The Air Self-Defense Force's aircraft No. 1, a customized version of the YS-11, the first passenger plane made in Japan after World War II, took off from Iruma Air Base in Saitama Prefecture on Wednesday for its final flight as many ASDF personnel looked on.
The ASDF owns several YS-11 planes, but the aircraft that was just retired is the only one equipped with engines made by Rolls-Royce, which were adopted in the early stages of YS-11 aircraft production.
The YS-11 was made by Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Company, a consortium of Japanese firms, and first flew in 1962.
The planes were used by commercial airline companies, the Japan Coast Guard and the air and maritime Self-Defense Forces. All but the ASDF-owned YS-11 aircraft are no longer in use.
The plane that was just retired was the earliest YS-11 to be adopted by the ASDF. The plane was deployed to inspect radio wave facilities at bases across the country and had been utilized since 1971.
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