William Alcott has kindly given permission to share these images of his 1/72 Hasegawa Ki-51 Sonia in the guise of a machine operated by the French in Indo-China. A surprising number of ex-Japanese aircraft were operated by French forces in their challenge to secure and maintain airpower in the immediate post-war aftermath in Indochina before ex-RAF Spitfires and various aircraft types developed for the US Navy replaced them in the delay of the inevitable.
William has a website dedicated to models of aircraft from the Air War Over French Indochina which is well worth visiting. There is a section on Japanese aircraft used by the French, the models are excellent (check out his convincingly realised Ki-43 Hayabusa) and accompanied by informative and useful build reviews in a style that used to feature in the best modelling magazines but which are now quite rare.
William's Sonia model represents an aircraft of SAL 99 - Section Aérienne de Liaison n°99 (Air liaisons Section) which he notes became ELA 52 - Escadrille de Liaisons Aériennes n°52 (Air Liaison Flight). In the absence of other available types Sonia would have been a practical choice for such service, with its robust fixed undercarriage, ability to operate from rough landing grounds and to carry a passenger and a modest amount of freight. The Tachikawa Ki-36 Ida was also put to use by the French liaison unit.
With special thanks to William for sharing the images of these models from a most interesting collection.
Image credit: All © 2025 William Alcott and Air War Over Indochina
No comments:
Post a Comment