CD Baumann
Airman
- 55
- Aug 2, 2024
As long as fighters were concerned, there were exactly 17 MS 406 in French Indochina. They were originally ordered by China and were urgently diverted to form two weak escadrilles II/595 and II/596. And furthermore, they were devoid of the 20 mm cannon. Two were lost on the ground with a Farman 221 during the French - Thaï war. At the end of the conflict, due to maintenance shortage only 50 % of these planes were operational.
On january 1941, it had been envisionned to send 23 Hawk 75 and 44 Curtiss SBC 4 from Martinique to Indochina, and the British and US authorities agreed. But the German Armistice commission opposed to it and they were left to rot at La Martinique.
As long as fighters were concerned, there were exactly 17 MS 406 in French Indochina. They were originally ordered by China and were urgently diverted to form two weak escadrilles II/595 and II/596. And furthermore, they were devoid of the 20 mm cannon. Two were lost on the ground with a Farman 221 during the French - Thaï war. At the end of the conflict, due to maintenance shortage only 50 % of these planes were operational.
On january 1941, it had been envisionned to send 23 Hawk 75 and 44 Curtiss SBC 4 from Martinique to Indochina, and the British and US authorities agreed. But the German Armistice commission opposed to it and they were left to rot at La Martinique.
I'm told during one incident a flight of 9 Thai Ki30's escorts by three Hawk 75N's were jumped by a flight of Moranes armed only with a pair of machine guns. The Hawks were able to keep their attackers at bay with their 20mm cannons and despite being shot up really bad all the Hawks returned to base where one suffered a landing gear collapse during landing. There was another similar incident where a flight of ki30's were attack but the French pilots were forced to disengage without shooting any down because they ran out of ammo!