L'Armée de l'Air en Indochine 1945-1956

The war in Indochina really began at the end of 1946, when Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Viet-Minh, a revolutionary front of communist obedience which had proclaimed the independence of the democratic republic of Vietnam during the Japanese surrender in September 1945, triggered a general insurrection against the French presence in the country. From the first days of this conflict, the Air Force, in the absence of any adverse air threat, was engaged in ground support and support of French troops, a significant number of units, whether fighter, bombardment, reconnaissance or transport being engaged. The difficult weather conditions prevailing in Indochina, as well as the progressive reinforcement of the enemy anti-aircraft means, made French airmen pay a heavy price until the dramatic fall of Diên Biên Phu, on May 7, 1954, date which marked the beginning of the disengagement of France in Indochina.
This 200-page book recounts this relatively unknown period in the history of the Air Force, using several hundred photographs, often unpublished because they come from private collections, all the units involved in this war being described in detail, including those made up of helicopters, a type of aircraft which was then only in its infancy but which would play a major role a few years later in the same place, during the Vietnam War.