The Last Phantoms of Hyakuri
For almost half a century, the distinctive silhouette of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was an integral part of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). Few places became as closely associated with the type as Hyakuri Air Base in Ibaraki Prefecture, north-east of Tokyo. By the final years of the Phantom’s career, Hyakuri had become the undisputed home of Japan’s remaining F-4 fleet, bringing together three very different units: the 301st and 302nd Tactical Fighter Squadrons, operating the fighter and interceptor F-4EJ Kai, and the 501st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, flying the specialised RF-4E and RF-4EJ.
Their presence represented the final chapter of a story that had begun at Hyakuri in the early 1970s, when Japan introduced a domestically produced version of the Phantom to strengthen the country’s air-defence capabilities. The base itself had received its first F-4s in 1972, and the following year the 301st Squadron was formed there, making it the birthplace of Japan’s Phantom fighter force. The 501st followed soon afterwards with the reconnaissance version, while the 302nd would eventually join them after a long career elsewhere.
The result, particularly during the period between 2016 and 2019, was a remarkable concentration of Phantom history. Three squadrons, three distinctive missions and several generations of aircraft could be found operating from the same airfield, even as the JASDF prepared to replace the ageing aircraft with the F-35A Lightning II.
301st Tactical Fighter Squadron
The story begins with the 301st Tactical Fighter Squadron, the first JASDF unit to operate the F-4. Established at Hyakuri in October 1973, the squadron was initially responsible not only for operating the new fighter but also for developing the operational conversion capability required to introduce the Phantom into Japanese service. The arrival of the F-4EJ represented a major technological step for the JASDF, providing an all-weather interceptor with considerably greater capability than the aircraft it was replacing. The Japanese government had specifically selected the Phantom to improve the country’s ability to conduct air defence and interception, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries subsequently produced the aircraft in Japan under licence.
The 301st’s association with Hyakuri would not, however, be continuous. In 1985 the squadron moved south to Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture, exchanging bases with the F-104-equipped 204th Squadron. At Nyutabaru the unit continued operating the Phantom and became one of the JASDF’s long-serving F-4 formations. In April 1991 it began receiving the extensively upgraded F-4EJ Kai, incorporating improvements to the radar and fire-control system, navigation and communications equipment and weapons capability.
The F-4EJ Kai retained the unmistakable appearance of the Phantom but represented a considerably more capable aircraft than the original F-4EJ. By the final years of its career, the type could perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, although the 301st’s responsibilities remained firmly connected to the air-defence mission. The squadron also carried the important task of maintaining readiness to respond to potential airspace incursions, a role that required its crews and aircraft to remain prepared for rapid reaction.
After more than three decades away, the 301st finally returned to its birthplace in October 2016. The move was part of a major JASDF reorganisation that saw the F-15J-equipped 305th Squadron leave Hyakuri for Nyutabaru while the 301st returned from Kyushu. With the 302nd and 501st already operating their Phantoms from Hyakuri, the move created an extraordinary concentration of the type at the base.
The return of the 301st was particularly significant because it would ultimately become the last operational fighter squadron in Japan to fly the Phantom. Its final years were therefore accompanied by an increasing awareness that an era was coming to an end. The squadron’s F-4EJ Kais were increasingly photographed in special markings celebrating the unit’s history and the Phantom’s impending retirement, culminating in the famous farewell aircraft carrying the words “Phantom Forever” and other commemorative markings.
On 20 November 2020, the JASDF formally commemorated the retirement of the F-4EJ at Hyakuri. The ceremony marked the end of almost 48 years of frontline Phantom fighter operations in Japan. The final 301st aircraft subsequently continued flying for a short period, with the squadron’s last Phantom flight taking place in December before the unit moved to Misawa to begin its conversion to the F-35A.
302nd Tactical Fighter Squadron
The second of Hyakuri’s final Phantom squadrons was the 302nd Tactical Fighter Squadron. Formed at Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido on 1 October 1974, the unit became the JASDF’s first operational F-4EJ fighter squadron, following the 301st’s role as the initial conversion unit. From the beginning, the 302nd was therefore closely associated with Japan’s frontline air-defence system.
The squadron’s early career was marked by the realities of Japan’s strategic position during the Cold War. In September 1976, two of its F-4EJs were scrambled following the dramatic arrival of Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko, who defected to Japan after flying a MiG-25 into the country. Although the Phantoms were unable to intercept Belenko’s aircraft before it landed at Hakodate, the incident exposed weaknesses in the Japanese air-defence network and subsequently contributed to changes in the country’s response procedures.
The 302nd moved from Chitose to Naha Air Base in Okinawa in November 1985, beginning a long association with Japan’s south-western air-defence region. From Naha the squadron was responsible for maintaining Japan’s air-defence posture in an area increasingly important during the later Cold War and post-Cold War periods. Its Phantoms regularly scrambled in response to unidentified aircraft approaching Japanese airspace, and in December 1987 one of the squadron’s F-4EJs fired warning shots during an interception of a Soviet Tu-16 bomber that had entered Japanese airspace over Okinawa.
The 302nd progressively received the F-4EJ Kai from the early 1990s, completing the conversion by the middle of the decade. The modernised aircraft allowed the squadron to continue operating the Phantom effectively long after the original F-4EJ had begun to disappear from frontline service elsewhere in the JASDF.
In March 2009, another major chapter began when the 302nd moved from Naha to Hyakuri, exchanging bases with the F-15J-equipped 204th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Its arrival brought another Phantom fighter unit into the same environment as the 501st reconnaissance squadron, while the 301st would eventually return seven years later.
For a relatively brief period, therefore, Hyakuri became home to three operational Phantom squadrons. The 302nd’s F-4EJ Kais represented the fighter element, standing alongside the 301st while the 501st’s reconnaissance aircraft provided a completely different interpretation of the Phantom’s capabilities.
