Bangkok and Beyond! A quick trip to the Thai capital (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter nuuumannn
- Start date
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Peter Gunn
Master Sergeant
Can't wait 
Good start Grant!
- Thread starter
- #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
- 43,321
- 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.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Glad I said I liked it.
- Thread starter
- #15
Shortround6
Major General
It is going to take a real expert. I am guessing it is from the 1880s or early 90s and with that area of the world being a repository for all manner of old discarded equipment who knows?
No recoil system and a carriage that looks like a mountain gun?
But it does not appear to be an old British screw gun.
special ed
2nd Lieutenant
- 5,710
- May 13, 2018
As a Suthener, Suh, I resent that comment!Don't worry, Terry, I got it. Damn Yankees...
- Thread starter
- #18
Before we go on, a brief explanation behind the use of the place names Siam and Thailand. The Kingdom of Thailand officially became known as such in 1939 by Decree laid down by the Siamese Premier Plaek Phibunsongkhram, or locally known as Marshal P, easier for us Westerners attempting to pronounce those lengthy Thai names. Any descriptions I make of an object or occurrence before 1939 will use Siam, whereas anything after that year will be Thai.
Back into it. We are inside the Thai Naval Museum and this is a Barr & Stroud rangefinder, and a telegraph that was fitted to the R-Class destroyer HTMS Phra Ruang.
_ADP8983
HTMS Phra Ruang was completed as the R-Class destroyer HMS Radiant, built by Thorneycroft in 1916 and serving with the 10th Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force in 1917. Radiant saw action as a merchantman escort during the rest of the war until sold back to Thorneycroft for disposal in June 1920. Her sale to the Siamese government came a few months later in September 1920. In the Thai Navy, the Phra Ruang served until 1957, by which time it was a training vessel, being struck off charge in 1959. We'll see more items from the Phra Ruang here and further on our trip.
_ADP8984
A grainy photo of a Watanabe WS-103S seaplane, specifically built for the Siamese Navy and based on the Watanabe E9W ship-based reconnaissance seaplane. Four of these were bought in 1938 to serve aboard the Taksin Class naval vessels HTMS Taksin and Mae Klong, and were locally designated BTL-1.
_ADP8985
The interior of the museum comprises small rooms with displays while a multi-storey open-walled building filled with models and artifacts comprises the main display area. These models depict Siamese fully rigged coastal gunboats of unknown types. The Siamese navy operated a number of ships of this type over the years, most of which were built in the 19th Century and were retired in the early years of the 20th Century.
_ADP8987
HTMS Chumphon, a Trad Class torpedo boat built in 1937 by the Italian ship builder Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CRDA), named the Chonburi Class in Thai service. The Thai Navy operated nine Chonburi Class boats, two of which were sunk by the French Navy during the Battle of Koh Chang (more of which later), but the rest remained in service until the 1970s, Chumphon in 1975, after which it was preserved as a museum ship in the Chumphon District in 1980.
_ADP8988
This rather comical looking ship is the Ratanakosindra, one of two armoured gunboats of this Class that were built bespoke for the Siamese Navy by Armstrong Whitworth Elswick, Newcastle. Armed with two six-inch guns in single turrets and four three-inch guns, the Ratanakosindra and her sister the Sukhothai were active during the Battle of Koh Chang in January 1941, the former stricken in 1967 and the latter in 1971.
_ADP8989
Something more modern, this is a Ratcharit Class fast attack craft. Built by Singapore Technologies Marine and commissioned in 1979, the Ratcharit was one of four of this type in the Thai navy armed with four MM.39 Excocet launchers aft. All have been retired from the Thai Navy, the name ship in 2021.
_ADP8996
The name ship of two Tapi Class corvettes built in the United States as the PF-103 Class and are the same type as the Bayandor Class corvettes for Iran. HTMS Tapi was completed in 1971 and its sister the Kirirat three years later, both ships are still in service.
