Bangkok and Beyond! A quick trip to the Thai capital (1 Viewer)
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Peter Gunn
Master Sergeant
Can't wait 
Good start Grant!
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- #5
Thanks for looking on, guys. My trip to Thailand was to take a tour of the Death Railway, the infamous Thai-Burma railway that was built by Allied prisoners of War and civilians from the local occupied countries. The death rate was terribly high, hence the name. The tour was eventually cancelled, we'll get into that later, but I still made a plan to catch a train on the Death Railway, as well as visiting some local sites of interest, with a military history bent. So, dear readers, join me on this quick trip into the Military Heart of Thailand! PS - there were no happy endings, but I felt very fulfilled by the end of the trip!
We begin the usual way, at an international airport, this time Changi, Singapore, which plays a vital part in the Thai-Burma Railway story, henceforth abbreviated as TBR for brevity, and an Airbus A350, which I travelled on to Singapore, then it was off to Bangkok after a quick stopover. I do like a Singapore Girl. She looks so smart in those colours. SIA is one of the very few airlines these days that has retained a cheatline in their colour scheme.
IMG_20241219_083815622_AE
You know you're in South East Asia, when...
IMG_20241219_062231113_AE
"One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but their pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel sliding up to me"
Yes, the vibrant city of Bangkok is an assault on the senses and is hot, hot, hot - in so many definitions of the word. Before we head off on our first adventure, this is the Anajak Hotel, my home for the next week. A pretty little boutique hotel located very close to the most important rail links. It's small, but was my welcome oasis, and that pool...
Anajak 1
Anajak 2
Anajak 3
A tiny shrine outside the entrance to the hotel. These are everywhere, so do the Thai Wai, with your palms pressed together in a prayer pose and a slight bow - get used to doing this, you'll find it will literally open doors for you, and the Thais respect you more.
Anajak 4
First stop, a half hour journey south on the Sukhumvit Line on the BTS Skytrain to the Thai Navy Museum at Samut Prakkan.
_ADP8950
Firstly, the hardware on the open field out front. M706 Commando.
_ADP8964
LVT Mk.4.
_ADP8965
The conning tower of HTMS Machanu, name ship of a class of four coastal patrol submarines built in Japan for the Siamese navy in 1938. The script simply says "Naval museum", with "Machanu" in gold below the deck casing.
_ADP8966
Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at Kobe, the Machanus were small boats and bear little comparison with contemporary Japanese designs, being built bespoke to Siamese specifications. The Wiki page has a small entry on the submarines, spelt Matchanu, but based on the blueprints in the museum (which see), and the script on the front of the mount, Machanu appears to be the appropriate English spelling.
en.wikipedia.org
_ADP8967
The Machanus were certainly distinctive with their overhang on the conning tower. We'll see a model of the Machanu in the museum. Curiously, there is another surviving Machanu Class submarine conning tower, which we'll see later and inexplicably, it too, is marked as the Machanu, so the question has to be asked, if this is the Machnau, which sister is the other?
_ADP8968
The Class is often referred to as the Sinsamudar Class, after one interpretation of Machanu's sister ship, but Machanu, again, is the appropriate Class name. Note the BTS Skytrain public transport network rail line in the background.
_ADP8970
Machanu's forward deck gun is 76-mm, or 3-inch. Machanu was also fitted with an 8-mm or .310-inch deck gun aft.
_ADP8971
Breech-loading field gun of unknown type, there was no identifying markings. I'm not so up on field artillery.
_ADP8976
A Pibber. The Thai Navy received a considerable number of Patrol Boat, Riverine Mk.IIs, of which there are more than 30 still in service. This one is looking a little bit weather worn. We'll see a better example in the coming days.
_ADP8978
Grumman HU-16 Albatross. The Thai Navy received two ex-USAF HU-16Bs in 1968 and used them for search and rescue duties until 1981.
_ADP8980
This was the first time I had gotten up close to an Albatross, they are bigger than I thought they would be. I was imagining something the size of a Grumman Goose.
