In June 1938, the Nationalist Air Force of China established the 41st PS, French Volunteer Squadron at Wujiaba Airbase and Qingyunpu Airbase; French volunteer pilots participating in few combat engagements against the Japanese attacks while flying in both Hawk IIIs and the D.510s which they were demonstrating for Chinese procurement, but suffered only losses, including one pilot "killed-in-action" against the Japanese A5M fighters that proved to be too difficult of an adversary, and led to the disbandment of the 41st PS by October 1938. The 18 D.510 fighters left in China were reassigned to Chinese Nationalist Air Force 17th Fighter Squadron, 5th Fighter Group, where they would be stationed in Sichuan province and engaging the Imperial Japanese in primarily-defensive airwar campaign in the Battle of Chongqing-Chengdu. The French also dispatched a single D.510 to Japan for evaluation by the Imperial Japanese Navy, but the Japanese found the A5M to be superior and did not place any orders.