_ADP8997
Name ship of the three Khamronsin Class of anti-submarine corvettes, these boats were built by Vosper Thorneycroft in the early 1990s and are currently active.
_ADP8998
The corvette HTMS Ratanakosin, one of two in the class built by the Tacoma Building Company and based on the Badr Class Saudi corvettes. Launched in 1986, Ratanakosin remains in service, while its sister the Sukhothai tragically sank in a storm in December 2022.
_ADP8999
This is the Royal Yacht Maha Chakri that was built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kobe using the machinery from its predecessor the 1893 protected cruiser of the same name, which was built in Scotland and used by King Rama V, Chulalongkorn as his royal yacht. This Maha Chakri was far more elegant as a royal transport should be and was more graceful of line compared to the original, serving Kings Rama VI through to Rama VIII.
_ADP9003
This is HTMS Mae Klong, one of two Taksin Class sloops specially designed and built for the Siamese Navy by the Uraga Dock Company, Yokosuka in 1937. Built as training vessels, the Mae Klong was the longest serving Thai warship, being retired in 1996, while its sister was badly damaged by RAF B-24 Liberators in June 1945 and was scrapped less than a year later. Note the Watanabe BTL-1 amidships, launched from the sea surface as the ship was not fitted with a catapult. A Vought V-93S Corsair was also carried aboard the Mae Klong. We'll learn more about the Mae Klong soon, as she survives as a museum ship.
_ADP9004
The submarine Machanu, whose conning tower adorns the forecourt of the museum.
_ADP9008
This is a blueprint of the Machanu, which is unusual in that it is written in both English and Japanese. I could only photograph fragments because it is facing a window and therefore the images I took of the entire drawing didn't come out.
_ADP9009
This is HTMS Thonburi, one of two coastal gunboats built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries at Kobe in 1936, modelled after the Ratanakosindra Class but bigger, with heavier armament. Armed with four 8-inch guns (not six-inch as is reported in some accounts) in twin turrets, the Thonburis were formidably armed for their size, and during the Battle of Koh Chang on 17 January 1941, the Thonburi engaged Vichy French forces, coming off second best and running aground after a gun battle with the lighter armed six-inch gun armed light cruiser Lamotte-Piquet. Thonburi was not repaired after the battle, but its stricken hull was refloated by Japanese salvage workers and it was repaired in Japan, after which it served as a stationary training ship until 1957. Its conning tower and forward gun turret were saved from scrapping and survive on the grounds of the Thai Naval Academy, across the road from the naval museum.
_ADP9012
These are pieces from the Thonburi displaying damage incurred during the engagement with the Lamotte-Piquet.
_ADP9013
For a bit of context behind why Thailand and France were at war, here's an excellent page by Avalanche Press on the background to the Battle of Kho Chang.
This model gives a representation of the movements of each fleet during the Battle of Koh Chang on 17 January 1941, where Thonburi was engaged and ran aground. At the base of the model from top to bottom are the French ships Lamotte-Piquet, Dumont D'Urville, Admiral Charmer, Tahure, and Marne, while the Thai ships are the Thonburi nosed into the island at centre and its sister the Sri Ayuthaya in port at the top. The two smaller Thai ships are the Chonburi Class torpedo boats Chonburi and Songkla, both of which were sunk during the battle.
_ADP9014
Here's Part Two of the Avalanche Press account of the Battle of Koh Chang. I'd recommend reading this, it's very interesting.
