Aviators in the Indochina War 1945–1957 – Testimonies

By addressing every aspect of this war — human and strategic — by presenting the equipment and the full range of missions carried out by the aviators, and by revealing the role of these men and women, long obscured yet essential, on the various operational theatres of the Indochina conflict — at Dien Bien Phu above all — this well-documented and richly illustrated work makes a genuine contribution to the historiography of the French Indochina War.

Portraits of distinguished male and female aviators, nominal rolls of crews and losses complement the testimonies and give the work the scope of a memorial to the arm.

Born in 1944, Jean-Pierre Simon joined the Air Force in 1962. Qualified as an air traffic controller (top of his class), he served in Germany until 1968, first with the 3rd Fighter Wing (Lahr), then in Berlin. In 1969 he joined the operational reserve, where he would serve for 32 years. Having volunteered for an overseas operation, he was seconded to the Special Operations Command as an Info-Ops/Psyops officer, taking part in 2000 in Operation Trident (Kosovo KFOR 3-4). National Chancellor of the National Association of Reserve Officers of the Air Force (ANORAA), he is also a member of the Franco-Belgian Guynemer Memorial Committee. A retired senior executive of Aéroports de Paris, Commandant (rc) Jean-Pierre Simon is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, an Officer of the FONM, and holds the Croix du combattant volontaire and the Médaille de l'Aéronautique.