It is located 1.5 NM (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) southwest[1] of the city of Kanoya in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

It initially was equipped with Type 96 Mitsubishi G3M medium bombers and first saw combat during the Second Sino-Japanese War from August 1937.

At the start of Pacific War, Kanoya Air Group was considered the most highly trained medium bomber unit in torpedo attacks and fought in most battles through the end of the war.

Following the end of the war, Kanoya was under control of the United States Fifth Air Force from September 3, 1945 to November 1948.

On April 6, 2016 a U-125 airplane operated by the Flight Check Squadron of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force crashed near the base, and all six crew members were killed.