[citation needed] Taken over in October 1945 by the occupying American forces, it was turned into a salvage/scrapping facility by the USAAF 92d Air Service Squadron to destroy former Japanese military aircraft and other equipment.

The 85th Airdrome Squadron assumed control of the station on 3 April 1946, with Headquarters, 315th Bombardment Wing moving into the facility on 20 May.

During the postwar Occupation Era, a series of U.S. Army Air Forces and later U.S. Air Force units were assigned: With the eruption of the Korean War in June 1950, combat missions over South Korea were flown from Ashiya by the USAF's 35th and 18th Fighter Groups, with first-generation F-80 Shooting Star jet fighters.

When the 18th Fighter Group moved out in September 1950, Ashiya became a transport base, with C-54 Skymaster and C-119 Flying Boxcars operated from the airfield.

In 1960, the United States closed Ashiya Air Base and returned to the Japanese government, citing the need for additional USAF forces in Europe and budget restrictions.