npb748r Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Hi all, I'm about to start the hobbyboss 1/32 invader and plan on building it as a french machine from the Indochina war that lasted 7 years and ultimately led to the Vietnam war with the US. I'm hoping to depict one of the black and white painted machines but have been unable to find any pictures taken from above that show the demarkation lines between the black and white. I just wondered if anyone had seen any pictures or reference material of those coloured planes, I've been searching the web with no luck (however it has been interesting reading about this war, I knew about it but had little in the way of detail). I'm aware of the issues with the kit but not too worried about them, having looked it over pre-build it looks like it will be an imposing model in those colours. Thanks in advance neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Hi Neil, I think that the ones with the white painted top fuselage were based in Africa, I`ve not come across a photo of an Indochina based example. They do look good though. Cheers Russ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 thanks Russ, will do more research and spread the net to Africa. You forget how far spread out the French interests were. I was expecting far more phots on the net of these aircraft and the build of the kit - I haven't seen mention of a single build yet. Plan B for me will be an all black example but I'd rather do Plan A !! Thanks for responding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VG 33 Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Hello I have seen pictures of these B-26 with white top in Algeria in a special book from 'Avions de combat" about different French units after 1945. The white part is very high. Patrick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 thanks Patrick, so far I've only found two photo's showing the upper surfaces but it's enough to help me. It looks like some of these aircraft were heavily weathered which will test my skills. I will have a look out for that book - I've been trawling french websites today and have found some great reference material - more interestingly for me is the details of both the Algerian war and Indochina wars both of which I knew little about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 You might try looking for articles/monographs by French modeler and aviation historian Jean Cuny. I vaguely recall seeing an article and photos by him on B-26's used in Indo China. Best I can do for now. Maybe contacting IPMS France might get you some reference material to look for. Mike Maybe these? https://www.google.com/search?q=French+B-26's+in+Indo+China&oq=French+B-26's+in+Indo+China&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i299l2.11962j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 http://worldatwar.net/chandelle/v3/v3n1/frcoin.html http://www.frenchwings.net/indochina/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6&pid=531#top_display_media 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 thanks Mike, appreciate the links and suggested contacts. I found Frenchwings yesterday and it's got some useful photos - one of which is the upper surface of a white and black plane which I needed as I had no idea of the demarkation between the colours. I also found out that the white and black aircraft were only used in the Algerian War so learnt a lot yesterday based on peoples responses. regards neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 (edited) Squadron's "A-26 Invader in Action" contains nice side-view color drawings and B&W photos of AdA Invaders during Indochina War. They were heavily-weathered bare-metal and had black-painted anti-glare areas on the nose and the entire nacelle of each engine. The U.S. reconditioned most of them in Japan before transferring them to the French. I have never seen any photos of them with white tops, but it's entirely possible... Edited March 23, 2021 by TheyJammedKenny! accuracy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 3 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: Squadron's "A-26 Invader in Action" contains nice side-view color drawings and B&W photos of AdA Invaders during Indochina War. They were heavily-weathered bare-metal and had black-painted anti-glare areas on the nose and the entire nacelle of each engine. The U.S. reconditioned most of them in Japan before transferring them to the French. I have never seen any photos of them with white tops, but it's entirely possible... thanks - it turns out the black and white scheme were from the Algerian War - I've learnt a lot over the past few days. The aircraft from the Algerian War were owned by the French, unlike the Indochina ones which were provided on loan by the CIA. The Algerian colour scheme was originally all black but the white tops to the fuselage were painted on to reduce the heat inside the aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 4 hours ago, npb748r said: on loan by the CIA That's a surprise to me, and I've never read that anywhere. I could have sworn that the B-26s (A-26 was the old designation) were provided under the Military Assistance Program (MAP) and flown by French pilots. I know that C-119s were flown by CIA contractor pilots from Taiwan, but the actual planes were on loan from the USAF, specifically from the 314th Troop Carrier Group, stationed in Japan. The whole scheme was known as "Operation Swivel Chair." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 I could be wrong as I've only just stumbled across the history of this as a research the build but I've seen it stated on several web sources so far (and we all know how accurate the web is !!). Apparently the Indochina ones were ex-USAF machines that flew with the US serial numbers unchanged and French national insignia whereas the Algerian machines were picked up under the US MDAP and flew with French serial and markings. The following was taken from the Worldatwar.net...... "Given the relative success of the B-26 Invader in Indochina, the French were anxious to obtain the aircraft for use in Algeria (the Indochina aircraft were CIA-owned and, at the conclusion of hostilities, were returned to secret Agency depots on Taiwan and at Clark Field in the Philippines). In 1956, France requested B-26s under MDAP, the US Mutual Defense Aid Program. The aircraft were ostensibly stopgap equipment for France's European bomber squadrons, pending availability of the Vautour twin-jet bomber. They were overhauled by Fleetways in California and Fairey in the UK, then ferried to France." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 I'd be interested in seeing the published source of that information. If you read French, I'd urge you to read Regards Sur L'Aviation Militaire Francaise En Indochine 1940-54 by the French Air Force, and (in English) Bernard Fall's Hell in a Very Small Place 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junchan Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Never seen photos of the white top Invaders in Indochina, even in this book. But there are a bunch of photos of the white top Invaders in Algeria as you can see in the following links. http://www.frenchwings.net/algeria/gallery/displayimage.php?album=8&pid=3272#top_display_media http://tenes.info/nostalgie/BVINGTSIX http://aerostories.free.fr/events/algerie/algerie06/index.html Jun in Tokyo https://www.flickr.com/photos/horaburo/albums 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 Hi Junchan, you are right, the black and white scheme was just used in the Algerian War. Thanks for the links, much appreciated. neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 1 hour ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: I'd be interested in seeing the published source of that information. If you read French, I'd urge you to read Regards Sur L'Aviation Militaire Francaise En Indochine 1940-54 by the French Air Force, and (in English) Bernard Fall's Hell in a Very Small Place thanks will have a look, I'm not that great at the French written word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Fall's book about Dien Bien Phu is excellent, and easy to read. He also wrote Street Without Joy, which records a major French campaign in 1951. Fall was a Frenchman who became a naturalized American citizen, and ended up being killed in South Vietnam during the American phase of the Vietnam War. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 If you can find a copy, I would highly recommend getting A-26B/C Invader, by Francis Gallemi. It was Warbird Profile No. 1 published by Aries Publications, 1994. It is dedicated to French Invaders and has their history, color detail photos of the exterior and interior, 1/72 scale drawings, and kit reviews, Well worth getting if you can find it! Mike https://www.amazon.com/26-Invader-WARBIRD-PROFILE-NO-1/dp/0969857802 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 5 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: Fall's book about Dien Bien Phu is excellent, and easy to read. He also wrote Street Without Joy, which records a major French campaign in 1951. Fall was a Frenchman who became a naturalized American citizen, and ended up being killed in South Vietnam during the American phase of the Vietnam War. 2 hours ago, 72modeler said: If you can find a copy, I would highly recommend getting A-26B/C Invader, by Francis Gallemi. It was Warbird Profile No. 1 published by Aries Publications, 1994. It is dedicated to French Invaders and has their history, color detail photos of the exterior and interior, 1/72 scale drawings, and kit reviews, Well worth getting if you can find it! thanks both, on the look out for these books now ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 On 3/22/2021 at 12:46 PM, npb748r said: I was expecting far more phots on the net of these aircraft and the build of the kit - Purchase the Foreign Invaders book if you can find it, and some of the French language books on the French in North Africa :).. The internet is limited Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now