The French AF deployed P-63C Kingcobras from 1949 until 1951. The last fifteen were withdrawn from use in 1951, and went to a disposal centre, Parc 482, at Bach Mai. No airframes were returned to France.
There’s a great article by Alain Pelletier on the French P-63s in Indochina in Air Enthusiast, issue 72. The article contains a list of all 114 P-63s received by the French. There’s also a brief mention of possible Kingcobras remaining in Vietnam.
Mark12, as the French used Spitfires in Indochina, is it possible that anything remains in Vietnam?
Regarding the Skyraiders, no less than 23 were noted at Bien Hoa in 1998. Only one was identified, A-1E Bu 132596. From memory, the Flypast article featuring these aircraft was written by someone from the company Aces High, and published in the early ‘nineties.
One A-1H, Bu 139723, was noted at the VPAF Museum in Hanoi in October 2002. Two A-1Hs can be found in Ho Chi Minh City, Bu 139674 at the War Remnants Museum, present between November 1997 and October 2002, and the wreck of s/n 287 at the Ho Chi Minh Campaign Museum, noted between November 1998 and December 2000. The latter Skyraider is supposedly the one shot down on 30 April 1975.
I’ve never seen a complete list of aircraft that have been brought out of Vietnam. Several O-1s, U-17s, A-37Bs have been recovered. Two of the latter were at one time (still?) at La Ferte Alais, France.
As for the Skyraiders, I want one!
Regards,
Jan
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