1959 Kadena Air Base F-100 crash
Encyclopedia
The 1959 Kadena Air Base F-100 crash occurred on June 30, 1959 in the Uruma
area of then United States
(US)-occupied Okinawa. In the crash, a US Air Force
F-100 Super Sabre
on a training or test flight from nearby Kadena Air Base
suffered an engine fire. The aircraft crashed into Miyamori Elementary School and surrounding houses, killing 11 students and six other people in the neighborhood and injured 210 others, including 156 students at the school. The pilot ejected and was unhurt.
The tragedy
contributed to ill-feelings from the Okinawan community towards the US occupation authorities and calls for the island to be returned to the control of the Government of Japan
. A memorial statue for the victims of the disaster was erected at the crash site in 1965.
On June 30, 2009, 800 people, including former students of Miyamori Elementary and relatives of the victims attended a 50th-anniversary memorial service at the crash site. Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima
spoke at the ceremony, saying, "The Okinawa people of the time were deeply saddened by the accident in which the lives of children having dreams and hopes for the future were lost."
Uruma, Okinawa
is a city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.It was formed on April 1, 2005, from the merger of the old cities of Gushikawa and Ishikawa, and the towns of Katsuren and Yonashiro, both from Nakagami District....
area of then United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(US)-occupied Okinawa. In the crash, a US Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
F-100 Super Sabre
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
on a training or test flight from nearby Kadena Air Base
Kadena Air Base
, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Kadena Air Base is the hub of U.S. airpower in the Pacific, and home to the USAF's 18th Wing and a variety of associate units.-Units:The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena...
suffered an engine fire. The aircraft crashed into Miyamori Elementary School and surrounding houses, killing 11 students and six other people in the neighborhood and injured 210 others, including 156 students at the school. The pilot ejected and was unhurt.
The tragedy
Tragedy (event)
A tragedy is an event in which one or more losses, usually of human life, occurs that is viewed as mournful. Such an event is said to be tragic....
contributed to ill-feelings from the Okinawan community towards the US occupation authorities and calls for the island to be returned to the control of the Government of Japan
Government of Japan
The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...
. A memorial statue for the victims of the disaster was erected at the crash site in 1965.
On June 30, 2009, 800 people, including former students of Miyamori Elementary and relatives of the victims attended a 50th-anniversary memorial service at the crash site. Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima
Hirokazu Nakaima
is a Japanese bureaucrat, a business leader, and a politician. He was elected governor of Okinawa Prefecture in 2006.- History :Nakaima was born on August 19, 1939 in Higashinari Ward of Osaka. In 1945 during World War II, his family escaped from the air raids in Osaka and evacuated to Meiji,...
spoke at the ceremony, saying, "The Okinawa people of the time were deeply saddened by the accident in which the lives of children having dreams and hopes for the future were lost."