University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2017 THE HOPES AND THE REALITIES OF AVIATION IN FRENCH INDOCHINA, 1919-1940 Gregory Charles Seltzer University of Kentucky, [email protected] Author ORCID Identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6668-0764 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.313 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Seltzer, Gregory Charles, "THE HOPES AND THE REALITIES OF AVIATION IN FRENCH INDOCHINA, 1919-1940" (2017). Theses and Dissertations--History. 49. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/49 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Gregory Charles Seltzer, Student Dr. Jeremy D. Popkin, Major Professor Dr. Scott K. Taylor, Director of Graduate Studies THE HOPES AND THE REALITIES OF AVIATION IN FRENCH INDOCHINA, 1919-1940 _______________________ DISSERTATION _______________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Gregory Charles Seltzer Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Jeremy D. Popkin, Professor of History Lexington, Kentucky 2017 Copyright © Gregory Charles Seltzer 2017 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION THE HOPES AND THE REALITIES OF AVIATION IN FRENCH INDOCHINA, 1919-1940 My dissertation examines how and why the French employed aviation in the five constituent parts of French Indochina (Annam, Cambodia, Cochinchina, Laos, and Tonkin) during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. I argue that the French, believing that the modern technology of powered flight possessed seemingly endless potential, saw aviation as a vehicle for extending, consolidating, developing, and protecting their interests both within the colony and around Southeast and East Asia. Aircraft, whether civil or military, were viewed and used as a multi-purpose tool of empire. Indeed, planes were employed for a variety of tasks in Indochina: transportation and communication; delivery of patients and medical supplies; colonial development projects; scientific studies; imperial propaganda; internal policing and assertion of authority; and air defense of the colony. My argument is that the realities of what was accomplished with aviation fell far short of the sky-high hopes that government and military officials and aeronautics enthusiasts had for flight technology in the empire. My dissertation also examines the causes and the effects of this yawning gap between what was hoped and what was accomplished in matters of aviation. When aviation failed to “get off the ground” to the extent that the French hoped, the reasons typically related to a recurring combination of unfavorable weather and geography, insufficient funding and aeronautics materials, the limits of the era’s flight technology, and foreign competition that originated in Europe as well as Southeast and East Asia. Challenges to French aerial supremacy were present within the colony itself, although in a more indirect manner, through the ways that the colonized responded, or failed to respond, to French aviation. In sum, as much as the French envisioned aircraft as being able to rather easily vanquish the perceived challenges of the colonial landscape, aviation, in reality, failed to do so or only did so after a protracted period of time. My dissertation is positioned at the intersection of colonial aviation history and the history of French Indochina. While studies in each of these fields have considered parts of this dissertation’s subject matter, there has been a lack of sustained critical analysis on French aviation in Indochina. My project contends that Indochina presents a rich area of study for colonial aviation history because, more so than anywhere else in the French empire, the aviation efforts in Indochina encapsulated all that the French hoped to accomplish with aircraft, the era’s most modern, symbolically saturated transportation technology. In addition, my topic reveals much about the hopes and the realities of the French colonial project in Indochina as well. Thus by analyzing how aviation was viewed and used in the context of the Indochina, my dissertation provides insight into not only what the colonizers wanted to achieve in Indochina but also why this effort failed. KEYWORDS: Aviation, Indochina, French Empire, French History, Interwar Period. ____Gregory Charles Seltzer__ _______July 27, 2017________ THE HOPES AND THE REALITIES OF AVIATION IN FRENCH INDOCHINA, 1919-1940 By Gregory Charles Seltzer ______Dr. Jeremy D. Popkin____________ Director of Dissertation ___________Dr. Scott K. Taylor_________ Director of Graduate Studies ________July 27, 2017_________________ (Date) I dedicate this dissertation to Professor Ellen Furlough, who led me to this project, and Kylie Seltzer, who helped me get it finished. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I want to thank my parents, Steve and Marlene Seltzer, for supporting me in my academic endeavors since my time as an undergraduate. At the University of Kentucky, I owe a debt of gratitude to the members of my doctoral committee. Professor Richard Smith, my outside examiner, provided not only thoughtful comments for how I could expand my research but also a very friendly presence during my final examination. Professor Phil Harling taught me about rigorous scholarship during my first research seminar at Kentucky, and, several years later, unhesitatingly joined my committee in a time of need, offering helpful advice and gentle criticism. Professor Leon Sachs pushed me to try to extract myself from the mire of details and consider the larger relevance of my work. With her kindness, enthusiasm, and detailed knowledge of French Indochina, Professor Hang Nguyen provided me with invaluable advice and encouragement. As I came to the final stage of my project, Danielle Dodson furnished me with much-needed assistance and reassurance. Also, Professor Karen Petrone assisted me in a variety of ways and with compassion and kindness during my years as a graduate student. Throughout my time as a doctoral student, my advisor, Professor Jeremy Popkin, patiently guided my efforts, offered constructive criticism as he read through numerous chapters and papers, answered questions—academic or otherwise—and provided an example of the type of scholar that graduate students aim to emulate. Professor Ellen Furlough, who was unable to see my project through to completion, helped to keep me excited and inspired to study French history and unfailingly encouraged me during my first few years at Kentucky. It was because of Professor Furlough that I came to write about aviation and Indochina, and I hope this is a dissertation of which she would be proud. Finally, the entirety of this endeavor—from researching, thinking, and translating to writing and revising—would have been immeasurably more difficult and lonely without the knowledge, assistance, encouragement, style, and support of my wife, Kylie. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Introduction: Aviation History and Colonial History in French Indochina .........................1 The Significance of Aviation and Empire in the Interwar Years .............................5 The History of Colonial Aviation ............................................................................9 The History of Indochina .......................................................................................19 Dissertation Chapters .............................................................................................27 A Note on Sources and Names ..............................................................................32