Armee de´l Air after the WWII: Colonial Conflicts

[gekho]

By 1957, newly independent Tunisia had become a major source of supply for the FLN. The French responded with the Morice Line, an elaborate system of sensors, electrified border fences, mine fields, and forts stretching the length of Algeria's eastern border. When an incursion was discovered, either by sensors or reconnaissance aircraft, B-26s and Aéronavale Privateers, Lancasters, and, later, Lockheed P2V Neptunes would attack the intruders continuously until helicopter-borne paras could arrive on the scene. The border fortifications worked reasonably well, but French authorities were aware that they could be easily breached by light aircraft. When air-defense radars at the Bône naval base seemed to show multiple tracks at low altitudes and low air speeds over the line, two radar-equipped MD-315 light transports were hastily despatched for night fighting duty. Predictably, they proved too slow and too short on endurance. The French then decided that they needed a special colonial night fighter. A small number of Invaders were thus converted and given the designation B-26N. The aircraft had British AI Mk.X radar (from French Meteor NF.11s), and an armament of two underwing gun pods, each housing two .50-cal machine guns, and two MATRA 122 pods for SNEB air-to-air rockets. By 1961, the B-26N fighters had intercepted 38 light aircraft and helicopters, downing nine.

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots!

 

[gekho]

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[gekho]

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[gekho]

....and the last ones.

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots!

 

[gekho]

The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. The first US medium bomber used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe. The aircraft distinguished itself as "the chief bombardment weapon on the Western Front" according to a United States Army Air Forces dispatch from 1946, and later variants maintained the lowest loss record of any U.S. combat aircraft during World War II. Its late-war loss record stands in sharp contrast to its unofficial nickname "The Widowmaker"—earned due to early models' high rate of accidents during takeoff. A total of 5,288 were produced between February 1941 and March 1945; 522 of these were flown by the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force. By the time the United States Air Force was created as an independent service separate from the Army in 1947, all Martin B-26s had been retired from US service. The Douglas A-26 Invader then assumed the B-26 designation.

Following Operation Torch, a number of French bomber squadrons were re-equipped with the B-26, being used to support operations in Italy and the Allied invasion of southern France. Replaced in squadron service by 1947, two lingered on as testbeds for the SNECMA Atar jet engine, one of these remaining in use until 1958

 

[gekho]

The XF4U-7 prototype did its test flight on 2 July 1952 with a total of 94 F4U-7s built for the French Navy's Aéronavale (79 in 1952, 15 in 1953), with the last of the batch, the final Corsair built, rolled out on 31 January 1953. The F4U-7s were actually purchased by the U.S. Navy and passed on to the Aéronavale through the U.S. Military Assistance Program (MAP). The French Navy used its F4U-7s during the second half of the First Indochina War in the 1950s (12.F, 14.F, 15.F Flotillas), where they were supplemented by at least 25 ex-USMC AU-1s passed on to the French in 1954, after the end of the Korean War. French F4U-7 Corsairs (with some loaned AU-1s) of the 12.F, 14.F, 15.F and 17.F Flotillas conducted missions during the Algerian War between 1955 and 1961. The 14.F and 15.F Flotillas also took part in the Anglo-French-Israeli seizure of the Suez Canal in October 1956, codenamed Operation Musketeer. The Corsairs were painted with yellow and black recognition stripes for this operation.

In early 1959, the Aéronavale experimented with the Vietnam War-era SS.11 wire-guided anti-tank missile on F4U-7 Corsairs. The 12.F pilots trained for this experimental program were required to "fly" the missile at approximatively two kilometers from the target on low attitude with a joystick using the right hand while keeping track of a flare on its tail, and piloting the aircraft using the left hand; an exercise that could be very tricky in a single-seat aircraft under combat conditions. Despite reportedly effective results during the tests, this armament was not used with Corsairs during the ongoing Algerian War. The Aéronavale used 163 Corsairs (94 F4U-7s and 69 AU-1s), the last of them used by the Cuers-based 14.F Flotilla were out of service by September 1964,[84] with some surviving for museum display or as civilian warbirds.

