28 Trojan 63-0581, Lockheed T-33A T-Bird 71-5239 and Sikorsky H-19C 91-4709.

There was some concern that the eight aircraft and helicopters leaving the display-hall would be stored outside in the open. According to the museum all will be kept inside an on-base hangar until they will be re-displayed again. There are rumours that a new annex will be built but the deadline for such an investment passed in January 2021.

Although it was brought to Hamamatsu in 2020, there is no place yet inside the museum for the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin. Another Mitsubishi project, the mock-up of the F-2A will loose its red-white prototype colours and will be painted in regular F-2 camo.

Photo: Matcha-jp.com