252 Air Group

252nd Naval Air Group
Air Group 252 zeros at Misawa Air Base in May 1944
Active	1 November 1942 – September 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Navy
Type	Naval aviation unit
Role	Air superiority Fighter aircraft support
Size	45-65 aircraft
Garrison/HQ	Tateyama Air Base Misawa Air Base
Aircraft flown	A6M Zero
Engagements	World War II New Guinea Campaign Guadalcanal Campaign Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Japan campaign

The 252nd Naval Air Group (第二五二海軍航空隊, Dai 252 Kaigun Kōkūtai) was a fighter aircraft unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The unit was formed on 1 November 1942 by separating the fighter squadron from the Genzan Air Group.

The unit, equipped with A6M Zero fighter aircraft, was involved in several major battles in the south and central Pacific from 1942 to 1943, including the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

After being annihilated in combat over the Marshall Islands in 1943, the unit was reconstituted in Japan in February 1944 and helped defending the home islands against Allied offensives, including B-29 bomber attacks from the Mariana Islands.

References

• Hata, Ikuhiko; Yasuho, Izawa (1989). Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II. Gorham, Don Cyril (translator). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-315-6. 

Imperial Japanese Navy air units
Air Fleet	1 2 3 5 10 11 12 13 14
Air Flotilla	11 12 13 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 32 51 53 61 62 71 72 101
Combined Air Group	1 2 3 4 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Air Group	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 31 32 33 35 36 40
Naval Air Group (Numbered name)	121 131 132 133 141 151 153 171 201 202 203 204 205 210 221 251 252 253 254 256 261 263 265 281 301 302 312 321 322 331 332 341 343 345 352 361 381 452 453 501 502 503 521 522 523 524 531 541 551 552 553 582 601 631 634 652 653 701 702 703 705 706 707 721 722 723 724 725 732 751 752 753 755 761 762 763 765 801 802 851 901 902 903 931 932 933 934 936 938 951 952 953 954 955 956 958 1001 1021 1022 1023 1081
Naval Air Group (Place name)	Expeditionary unit Chitose Genzan (I) Kanoya (I) Kisarazu Mihoro Misawa (I) Takao (I) Tainan (I) Tōkō Yokohama Patrol / Defensive unit Chichijima Chinkai Kure Kushimoto Maizuru Okinawa Ōminato Saeki Sasebo Tateyama Toyohashi (I) Yokosuka Practice unit Atsugi Genzan (II) Hakata Kaikō Kanoya (II) Komatsushima Kōnoike Matsushima Miyazaki Nagoya Ōi Ōita Ōmura San'a Seitō Shanhai Shinchiku Sukumo Suzuka Tainan (II) Takao (II) Tokushima Toyohashi (II) Tsuiki (I) Tsukuba Usa Yatabe Basic training unit Amakusa Fukuyama Himeji Hyakurihara Isahaya Iwakuni (I) Izumi 1st Izumi Jinmachi Kan'onji Kashima Kitaura Kobi Kōchi Kokubu 2nd Kōriyama Kōshū 2nd Kōwa 2nd Miho Mineyama 3rd Okazaki Ōryū Ōtsu Pusan Saijō 2nd Takao Takuma Tōkyō Tsuiki (II) Yamato Mechanic training unit Fujisawa Hitoyoshi 2nd Izumi 2nd Kanoya Katori Kōriyama 1st Kōriyama Kōwa 1st Kōwa Kushira Oihama Okazaki 1st Okazaki 2nd Okazaki Sagamino 1st Sagamino 2nd Sagamino Sunosaki 2nd Tainan Tarumi Taura Preparatory flight training unit Fukuoka Iwakuni (II) Kagoshima Kasumigaura Kofuji Komatsu Kōyasan Kurashiki Matsuyama Mie Miho 1st Miho Misawa (II) Nara Nishinomiya Seto Shiga Shimizu Takarazuka Tsuchiura Urado Uwajima
Naval Air Group (Regional name)	Chōsen Chūhi Chūshi Gōhoku Higashikarorin Hitō Hokuhi Hokutai Hokutō Inshi Kantō Kinki Kyūshū Marai Mariana Naikai Nanpi Nanpōshotō Nanseishotō Nantai Nishikarorin Ōu Saikai San'in Taiwan Tōin Tōkai
Flying squadron	Fighter Squadron 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 315 316 317 318 351 401 402 403 407 601 602 603 701 804 812 851 901 902 Attack Squadron 1 3 5 102 103 105 107 161 251 252 253 254 256 262 263 401 405 406 501 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 711 Reconnaissance Squadron 3 4 11 12 61 101 102 301 302
(I) First generation (II) Second generation