After the end of WW II, France return to assume control over it's colonial holdongs in SE Asia. Due to a lack of their own equipment, Japanese aircraft that were still in place locally were utilised until suitable planes were obtained from the US. One of the lesser known planes used by France in the area was the Ki-84 Hayate, known as "Frank" under the US code name system.
A squadron of 10 were formed, but due to a lack of spare parts they were not often flown. Unpopular with the pilots and groundcrews, disposal was a certainty. A perfect solution was found in the RAF, who were scrapping wholesale large numbers of the early war bombers, and a deal was made: All the Ki-84's for a similar weight of Short Stirlings. An obscure British War Assets regulation allowed for the substitution of items as long as the weight was the same. Some haggling was encountered, as the French weighed the planes in metric, the British in pounds, but eventually it was agreed
to do the deal in pounds. The switch was made, but it is lost to history as to...

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what the exact exchange rate was on French Franks and (Pounds) Stirling!

Alvis 3.1

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