This is a propeller from a USAAF B-24 Liberator of the 9th Bombardment Sqn, 7th Bombardment Wing, 10th Air Force that was shot down by AA fire from the torpedo boat HTMS Surasdra while carrying out mining of Sattahip Bay on 7 May 1944. All ten of the aircraft's occupants died, although two were recovered alive by the Thai Navy. Their bodies were repatriated to the United States after the war. Their names are as follows (as written on the display board, so excuse any inaccuracies):
Maj David N. Kellogg
1st Lt Michael W. Gavrity
1st Lt Dante Mino
1st Lt Mavin L. Newman
T/Sgt Vernon L. Thorson
T/Sgt Elbert L. Lazenby
T/Sgt Laurel D. Kinsey
Sr Sgt Philip R. SKaggs
Sr Sgt Clifford Eastham
Sgt Grant O. Allen
_ADP9015
SG-43 Goryunov 7.62 mm machine gun or its Chinese manufactured copy. This was probably captured from the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian Civl War, against whom Thai forces engaged.
_ADP9017
Lastly for today, an M40 105-mm recoilless rifle.
_ADP9018
Next, more from the Thai Naval Museum and some aircraft suffering from exposure to the climate. Thanks for looking.
Back into it. We are inside the Thai Naval Museum and this is a Barr & Stroud rangefinder, and a telegraph that was fitted to the R-Class destroyer HTMS Phra Ruang.
HTMS Phra Ruang was completed as the R-Class destroyer HMS Radiant, built by Thorneycroft in 1916 and serving with the 10th Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force in 1917. Radiant saw action as a merchantman escort during the rest of the war until sold back to Thorneycroft for disposal in June 1920. Her sale to the Siamese government came a few months later in September 1920. In the Thai Navy, the Phra Ruang served until 1957, by which time it was a training vessel, being struck off charge in 1959. We'll see more items from the Phra Ruang here and further on our trip.
A grainy photo of a Watanabe WS-103S seaplane, specifically built for the Siamese Navy and based on the Watanabe E9W ship-based reconnaissance seaplane. Four of these were bought in 1938 to serve aboard the Taksin Class naval vessels HTMS Taksin and Mae Klong, and were locally designated BTL-1.
The interior of the museum comprises small rooms with displays while a multi-storey open-walled building filled with models and artifacts comprises the main display area. These models depict Siamese fully rigged coastal gunboats of unknown types. The Siamese navy operated a number of ships of this type over the years, most of which were built in the 19th Century and were retired in the early years of the 20th Century.
HTMS Chumphon, a Trad Class torpedo boat built in 1937 by the Italian ship builder Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CRDA), named the Chonburi Class in Thai service. The Thai Navy operated nine Chonburi Class boats, two of which were sunk by the French Navy during the Battle of Koh Chang (more of which later), but the rest remained in service until the 1970s, Chumphon in 1975, after which it was preserved as a museum ship in the Chumphon District in 1980.
This rather comical looking ship is the Ratanakosindra, one of two armoured gunboats of this Class that were built bespoke for the Siamese Navy by Armstrong Whitworth Elswick, Newcastle. Armed with two six-inch guns in single turrets and four three-inch guns, the Ratanakosindra and her sister the Sukhothai were active during the Battle of Koh Chang in January 1941, the former stricken in 1967 and the latter in 1971.
Something more modern, this is a Ratcharit Class fast attack craft. Built by Singapore Technologies Marine and commissioned in 1979, the Ratcharit was one of four of this type in the Thai navy armed with four MM.39 Excocet launchers aft. All have been retired from the Thai Navy, the name ship in 2021.
The name ship of two Tapi Class corvettes built in the United States as the PF-103 Class and are the same type as the Bayandor Class corvettes for Iran. HTMS Tapi was completed in 1971 and its sister the Kirirat three years later, both ships are still in service.
Name ship of the three Khamronsin Class of anti-submarine corvettes, these boats were built by Vosper Thorneycroft in the early 1990s and are currently active.
The corvette HTMS Ratanakosin, one of two in the class built by the Tacoma Building Company and based on the Badr Class Saudi corvettes. Launched in 1986, Ratanakosin remains in service, while its sister the Sukhothai tragically sank in a storm in December 2022.
