COSARA (''Comptoirs Saigonnais de Ravitaillements'') was a Vietnamese aviation and transport company founded by Maurice Loubière. The company's office was located at 5–13, Turc Street,

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

- now Ho Huan Nghiep Street, Ho Chi Minh City.

Origin of the company

Loubière was posted to the French 4th Colonial Artillery Regiment, based in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

in 1929, to undertake his military service. He sailed from France of the ''Chargeurs Réunis''. Once in Hanoi he learnt Vietnamese and became the regiment's interpreter. In September 1942, he started his own business, ''Les Comptoirs des Industries Locales'', which provided provisions for the Army. Indo-China was controlled by the French Vichy government at this time although occupied by the Japanese. On 9 September 1947 Loubière, along with one of his Vietnamese friends, founded COSARA (''Comptoirs Saigonnais de Ravitaillements''). The company's aim was to transport air freight supplies to army units scattered around Vietnam by using the airfields built by the Japanese during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

First aircraft

In September 1947 COSARA leased an Amiot AAC.1 Toucan from STA (Société Transatlantique Aérienne). The company was also granted the right to carry passengers between Saigon and

Sóc Trăng Sóc Trăng (; ) is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Sóc Trăng Province. It was upgraded from a town (thị xã) to a city following decree 22/2007/NĐ-CP on 8 February 2007. History During the French colonial period, on December 20 ...

, Phnom-Penh, and

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. A second AAC.1 was leased from STA that same year. STA also became a shareholder in COSARA. During the same period, COSARA also ran a trucking business to carry supplies from the airports to their destinations. In 1948 COSARA added three

Swissair Swissair (German language, German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French language, French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne, stylised as swissair) was the Flag carrier, national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and ban ...

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

's to its fleet. An aviation branch, STAEO (Société Transatlantique Aérienne d’Extrême-Orient) was set up as a subsidiary of COSARA. The passenger routes were expanded to include

Tourane Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

, Hanoi, and Tayninh. By 1950 these were expanded again to include

Phan Thiết Phan Thiết () is the capital of Bình Thuận Province on the southeast coast in Vietnam. While most of the inhabitants live in the city center, others reside in the four urban coastal wards, extending from Suối Nước beach in the northe ...

, and

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

. Prince Savang,

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

became a member of the board and

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

a shareholder.

War service

In 1949 COSARA provided assistance to the French Army during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

by evacuating wounded soldiers from

at its own expense. A gesture that earned the praise of General Blaizot. In 1952 COSARA was nominated for the Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

military medal for transporting 230 military passengers from Saigon to Hanoi between 10 and 12 December 1951. Also that same year a COSARA C-47 was shot down on takeoff by the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...

Phan Thiet Phan may refer to: * Phan (surname), a Vietnamese family name * Phan District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand * Phan River, Bình Thuận Province, Vietnam * Phan (tray) Phan (, ) is an artistically decorated tray with pedestal. It is common in T ...

. COSARA participated in Operation Cognac evacuating 6,000 people from North Vietnam to South Vietnam between 22 August and 4 October 1954 and tied in with the much larger

Operation Passage to Freedom Operation Passage to Freedom was a term used by the United States Navy to describe the propaganda effort and the assistance in transporting 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist No ...

Growth and humanitarian aid

Four additional C-47s were added to COSARA's fleet between 1951 and 1953 and two Sud-Ouest SO.30 Bretagne's were added on 24 July 1952. The SO.30s were named ''Bac Hac'' and ''Van Huong'' From 1953 to 1954 a further two C-47s were added to the fleet along with five SO.30s. During 1953 COSARA under its Vietnamese managing director, Mr Phạm Hòe, provided assistance to the

Vietnamese Red Cross The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC; ), alternatively the Viet Nam Red Cross Society or the Vietnamese Red Cross Society, is the Vietnamese national affiliation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and domestical ...

, transporting medical staff and supplies.Lê Văn Trá. L’oeuvre de la Croix Rouge Vietnamienne – Une longue interview du Dr Hồ Văn Nhựt. L'ami du peuple, Saigon, 26 Juillet 1953. Directeur–Fondateur: Nguyễn Thế Truyền

Demise

On 20 July 1954 Vietnam was partitioned into North and South Vietnam and by 1955 COSARA had ceased flying. Its C-47s were sold to

Air Vietnam Active from 1951 to 1975, Air Viet Nam (Air VN) () was South Vietnam's first commercial air carrier, headquartered in District 1, Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). Established under a decree by Chief of State Bảo Đại, the airline flew over ...

and its SO.30s to the French Navy. Its operations base at

Tan Son Nhut Tan Son Nhat International Airport is an international airport serving Ho Chi Minh City, the most populous city in Vietnam. The airport is located in the Tân Bình district within the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. It is the busies ...

was taken over by Air Vietnam and became an international airport. Maurice Loubière returned to France after the company ceased operations.

Fleet

Link for a detailed list o
COSARA aircraft

References

External links

Saigon-vietnam.fr: COSARA
{{French Indochina Defunct airlines of South Vietnam Defunct airlines of Vietnam Air Vietnam Organizations of the First Indochina War First Indochina War French Fourth Republic Airlines established in 1947 Airlines disestablished in 1955 1947 establishments in French Indochina 1947 establishments in Vietnam 1955 disestablishments in Vietnam 1940s in French Indochina 1950s in French Indochina 1940s in Vietnam 1950s in South Vietnam