SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Wonderful post. Much more informative than those plaques.Thanks for watching on, guys. We are at the RTPAD taking photos of the static airframes sitting about the government compound. This is an AESL Airtourer, which is the stablemate of the Airtrainer I talked about in the previous post. The Airtourer was originally designed by Australian Henry Millicer, chief designer of the Government Aircraft Factories that had built Beaufighters and Beauforts during the war and Canberras afterwards, and was put into production by Victa as an entry to a competition by the British Royal Aero Club. After Victa production shut down, Aero Engine Services Ltd in Hamilton, New Zealand bought the rights to manufacture the Airtourer. AESL built 80 in total, this one being the only example that the RTPAD operated and was delivered in 1972.
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One of 23 Hiller 360 helicopter the RTPAD operated, this is a UH-12E Model.
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At this stage, things began to get a little interesting for me on my unsanctioned jaunt around the RTPAD grounds, as I soon found myself approached by no less than five armed police officers. At first there were two of them, then three more arrived on scooters! Because I didn't speak Thai, out came Google Translate and inquiries as to why I was there were swiftly answered. The officers were in no way threatening and did not draw their weapons, as the senior among them conducted the questioning. Soon, however, a black car arrived and a fella wearing a leather jacket got out and began talking hurriedly to the officers, shooing them away with his hands until there were only two left. He pointed at me and in his spiel he said "pilot" in English, to which I responded "engineer". He smiled at me and said to his officers, "see!", then gesticulated to them to leave me alone, got back in his car and drove off! The fella conducting the questions repeated what I had been told by Joy, that I can continue taking photos but not to photograph the active ramp area. It served me right, really, I expected some kind of response when I entered the grounds, I guess I was expecting it sooner than it happened!
On my way out I snapped a few more shots of the Porter and this Bell Jet Ranger, one of 14 operated by RTPAD and still in service.
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That nifty Porter again.
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As I was about to walk back to Ram Inthra Road, the officer who had asked me the questions pulled up on a scooter and asked for a photograph of me for his records, which I duly obliged, then he said something in broken English that I certainly wasn't expecting, he said "enjoy taking photos and good luck"! Boy, the Thais are nice people! There's no way that I could have gotten away with such a thing in New Zealand, or any other country, to be frank, so I was fortunate the officers were in a good mood that day!
Fast forward after a busy day out and a refreshing swim in the hotel pool, something I did every day, I showered, ate and then headed back to the Thai Air Force Museum to attend its "Night at the Museum". This is the F-5A in the foyer, lit up for the occasion. The place was heaving with people and food vendors, a stage with traditional Thai performers and shop stalls were set up next to the aircraft in the compound out the back of the museum buildings, lending a festive air to the evening. I was there for one purpose, though, to take photos of the aircraft, although I did enjoy a (bluddy strong) iced coffee and other refreshments. Mercifully, there weren't many people in the halls, just me at times, despite the sheer number on site.
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F-5F Tiger II, this, as written under the cockpit sill is the oldest Tiger variant of the F-5. Northrop's F-5 was a staple of the RTAF for years and F-5THs, Tiger IIs modified in Israel with new avionics and the capability to fire beyond Visual Range AAMs etc, are still in service. A total of 40 F-5Es and two-seat F-5Fs have been operated by RTAF, of which around 30 are currently operational.
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According to the staff present, this is the only Saab JAS-39 Gripen exhibited in a museum outside of Sweden. Thailand currently operates 11 of an initial order of 12 Gripens, one of which was sadly lost during an airshow in 2017, killing the pilot. More have been ordered to replace older F-16As currently in RTAF service. I was fortunate to get these photos while there weren't many people in this gallery as pretty quickly it filled up with children who insisted in viewing the cockpits of the two open aircraft.
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This is the oldest F-5A Freedom fighter surviving, apparently. One of a total of 29 early model Freedom Fighters operated by RTAF, the type suffered a high attrition rate in service and were replaced by the Tiger II, although the last was retired in 2016. The museum has seven F-5s on display, with more in store.
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These intriguing replicas represent indigenous Siamese aircraft constructed by Royal Siamese Air Force (RSAF) Aeronautical Workshops. The single seater is a full scale replica of the Pradjadipok, which was a fighter designed in 1927 and was initially powered by a 345 hp Curtiss D-12 engine, but was also fitted with a 600 hp BMW VI, which powered the other indigenous Siamese aircraft of the time, the Paribatra. Only one Prajadipok was built to evaluate the type for production to replace the Nieuport Delage NiD.29C, which first entered Siamese service in 1923 and saw licence production to the tune of 40 examples. Production of the indigenous fighter did not take place because it demonstrated performance no better than that of the fighter it was supposed to replace.