Yet the 302nd would be the first of the three to disappear. As the JASDF prepared to introduce the F-35A, the squadron was selected to become the first Japanese F-4 unit to make the transition to the new-generation stealth fighter. Its final Phantom operations took place in March 2019, after which the squadron relocated to Misawa and began its transformation into an F-35A unit. The departure left the 301st and 501st as the final two Phantom squadrons in Japan.
501st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
If the 301st and 302nd represented the Phantom as a fighter, the 501st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron demonstrated just how versatile the basic design could become. Known for its distinctive “Woodpecker” emblem, the 501st was the JASDF’s dedicated tactical reconnaissance unit and operated a specialised fleet of RF-4E and RF-4EJ aircraft from Hyakuri.
The squadron had actually been established long before the arrival of the Phantom, having originally operated RF-86F Sabres from Matsushima and later Iruma. During the 1970s, however, the JASDF sought a much more capable reconnaissance aircraft. The RF-4E offered an all-weather tactical reconnaissance capability far beyond that of the ageing RF-86F, and the first Japanese RF-4E was delivered in 1974. The 501st subsequently moved from Iruma to Hyakuri in 1975.
The reconnaissance Phantom differed substantially from the F-4EJ fighters. The RF-4E featured a distinctive extended reconnaissance nose containing an array of cameras and sensors instead of the fighter’s conventional radar installation. This allowed the aircraft to collect detailed imagery for tactical intelligence and reconnaissance missions. The aircraft could also be used in support of disaster-relief operations and other national missions requiring rapid aerial assessment.
During its long career the squadron became particularly important during periods of national emergency. Its reconnaissance aircraft were used to survey areas affected by natural disasters, including the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 and the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck north-eastern Japan in 2011. The original military reconnaissance role therefore existed alongside a wider national capability, with the Phantom’s sensors providing commanders and government agencies with an invaluable aerial perspective.
The 501st’s fleet eventually expanded beyond the purpose-built RF-4E. During the early 1990s, surplus F-4EJ fighters were converted to RF-4EJ standard. Unlike the purpose-built RF-4E, these aircraft retained their fighter-style radar nose and carried reconnaissance equipment in external sensor pods. Seven F-4EJs and eight F-4EJ Kais were eventually converted, creating a distinctive combination of reconnaissance Phantoms within the squadron.
By the late 2010s, the 501st had become one of the most visually distinctive units in the entire JASDF. Its aircraft appeared in several camouflage schemes, including the traditional green and brown patterns and later special blue schemes, while the combination of RF-4Es and RF-4EJs provided an extraordinary reminder of the Phantom’s adaptability.
But unlike the 301st and 302nd, the 501st would not receive the F-35A. Its mission was instead being reorganised as the JASDF moved toward newer reconnaissance systems and the use of sensors carried by other aircraft. Consequently, the squadron’s Phantom career was scheduled to end before that of the fighter units.
On 9 March 2020, the 501st conducted its final RF-4E/RF-4EJ training missions at Hyakuri. Only a handful of aircraft remained operational by this point, a striking contrast to the squadron’s much larger fleet during earlier decades. After the final flights, the aircraft were retired and the 501st itself was disbanded on 26 March 2020.
End of an Era
For a short period, Hyakuri offered something that would never again be repeated in the JASDF: three Phantom squadrons operating together from the same base. The 302nd represented the type’s traditional interceptor heritage, the 301st continued the frontline fighter role, and the 501st preserved the specialised reconnaissance version of the aircraft.
Their coexistence was the product of an extraordinary convergence of history. The 301st had returned to the airfield where the Japanese Phantom story had begun, the 302nd had arrived following more than two decades in Okinawa, and the 501st had remained at Hyakuri for roughly four and a half decades. Together they formed a living history of Japanese Phantom operations.
The end came remarkably quickly. The 302nd ceased Phantom operations in 2019, the 501st followed in March 2020, and the 301st finally closed the chapter in December of the same year. In the process, Hyakuri lost an aircraft type that had been one of the defining features of its flightline for generations. The base’s history records that the 302nd moved to Misawa in 2019 for conversion to the F-35A, while the 501st was disbanded in 2020 and the 301st followed the same path to Misawa later that year. The F-2-equipped 3rd Squadron subsequently moved to Hyakuri, taking over the fighter role.
The Phantom’s retirement was more than the withdrawal of an ageing fighter. It marked the closing of one of the longest chapters in Japanese military aviation. From the first F-4EJ at Hyakuri in the early 1970s to the final 301st F-4EJ Kai departing the base in 2020, the Phantom had served through the final decades of the Cold War, the changing strategic environment of the 1990s and the increasingly complex air-defence requirements of the twenty-first century.
For aviation enthusiasts, the sight of an F-4 Phantom lifting from Hyakuri became inseparable from the character of the base itself. The roar of the twin J79 engines, the distinctive smoke trails, the characteristic high-mounted tail and the colourful squadron markings created a combination unlike anything else in the JASDF. By the end, Hyakuri had become the Phantom’s final sanctuary — the place where Japan’s last fighter and reconnaissance Phantoms gathered before disappearing from frontline service.
Today, the F-4 has finally given way to a new generation of aircraft and capabilities. Yet the legacy of the three squadrons that operated the final Phantoms remains deeply embedded in the history of Hyakuri: the 301st “Samurai”, the 302nd and its long air-defence career, and the 501st “Woodpeckers”, whose reconnaissance Phantoms provided the JASDF with a unique aerial intelligence capability until the very end.
The Phantom may have disappeared from Japan’s operational flightlines, but at Hyakuri it left behind one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of the JASDF.
