April 26, 1954: French Air Force bombards Vietnamese battlefields and roads

On April 26, 1954, with the help of the US, the French Air Force gathered hundreds of aircraft of all types to increase attacks on Vietnamese battlefields and roads in Dien Bien Phu.
Wreckages of aircraft shot down and destroyed by Vietnamese troops are scattered on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. (Photo: VNA)
Wreckages of aircraft shot down and destroyed by Vietnamese troops are scattered on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. (Photo: VNA)

On the Pa Luong battlefield, Company 829 under Battalion 394 (Artillery Regiment 367) shot down a B-26 aircraft. Meanwhile, on the Khe Chot battlefield, Company 817 under Battalion 383 (Artillery Regiment 367) also shot down a B-26 aircraft, capturing two pilots. In the last days of April and early May 1954, units of Artillery Regiment 367 also shot down a number of enemy aircraft. Artillery Regiment 367 was the core of the campaign’s air defence force. During the entire campaign, it shot down 52 enemy aircraft of nine types and damaged 117 others.

On the Cambodian battlefield, after successfully attacking and destroying the enemy at Ansom Station (Prey Veng Province), on April 26, 1954, Battalion 302 continued to attack the Trapeng K’nhay, Kochor, and Ta Nouk stations, causing some damages to the enemy and contributing to the rapid disintegration of the enemy on the Cambodian battlefield.