| Genzan Air Group | |
|---|---|
 Genzan A6M2b fighters at Genzan (Wonsan), Korea in April 1945. | |
| Active | 15 Nov 1940 – 1 Nov 1942 15 Aug 1944 – the end of war |
| Country | Empire of Japan |
| Allegiance | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Branch | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service |
| Type | Naval aviation unit |
| Role | Bomber andfighter support (1940) Training (1944) |
| Garrison/HQ | Wonsan,Korea Hankou,China Saigon,French Indochina Rabaul,New Britain Kanoya,Japan |
| Engagements | |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol | ゲン (Gen, 1940, Japan homeland) |
| Identification symbol | G (1940, outside Japan homeland) |
| Identification symbol | ケ (Ke, 1944) |
| Identification symbol | ゲン (Gen, August 1945) |
TheGenzan Air Group (元山海軍航空隊,Genzan KaigunKōkūtai) was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of theImperial Japanese Navy Air Service during theSecond Sino-Japanese War andPacific campaign ofWorld War II.
The Genzan Air Group was founded on 15 November 1940 atGenzan,Korea, then a part of theEmpire of Japan. It was initially a mixed-unit equipped with 33 Type 96Mitsubishi G3M1 bombers and 25 Type 96Mitsubishi A5M4 fighters under the command of the Second Air Fleet. On January 15, 1941, it was reassigned to the22nd Kōkū Sentai and deployed toHankou in centralChina.
While based at Hankou, the bombers of the Genzan Air Group were primarily assigned tostrategic bombing missions inSichuan Province, while the fighters were assigned tocombat air patrol and ground support missions in support ofImperial Japanese Army operations. The Genzan Air Group was withdrawn from China in September, 1941, returning to its home base at Genzan for training, and at the end of October, 1941 was forward deployed toTakao inTaiwan.
With thebombing of Pearl Harbor and the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Genzan Air Group was deployed toSaigon,French Indochina.The group was a key participant in thesinking of the Britishcapital shipsHMS Prince of Wales (53) andHMS Repulse (1916) off the coast ofMalaya on 10 December 1941, losing one aircraft and its crew during the battle.
On January 22, 1942, bombers from the Genzan Air Group attackedKallang Airport inSingapore, and subsequently provided air support for Japanese offensives inMalaya including thelandings at Endau.At the end of February, the unit was transferred toBangkok and assigned to patrols over theIndian Ocean; however, facilities at Bangkok were not satisfactory and the unit was soon reassigned toPalembang inSumatra in theNetherlands East Indies, with some aircraft dispersed toKuching inSarawak.
On May 1, 1942, Genzan's flying unit was redeployed toRabaul,New Britain to support the Japanese campaign inNew Guinea. The group participated in theBattle of the Coral Sea, without success, and made numerous bombing attacks againstPort Moresby.
In July, after the cancellation ofOperation Mo, the unit was withdrawn to Japan and was based atMisawa, Aomori for training. Its fighter unit was detached and redesignated as the252 Kōkūtai in September. The Genzan's flying unit was disbanded by being redesignated as the755 Kōkūtai on 1 November 1942. Losses in daylight anti-shipping bombing raids prompted most air groups to switch to night tactics.
In the night of February 19, 1944, a lone Rikko bomber of the air group torpedoed and badly damaged the enemy carrierUSSIntrepid in a night-time attack.
 Imperial Japanese Navy air units | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Fleet | |||||||||||||
| Air Flotilla | |||||||||||||
| Combined Air Group | |||||||||||||
| Air Group | |||||||||||||
| Naval Air Group (Numbered name) |
| ||||||||||||
| Naval Air Group (Place name) |
| ||||||||||||
| Naval Air Group (Regional name) | |||||||||||||
| Flying squadron |
| ||||||||||||
| Special unit | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||