 

[gekho]

The French navy used 54 Avro Lancasters (32 B I and 22 B VII) between 1951 and 1964. They were bought not long after the Washington treaty, signed on April 4th, 1949, which set the pace for military cooperation between the European countries against the communist bloc. They would be used to help the Coastal Command to patrol the Atlantic and the Mediterannean shipping lanes. For their new mission, the planes had to be modified, and the mid-upper turret was removed, windows were added to the rear fuselage as well as a second pilot wheel (two pilots being required for long range patrol), additional fuel tanks and specialized equipment for anti-submarine warfare and maritime reconnaissance. The first aircraft, serialled WU ( for Western Union) 01, was delivered in December 1951, and the last, WU 48, on February 1954. They were to serve for about ten years in several navy "flotilles", and the last to be withdrawn from service was WU 15, on July 1st, 1964.

Five other Lancasters were purchased by the Secrétariat Général à l'Aviation Civile et Commerciale (bureau of civil and commercial aviation) to be used for air sea rescue duty, manned by french navy crews. They were serialled FCL ( French Civil Lancaster) 101 to 105, and were delivered between November 1953 and April 1954. Of those 59 planes, only 4 have survived. They were the last operational french Lancasters in use and were based at Nouméa, in New-Caledonia, 1000 miles east of Australia. Three of these planes were donated , the first being WU 16 (NX622), flown to Australia on November 29th, 1962. Then on April 26, 1964, Wu 13 (NX665) was donated to New Zealand and finally WU 15 (NX611) was donated to the Royal Australian Air Force Museum on July 1st, 1964, before being flown to England, arriving at Bigging Hill on may 13th, 1965.

 

[gekho]

The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer was a World War II and Korean War era patrol bomber of the United States Navy derived from the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The Navy had been using unmodified B-24s as the PB4Y-1 Liberator, and the type was considered very successful. A fully navalized design was desired, and Consolidated developed a dedicated long-range patrol bomber in 1943, designated PB4Y-2 Privateer. In 1951 the family was redesignated P4Y-2 Privateer.

22 Privateers were provided to Aeronautique Navale for service with the French colonial forces in Vietnam. They were used as bombers until after Dien Bien Phu, with four lost in combat. Six were returned to U.S. service, the remaining twelve were flown to North Africa where they fought in Algeria and later during the Suez Incident. In 1961, the survivors were scrapped in favor of new Lockheed P2V Neptunes, a fate shared by most other Privateers.

 

[gekho]

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[gekho]

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[wheelsup_cavu]

Neat pictures Gekho.


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[gekho]

Soon after the receipt of Britain's first order for production aircraft, a French purchasing mission ordered 30 aircraft in early 1940. Allocated the Consolidated identification Model 28-5MF, none of these were delivered before the Battle of France. In 1943 the Aéronautique Navale received 43 examples of this hidro, that will use until 1971. By the end of 1945, four PBY-5A of the 8 Flotilla based in Agadir (Morocco) were sent to Tan Son Nhut, Saigón, being used as surveillance and reconnaissance aircrafts. When the war broke out on december 1946, they were used as transports, moving the french troops to Tonkin´s Gulf. Once the situation was stabilized, they came back to their old duties.

During the LEA operation, the Catalinas flew reconnaissance and close support missions for the army. However the Catalina is not an appropriated aircraft for these missions, and after the loss of two units, the surviving hidros are destinated to the coast of Vietnam to be used as patrol planes. Finally the lack of spare parts would cause the withdrawn from service of all the Catalinas in 1951.

 

[gekho]

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day. After the WWII, the C-47 remained in first-line service with too many air forces to list into the 1950s, and was a prominent contributor to the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 1949. The French used them during the first Indochina War, and also used one as flying command post during the Anglo-French-Israeli Suez intervention in 1956.

 

[gekho]

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[gekho]

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[T Bolt]

Great pictures!! Keep them comming!!

 

[Gnomey]

Good ones!

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

Good stuff. 8)


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