Originally designated as 43d Air Division (Defense) when organized on 1 March 1952, the division was redesignated 43d Air Division on 18 March 1955. The unit was discontinued and inactivated, on 1 October 1957. The 43d Air Division assumed responsibility for the air defense of Southwestern Japan (Kyūshū, in March 1952. The 43d also included the western part of Honshū, and most of Shikoku), using radar, fighter aircraft, and ground weapons to prevent or disrupt enemy air attacks. It supported numerous exercises, some involving U.S. and British naval vessels, and training for the Japan Air Self Defense Force. The division also supervised electronic countermeasures (ECM), and weather reconnaissance missions. In the summer of 1957, when the Nagasaki area suffered severe flooding, the 43d assisted Japanese authorities and people by flying numerous airlift missions with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Famous quotes containing the words air and/or division:
“I remember when I was first assigned to jets. I said to the colonel, “Colonel, I joined this man’s air force to fly an airplane. But nobody’s gonna hitch me to no Roman candle.””
—Kurt Neumann (1906–1958)
“Affection, indulgence, and humor alike are powerless against the instinct of children to rebel. It is essential to their minds and their wills as exercise is to their bodies. If they have no reasons, they will invent them, like nations bound on war. It is hard to imagine families limp enough always to be at peace. Wherever there is character there will be conflict. The best that children and parents can hope for is that the wounds of their conflict may not be too deep or too lasting.”
—New York State Division of Youth Newsletter (20th century)