This is the Royal Yacht Maha Chakri that was built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kobe using the machinery from its predecessor the 1893 protected cruiser of the same name, which was built in Scotland and used by King Rama V, Chulalongkorn as his royal yacht. This Maha Chakri was far more elegant as a royal transport should be and was more graceful of line compared to the original, serving Kings Rama VI through to Rama VIII.
This is HTMS Mae Klong, one of two Taksin Class sloops specially designed and built for the Siamese Navy by the Uraga Dock Company, Yokosuka in 1937. Built as training vessels, the Mae Klong was the longest serving Thai warship, being retired in 1996, while its sister was badly damaged by RAF B-24 Liberators in June 1945 and was scrapped less than a year later. Note the Watanabe BTL-1 amidships, launched from the sea surface as the ship was not fitted with a catapult. A Vought V-93S Corsair was also carried aboard the Mae Klong. We'll learn more about the Mae Klong soon, as she survives as a museum ship.
The submarine Machanu, whose conning tower adorns the forecourt of the museum.
This is a blueprint of the Machanu, which is unusual in that it is written in both English and Japanese. I could only photograph fragments because it is facing a window and therefore the images I took of the entire drawing didn't come out.
This is HTMS Thonburi, one of two coastal gunboats built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries at Kobe in 1936, modelled after the Ratanakosindra Class but bigger, with heavier armament. Armed with four 8-inch guns (not six-inch as is reported in some accounts) in twin turrets, the Thonburis were formidably armed for their size, and during the Battle of Koh Chang on 17 January 1941, the Thonburi engaged Vichy French forces, coming off second best and running aground after a gun battle with the lighter armed six-inch gun armed light cruiser Lamotte-Piquet. Thonburi was not repaired after the battle, but its stricken hull was refloated by Japanese salvage workers and it was repaired in Japan, after which it served as a stationary training ship until 1957. Its conning tower and forward gun turret were saved from scrapping and survive on the grounds of the Thai Naval Academy, across the road from the naval museum.
These are pieces from the Thonburi displaying damage incurred during the engagement with the Lamotte-Piquet.
For a bit of context behind why Thailand and France were at war, here's an excellent page by Avalanche Press on the background to the Battle of Kho Chang.
This model gives a representation of the movements of each fleet during the Battle of Koh Chang on 17 January 1941, where Thonburi was engaged and ran aground. At the base of the model from top to bottom are the French ships Lamotte-Piquet, Dumont D'Urville, Admiral Charmer, Tahure, and Marne, while the Thai ships are the Thonburi nosed into the island at centre and its sister the Sri Ayuthaya in port at the top. The two smaller Thai ships are the Chonburi Class torpedo boats Chonburi and Songkla, both of which were sunk during the battle.
Here's Part Two of the Avalanche Press account of the Battle of Koh Chang. I'd recommend reading this, it's very interesting.
This is a propeller from a USAAF B-24 Liberator of the 9th Bombardment Sqn, 7th Bombardment Wing, 10th Air Force that was shot down by AA fire from the torpedo boat HTMS Surasdra while carrying out mining of Sattahip Bay on 7 May 1944. All ten of the aircraft's occupants died, although two were recovered alive by the Thai Navy. Their bodies were repatriated to the United States after the war. Their names are as follows (as written on the display board, so excuse any inaccuracies):
Maj David N. Kellogg
1st Lt Michael W. Gavrity
1st Lt Dante Mino
1st Lt Mavin L. Newman
T/Sgt Vernon L. Thorson
T/Sgt Elbert L. Lazenby
T/Sgt Laurel D. Kinsey
Sr Sgt Philip R. SKaggs
Sr Sgt Clifford Eastham
Sgt Grant O. Allen
SG-43 Goryunov 7.62 mm machine gun or its Chinese manufactured copy. This was probably captured from the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian Civl War, against whom Thai forces engaged.
Lastly for today, an M40 105-mm recoilless rifle.
Next, more from the Thai Naval Museum and some aircraft suffering from exposure to the climate. Thanks for looking.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #19
