Indústrias Pesadas Fuji
Rebuilt from the wreckage of Nakajima, the maker of the wartime Hayabusa, Fuji gave post-war Japan its first jet, the T-1 trainer, then became far better known for Subaru cars.
Fuji Heavy Industries: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Out of Nakajima
Nakajima had been one of Japan’s great wartime aircraft makers, builder of the Ki-43 and Ki-84 fighters. The Allied occupation broke it up, and on 15 July 1953 five of the fragments, from Fuji Kogyo to Utsunomiya Sharyo, joined to form Fuji Heavy Industries. Aircraft manufacture had been legal again in Japan only since April 1952, and Fuji’s first product was a licence-built American trainer: 176 Beech T-34 Mentors.
Japan’s first jet
Fuji used the Mentor as a springboard. It stretched it into the four-seat LM-1 Nikko liaison aircraft and then the KM-2 and T-3 trainers. Its own T-1 Hatsutaka, first flown in January 1958, was Japan’s first jet trainer, first mass-produced jet and first swept-wing aircraft. Over 200 were planned, but the air force bought Lockheed T-33s instead and only 66 were completed. They served until March 2006. Fuji also built 275 FA-200 Aero Subaru four-seaters for private owners.
Trainers, helicopters and a new name
By the late 1980s 80 per cent of Fuji’s sales came from cars, but the aerospace division built helicopters for the Self-Defense Forces, target drones and the centre wings of the Boeing 777 and 787. The T-7 turboprop trainer won a JASDF competition in 1998, was thrown out when Fuji managers were arrested for bribing a politician, and won again in 2000. In April 2017 the company renamed itself after its best-known product: Subaru.
Fuji Heavy Industries in numbers
A empresa
- Resumidamente
- Fundada em 1953
- Formed by five fragments of the wartime Nakajima company
- Cars (Subaru), buses, rail cars and aircraft
- 80% of sales from cars by the late 1980s
- Renamed Subaru Corporation, 1 April 2017
Produção
- Mais conhecido por
- T-1 Hatsutaka
- Beech T-34 Mentor under licence (176)
- T-1, Japan’s first jet trainer (66)
- KM-2, T-3 and T-7 trainers
- FA-200 Aero Subaru (275)
- Centre wings for Boeing 777 and 787
Hoje
- Agora
- Now Subaru Corporation
- Aerospace division continues under the Subaru name
- Subaru Bell UH-2 replacing the JGSDF’s UH-1Js
Os números
- Vendas
- US$4.3 billion1989
- Share of sales from cars
- 80%late 1980s
- T-34 Mentors built under licence
- 176
Every notable Fuji Heavy Industries aircraft
Photos: Hunini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); 航空自衛隊 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
| Aeronave | Papel | Primeiro voo | Construído | Status | Observação |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beech T-34 Mentor (licence) | Treinador principal | 176 | Aposentado | Fuji’s first product | |
| Fuji LM-1 Nikko | Aeronave de ligação | 27 | Aposentado | Four-seat development of the Mentor | |
| Fuji T-1 Hatsutaka | Treinador a jato | 1958 | 66 | Aposentado | Japan’s first jet trainer; retired March 2006 |
| Fuji KM-2 | Treinador principal | 1962 | 64 | Aposentado | 62 for the JMSDF, 2 for the JGSDF as TL-1 |
| Fuji FA-200 Aero Subaru | Four-seat light aircraft | 1965 | 275 | Aposentado | |
| Fuji T-3 (KM-2B) | Treinador principal | 1978 | 50 | Aposentado | Tandem cockpit for the JASDF |
| Fuji T-7 | Turboprop primary trainer | Em serviço | Allison 250 engine; first delivered September 2002 |
Fuji Heavy Industries aircraft in the world’s air forces
2 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Fuji Heavy Industries types. Dois deles ainda têm um em serviço.
| Força Aérea | Em serviço | Anteriormente voado |
|---|---|---|
| Força Aérea de Autodefesa do Japão | Fuji T-7 | |
| Aviação da Força Marítima de Autodefesa do Japão | Fuji T-5 | Fuji KM-2 |
Where Fuji Heavy Industries built, who led it, what it achieved
Fábricas
- Utsunomiya · Utsunomiya, Tochigi — Utsunomiya Sharyo was one of the five founding companies
Recordes e pioneirismos
- T-1: first post-war Japanese jet, first Japanese mass-produced jet and first Japanese swept-wing aircraft
Fuji Heavy Industries, year by year
Ban on aircraft manufacture in Japan lifted
Fuji Heavy Industries incorporated
T-1 jet trainer first flight
KM-2 first flight
FA-200 Aero Subaru first flight
KM-2B (T-3) first flight
Loss of over US$500 million; Nissan executive takes charge
T-7 wins restarted JASDF competition after bribery scandal
Last T-1 retired
Contract to build parts for the Boeing 777X
Renamed Subaru Corporation
Before and after Fuji Heavy Industries
Everything people ask about Fuji Heavy Industries
Is Fuji Heavy Industries the same as Subaru?
What was Japan’s first jet trainer?
Was Fuji related to Nakajima?
What aircraft parts does Subaru make?
Around Fuji Heavy Industries
Todos os fatos foram verificados.
- Subaru Corporation – Wikipedia
- Fuji T-1 – Wikipedia
- Fuji FA-200 Aero Subaru – Wikipedia
- Fuji KM-2 – Wikipedia
- Fuji LM-1 Nikko – Wikipedia
- Fuji T-7 – Wikipedia
Verificado em 03/10/2026.