 Despite budgetary cutbacks by Army Minister Ugaki Kazushige, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service was established in 1912.In 1914, with the outbreak of war, the Japanese laid siege to the German colony of Tsingtao, aircraft from the army together with seaplanes flown from the Japanese seaplane carrier "Wakamiya" conducted reconnaissance and bombing operations.The Provisional Air Corps consisting of four Maurice Farman MF.7 biplanes and a single Nieuport VI-M monoplane flew 86 sorties between them.