About to enter a paint workshop: now is the time indeed... Back from Ivory Coast, this Puma normally belongs to the 5ème RHC as the two first letters of the code suggests.

The 64 SON-1s built by the Naval Aircraft Factory were essentially Curtiss SOC-3 Seagulls. The 3-O-3 code indicates the third aircraft of the first section (red lower half of nose) of VO-3 (blue tailfin), thus assigned to the first ship in the 3rd Battleship Division, USS Idaho. See photo 422633 for more on this and note that VO-3 was converting to the OS2U Kingfisher around this time. Idaho sent to Atlantic in 1941 but returned to Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Photo by: Carl Mydans / Life

Later coded BZF and DCP, at this time Puma 1150's callsign was F-MADF with 6 RHC at Compiègne. Stored at Montauban after withdrawal till at least 2017 and more recently added to collection of the Tecuci Aviation Museum in Romania.

Became civilian as 7O-ADE.

Scanned from slide

One of the rarest Herks I've photographed, it was a pleasure to see this passing through. Donated to Yemen by Saudi Arabia from new in late 1979, she was operated by Yemen Airways as 7O-ADE from 1992, operated for the government in full Yemenia colours

French army demonstration.