Towards the end of the First Indochina War in 1954, the USAF sent a maintenance detachment to assist in the upkeep of French C-47s at Do Son, near Haiphong. After the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, four C-46s of the 315th Troop Carrier Wing, based in Japan, were sent to Do Son to carry out an evacuation if necessary. The small coastal airfield was a 'very poor strip' of steel planking. 44-78381 crashed on 14 June after its landing gear struck the seawall on approach. The aircraft was written off. The Americans quit Do Son on 29 June.