When Hyena first hijacked my thread and said something about French F6F's in Vietnam I did a little searching on the internet and remember finding a reference to the French using some surplus WW2 aircraft in 1947. I think Hyena took some information he found out of context
no majortom i didnt hijack this thread,,lol,,i was just saying most ww2 planes were used in vietnam,,some one made the remark that the a26 outlasted most ww2 planes in war,,,,a26 is a very good plane,,,but it wasnt the only old bird in the skies over vietnam,,,no question the a26 was a bomber that lasted a long time,,,but so did alot of ww2 planes
At the beginning of 1950, the Chinese communists, victorious against Chang-Kai-Check were positioned on the Tonkin's frontiers, and were providing their logistic aid to the Vietminh. The Indochina peninsula appeared as the last rampart against the communist expansion in Asia. Until then, the USA that had been reluctant to bring their support to "colonialist" France began to revise their position.
In March, General Hartmann, Commanding officer of the French Air Force in Indochina informed the American Military Mission about his project to install a "Battle Air Corp" composed of 4 Jet Fighter Groups, 2 Bomber Groups, and 4 Transport Groups. The jet being inadequate for this type of local war, they would opt for the Grumann-F6F "Hellcat", and F8F "Bearcat". The twin engine bomber Douglas B-26 (or A-26) "Invader" would also be chosen. A reform in commandment was also put in effect with the creation of three GATAC (Aerial Tactical Groups): North-Gatac in Hanoi, Center-Gatac in Hué and South-Gatac in Saigon/TanSonNhut.
Planes of 2nd Period : Bell P63 Kingcobra ; Grumann F6F Hellcat et F8F Bearcat ; Douglas B26 Invader ; Consolidated PBY4 Privateer .
At the end of October 1950, the first Hellcats arrived aboard the aircraft carrier "Dixmude" and were immediately engaged in combat. General Delattre de Tassigny's appointment as head of the Expeditionary Corps in the Far East seemed to result in a reversal of the situation. Alas, that would only be temporary.
In January of 1951, the Groups I/5 and II/5 came back to the French Metropolis. Large forces were involved in heavy fighting in the Vinh-Yen sector (about 30 kilometers northwest of Hanoi). The fate of Tonkin hanged in the balance.
Participating in the fight were: the Fighter Groups III/6 "Roussillon" and I/9 "Limousin", providing Kingcobras, Hellcats lent from the group II/6 "Normandie Niemen" and I/6 "Corse". Junkers Ju-52s and Dakotas were provided by the transport Groups. The liaison groups also provided 24 Morane-500s and Siebels. Napalm was used the first time.
During the month of January 1700 fighter sorties were flown instead of the usual 500 to 700 in normal times. Hanoi was protected, and most of the Air Force (114 airplanes from the 147 in service) went under the command of Gatac-North. Hellcats had to ensure the security in South Vietnam and Annam.
In November 1953, the Dien-Bien-Phu site, a basin near the Laos frontier, was chosen in an attempt to block the Ho-Chi-Minh trail, which was used for the transport of the material coming from China. It was also hoped, (and without any doubts), that the bulk of the enemy forces would be contained within this area, and that they could be neutralized, or even annihilated: That was the "Castor" (beaver) Operation. It was supported with B-26s, Privateers, and Hellcats from the Arromanches Aircraft Carrier, and several paratrooper battalions grabbed the village. A runway was built, and on November 24th, the first Dakotas landed.
At the beginning of 1954, the combats sprayed to the main part of the Indochina territory.
On March 13th 1954, while the Air Force Units were being requested from the 15 Airfields where they were based, the Vietminh Divisions attacked the fortified camp in DienBienPhu. Three days latter, they shelled the airfield, destroying 6 Bearcats, 5 Moranes, and 2 helicopters. A counterattack could only come from outside units based more than 300 kilometers away. All forces in the North were mobilized for this counterattack, namely: 2 Fighter Groups flying Bearcats, 2 Bomber Groups flying B-26s, and Navy airplanes: Hellcats, Helldivers and Privateers. The Transport Groups provided one hundred Dakotas and 24 Fairchild C-119Cs "Boxcars" arrived in reinforcement from the USA.
f6f was used alot long than just 1947 thats for sure
