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French aircraft Algeria

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French aircraft Algeria

Old 7th Aug 2016, 23:27
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French aircraft Algeria

Anyone know where I can find out about air operations post 45? Did they buy ex RAF inventory?
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Old 8th Aug 2016, 00:20
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You can have a look here, although not all of the pages have been translated into English.

The best book in English is probably Charles Shrader's, The First Helicopter War: Logistics and Mobility in Algeria, 1954-1962 (Westport: Praeger, 1999).

If your French is decent, a chap called Alain Crosnier did a two-volume book L'Armee de l'Air en Afrique du Nord which can, I believe, be obtained from a certain well-known riverine bookseller - although ISTR that they retail at somewhere around £40, so probably an inter-library loan job to try before buying.

As for the aircraft this, from the site above gives a decent insight into what was being used.
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Old 8th Aug 2016, 09:06
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Thank you. This helps, I'll try to find service records online. I'm interested in a fatality in 1948. I've seen a wheel that is supposed to be from the crash in Algeria. Looked like a tail wheel from a light aircraft. I don't have access anymore. Just old man trying to tidy up old memories.
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Old 8th Aug 2016, 09:31
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The French are big on commemorations, 8 May and 11 November are public holidays, but one Sunday going to the boulangerie for the Sunday croissants and an éclair I saw the church porch full of ex-service organisations' standards, but not 8 May or 11 Nov, nor any other day that struck a chord, so in boulangerie asked qu'est que c'est les drapaux. The woman behind the counter managed to scowl and look down her nose at me as she almost spat the word "Algerie". I quickly completed my modest purchase and retreated.
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Old 8th Aug 2016, 11:34
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Pierre Jarrige is the historian for ALAT (French forces in Ageria). He has send me a huge amount of material and photos, but all in French. He can reply in English to e-mails. If you PM me I will give his e mail address. The other good source is the Musee De L'alat, www.museehelico-alat.com.

Hope this helps.
John
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Old 8th Aug 2016, 12:10
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Pic is of of the ex ALAT L21 (Piper Super Cub supplied by the USA) restored and in her 'Algerie' colours . The staff at the ALAT museum in Dax were very helpful when we went there to research the history. The French also allowed us to repaint her in the 'warpaint'.
When we took G-CUBJ (the UK registration) to airshows we would always get an 'expert' telling us that the roundels were wrong on our 'Auster' !
Hope this helps the research.
ALAT is the equivalent of our Army Air Corps.
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Old 9th Aug 2016, 17:38
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French Air Force in Algeria
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Old 9th Aug 2016, 17:41
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http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA590399
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Old 10th Aug 2016, 13:32
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Thanks to you all, I have been told that he was "testing" older aircraft to see their utility in this theatre. Apparently, he died in a single seater. The family were convinced that he was flying ww1 types but I think they must have mistaken a Super Cub. I think that I may uncover something that may upset a family's memories. There is much in the story that doesn't ring true.
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Old 19th Aug 2016, 15:46
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Hi,

Another possibility is the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. As part of the post second world war settlement France took the plans for this aircraft. It was adopted by the French forces as the 'Morane-Saulnier MS.505 Criquet'. It was certainly used at Dien Bien Phu. I would be surprised if it was not used in Algeria as well.

HTH

EG
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Old 20th Aug 2016, 08:28
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We had a French Air Force exchange officer at Chivenor in 56/57, name of Alain Sims, who went back to base. We subsequently heard he had been killed in Algeria flying a Harvard though how true this was I know not.
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Old 20th Aug 2016, 10:39
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Not necessarily connected with the original query, but ... Quite a few years ago I was doing some research into the various marks of T-6/Harvard that operated with various European countries in the 50s/60s and 70s. In an un-related email about French military aircraft somebody posted the web-address of a military archive in France. I went for a look to see if there was any info about T-6s ... I hit the 'mother-lode'!

I found a listing of French military crashes, by aircraft type, from the early 40s up until the early 90s. So, I ploughed through the records and made notes of all the various models of T-6 that had been involved in various incident and crashes. Essentially, it gave the date and location, identity of the aircraft, and sometimes brief notes about what happened.

With a little more work and research I was able to identify about 650 French Air Force T-6s. Some of them even managed to crash 3 times! In the late 50s and very early 60s they were managing to crash about 3 of 'em per month!, but they did have over 700 to play with.

A few years ago the web-site was taken-down for a re-vamp and tidy-up, and when it came back access to this database of crashes was no longer available.

(I will see if I can find the web-address again; if I find it I will post again)
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Old 21st Aug 2016, 02:32
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I was a regular passenger to Algiers airport in the late 70s and just before the main terminal were a couple of hangers full of obsolete Russian types ,remember seeing MIGs and IL-28s and others but memory hazy now!!!
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