COSARA

COSARA (Comptoirs Saigonnais de Ravitaillements) was a Vietnamese aviation and transport company founded by Maurice Loubière.

Loubière was posted to the French 4th Colonial Artillery Regiment, based in Hanoi in 1929, to undertake his military service.

In September 1942, he started his own business, Les Comptoirs des Industries Locales, which provided provisions for the Army.

On 9 September 1947 Loubière, along with one of his Vietnamese friends, founded COSARA (Comptoirs Saigonnais de Ravitaillements).

The company's aim was to air freight supplies to army units scattered around Vietnam by using the airfields built by the Japanese during World War II.

In 1949 COSARA provided assistance to the French Army during the First Indochina War by evacuating wounded soldiers from Sóc Trăng at its own expense.

Sud-Oest SO-30P Bretagne - this type of aircraft was flown by COSARA from 1952
4th Colonial Artillery Regiment Badge
An STA Amiot AAC.1 (Ju 52 copy)
French Douglas C-47s at Haiphong in 1954
An Air Vietnam C-47 similar to the former COSARA C-47s that were transferred to Air Vietnam