Armee de´l Air after the WWII: Colonial Conflicts

[gekho]

The Supermarine Sea Otter was a British flying boat designed and built by Supermarine. It was a longer-range development of the Walrus and was the last biplane flying boat to be designed by Supermarine. It was also the last biplane to enter service with the RAF. The colonial service of France purchased six Sea Otters for use in Indo-China.

 

[gekho]

More pics

 

[gekho]

More pics

 

[syscom3]

Keep them coming!

This is a cool thread you've started!

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots, keep them coming.

 

[gekho]

Soon after the close of the Second World War, French forces in Indochina found themselves with out air support. Pending the arrival of aircraft transferred from France, and ex-British Spitfires, attempts were made to press into a service a number of war-weary Japanese aircraft. Although there were numerous Japanese airstrips located throughout Indochina, only a handful of serviceable front-line modern aircraft were located. For the most part, these aircraft performed second-line duties with the French, as transports and liason aircraft. The notable exceptions were the Nakajima Ki.43 Oscars, which formed the backbone of two fighter squadrons until their replacment with Spitfires. It appears many of the aircraft were in relatively poor condition, and in the unfamiliar hands of French pilots the attrition rate was high, with at least two aircraft being lost during their only flights! Though most aircraft lasted only until 1946, it is likely that a few soldiered on in French hands until 1949.

Pictures: Aichi E13A Jake

 

[gekho]

1 2 3.- Aichi E13A Jake
4 5.- Nakajima A6M2 Rufe

 

[gekho]

1.- Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero
2.- Mitsubishi G4M Betty
3.- Mitsubishi J2M Jack
4.- Nakajima Ki-43 III Oscar
5.- Nakajima L2D Tabby

 

[Matt308]

Never realized there was an F6F version with four .50cals and 2 inboard 20mm with extended barrels!! Great pics.

 

[Gnomey]

More interesting shots, thanks for sharing.

 

[gekho]

The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of state and military staff. Dozens of variants of the C-54 were employed in a wide variety of non-combat roles such as air-sea rescue, scientific and military research and missile tracking and recovery. During the Berlin Airlift it hauled coal and food supplies to West Berlin. After the Korean War it continued to be used for military and civilian uses by more than thirty countries. The French Air Force received one C-54E donated in 1945 and transferred to the Navy in 1960. It was destroyed in 1982.

 

[gekho]

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Named "fork-tailed devil" by the Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" by the Japanese, this unique aircraft was used in a number of different roles including dive bombing, level bombing, ground strafing, photo reconnaissance missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings.

The French Air Force operated F-5 recon variants; the French would continue to operate the type up to 1952. Unfortunately, since F-5s operated alone, when their missions went wrong, they generally disappeared without a trace. The noted aviation pioneer and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery vanished in an F-5 while on a reconnaissance mission over Lyon, France, on 31 July 1944. recently, a French scuba diver found the wreckage of a Lightning in the Mediterranean off the coast of Marseille in 2000, and it was confirmed in April 2004 as Saint-Exupery's.

 

[gekho]

Beechcraft Model 18
North American B-25 Mitchell: 21 delivered. Scrapped in 1947.
Northrop P-61 Blackwidow

 

[gekho]

Well, this thread is over; I hope you have enjoyed all the pictures and the information. For the following days I have prepared a new thread about the Luftwaffe´s early aircrafts, with great quality pictures that will surprise you all. After that, I am thinking about making a remake of the Spanish Civil War threads, basicly because I have received new pics and I would like to put all them together. Other projects for the future are these:

Luftwaffe frustated projects
Vigna di Valle Museum (Italy)
Neutral Air Forces during WWII
Regia Aeronautica early aircrafts
American Bombers
Consolidated B-24 "Lady Be Good"

Cheers

 

[michaelmaltby]

Thank you, gekho. It was very instructive to see how the French used US WW2 aircraft in SE Asia - it kind of forecast the path that American airpower would develop in later years.

MM

 

[Matt308]

Very nice, Gekho. Look forward to your future threads.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shots, looking forward to anymore you may have.

 

[gekho]

More pics

 

[Capt. Vick]

The French flew P-61 Black Widows?

 

[gekho]

The French flew P-61 Black Widows?

I have my doubts; I found that pic in a french site, but perhaps was an american P-61 based in France.