_ADP8981
I do like the look of the Albatross - I fancy one as a recreational vehicle now, better than a PBY, perhaps?
_ADP8982
Next, treasures in the Thai Navy Museum interior.
We begin the usual way, at an international airport, this time Changi, Singapore, which plays a vital part in the Thai-Burma Railway story, henceforth abbreviated as TBR for brevity, and an Airbus A350, which I travelled on to Singapore, then it was off to Bangkok after a quick stopover. I do like a Singapore Girl. She looks so smart in those colours. SIA is one of the very few airlines these days that has retained a cheatline in their colour scheme.
You know you're in South East Asia, when...
"One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but their pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel sliding up to me"
Yes, the vibrant city of Bangkok is an assault on the senses and is hot, hot, hot - in so many definitions of the word. Before we head off on our first adventure, this is the Anajak Hotel, my home for the next week. A pretty little boutique hotel located very close to the most important rail links. It's small, but was my welcome oasis, and that pool...
A tiny shrine outside the entrance to the hotel. These are everywhere, so do the Thai Wai, with your palms pressed together in a prayer pose and a slight bow - get used to doing this, you'll find it will literally open doors for you, and the Thais respect you more.
First stop, a half hour journey south on the Sukhumvit Line on the BTS Skytrain to the Thai Navy Museum at Samut Prakkan.
Firstly, the hardware on the open field out front. M706 Commando.
LVT Mk.4.
The conning tower of HTMS Machanu, name ship of a class of four coastal patrol submarines built in Japan for the Siamese navy in 1938. The script simply says "Naval museum", with "Machanu" in gold below the deck casing.
Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at Kobe, the Machanus were small boats and bear little comparison with contemporary Japanese designs, being built bespoke to Siamese specifications. The Wiki page has a small entry on the submarines, spelt Matchanu, but based on the blueprints in the museum (which see), and the script on the front of the mount, Machanu appears to be the appropriate English spelling.
Matchanu-class submarine - Wikipedia
The Machanus were certainly distinctive with their overhang on the conning tower. We'll see a model of the Machanu in the museum. Curiously, there is another surviving Machanu Class submarine conning tower, which we'll see later and inexplicably, it too, is marked as the Machanu, so the question has to be asked, if this is the Machnau, which sister is the other?
The Class is often referred to as the Sinsamudar Class, after one interpretation of Machanu's sister ship, but Machanu, again, is the appropriate Class name. Note the BTS Skytrain public transport network rail line in the background.
Machanu's forward deck gun is 76-mm, or 3-inch. Machanu was also fitted with an 8-mm or .310-inch deck gun aft.
Breech-loading field gun of unknown type, there was no identifying markings. I'm not so up on field artillery.
A Pibber. The Thai Navy received a considerable number of Patrol Boat, Riverine Mk.IIs, of which there are more than 30 still in service. This one is looking a little bit weather worn. We'll see a better example in the coming days.
Grumman HU-16 Albatross. The Thai Navy received two ex-USAF HU-16Bs in 1968 and used them for search and rescue duties until 1981.
This was the first time I had gotten up close to an Albatross, they are bigger than I thought they would be. I was imagining something the size of a Grumman Goose.
I do like the look of the Albatross - I fancy one as a recreational vehicle now, better than a PBY, perhaps?
Next, treasures in the Thai Navy Museum interior.
Last edited:
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Dii Maahk Maahk!
Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 43,304
- Mar 26, 2007
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Great stuff Grant, and I'm with you on the Albert Ross - always liked them, and would love one for touring air shows here and abroad.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Spellcheck strikes again! I gotta admit, Albert Ross is a nice name too.
- Thread starter
- #11
I saw this beauty at Reno. I also got a flight in a pax-carrying Cat once and space-wise, the Cat is constrained by its skinny shape. Nowhere to put a bar...
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
My term "Albert Ross" wasn't a spell check error - I've always called it that for as long as I can remember.
