The Vietnam Air Force – VNAF (Vietnamese: Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa – KLVNCH) was the Air Force branch of the Republic of Vietnam’s Military Forces, the official military of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The VNAF began with a few hand-picked men chosen to fly alongside French pilots during the State of Vietnam era. It eventually grew into the world’s sixth largest air force at the height of its power, in 1974. It is...
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The Vietnam Air Force – VNAF (Vietnamese: Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa – KLVNCH) was the Air Force branch of the Republic of Vietnam’s Military Forces, the official military of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The VNAF began with a few hand-picked men chosen to fly alongside French pilots during the State of Vietnam era. It eventually grew into the world’s sixth largest air force at the height of its power, in 1974. It is an often neglected chapter of the history of the Vietnam War as they operated in the shadow of the world’s largest air war machine. It was dissolved in 1975 after the Fall of Saigon. Many of its members now live in the United States.
In March 1949, Emperor Bảo Đại officially requested that the French help set up a Vietnamese military air arm. Pressure was maintained with the assistance of Lt. Col. Nguyễn Văn Hinh, who had flown the B-26 Marauder with the French Air Force in the Second World War. In March 1952, a training school was set up at...
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