The two seat replica is a 3/4 scale model of the Paribatra, also spelt as Boripatra, which, in 1927 was the first indigenous Siamese/Thai aircraft to fly. Built by the RSAF, the Paribatra was a reconnaissance bomber powered by a selection of foreign engines, such as the 450 hp Bristol Jupiter, the 345 hp Curtiss D-12, as the model is configured, the 600 hp BMW VI, and the 740 hp Pratt & Whitney Hornet. Designed to replace the Breguet XIV in RSAF service, somewhat ambiguously, online sources state that less than 12 were built, although the museum display on the type in another hangar states that around 15 were built. Despite the Paribatra demonstrating better performance than the outdated Breguets, the French aircraft were kept in service because it was cheaper to continue to buy spares from France, including engines, which sealed the fate of the Paribatra.
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This is world's only surviving Vought O2U Corsair airframe, it is a V-93S built specifically for the Siamese government, who received 12 in 1934. An important type in Siamese/Thai history, the Corsair was put into licence production, with 75 being constructed locally. I'm not sure whether this is a Siamese or US built Corsair. Initially used as a two seat fighter, the Corsair was also used for attack and naval reconnaissance, for which it was fitted with floats and placed aboard the two Taksin Class sloops.
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The propeller blade in front of the aircraft describes the first air battle in Thai history, which took place on 28 November 1940 between a Corsair and two Curtiss Hawk IIIs against five French bombers attacking Nakhon Phanom District in eastern Thailand. A single French aircraft was shot down, while the remaining four retreated.
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A Curtiss Hawk III or BF2C-1, another important type in the RSAF and RTAF, which was the mainstay of the air force during WW2, until the arrival of modern Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 and Ki-43 fighters. Siam had already received 12 Curtiss Hawk IIs, the F11C-2 Goshawk to replace its Nieuport Delage NiD.29s in 1934, but decided to order the improved performance BF2C instead of more Hawk IIs and received 24 a year later. A further 50 were locally built and despite the arrival of modern fighters throughout WW2, the Hawk III remained in frontline service during the war, being relegated secondary roles afterwards until 1949.
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The propeller blade recounts the exploits of the Hawk IIIs and Corsairs mentioned in the previous post, but written in Thai.
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This F8F was difficult to photograph because of its dark colour against a dark background and lit from behind. I've never seen a decent photo of this aircraft. Another significant type in RTAF service, a total of 204 F8Fs were operated by the RTAF, which included 38 bought from Thailand's former enemy France. The Bearcat remains the most numerous type operated by the RTAF. The type represented a major shift in RTAF structural arrangement, with the adoption of US type squadron organisation across the board, while it was the most modern RTAF fighter when the first batch of 40 arrived in 1951 as deck cargo aboard the CVE USS Cape Esperance. Instantly popular among Thai pilots, the Bearcat remained in service until withdrawn in 1963, by then replaced on the frontline by the F-84G.
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The RTAF's first jet fighter, the F-84G Thunderjet was a significant leap forward in technology over the F8F interceptors in service, although it was in service for a brief period only. A total of 31 were bought, which were supplemented by, then replaced entirely by the F-86F five years after their arrival in Thailand in 1956.
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This next hall is my favourite in the museum as it is light and airy and has a number of air con units dotted around it blasting out cool air. A replica of a Breguet XIV, the main bomber type operated by the RSAF in the 1920s and 30s. As such the Siamese designated it Bomber No.1, the first eight of which arrived in 1919 for a total of 28 bought from France, with local licence production of a further 40. This is fascinating in that Siam/Thailand had an indigenous aircraft industry established early in the second decade of powered flight, which established the country as one of the most powerful militarily and industrially in the region. Immediately after WW1 there weren't many countries in the Asia/Pacific that had an aircraft manufacturing industry.
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A reader favourite, this Tachikawa Ki-55 is one of only two survivors, the other is in China, although this one is the smartest presented. Twenty four were delivered to the RTAF as advanced trainers in 1942, along with 12 Ki-27bs as a token gesture of Japanese support for Thailand following its invasion of the country on 8 December 1941 (the same time as the attack on Pearl Harbor, but given SE Asia is a day ahead of the USA, it was the 8th), a bitter blow for the Thai nation, who considered Japan an ally beforehand. The Ki-27s and Ki-55s, corralled from Japanese stocks in Manchuria, were preceded by the arrival of orders for Ki-21s and Ki-30s in 1940 and 1941. These, along with six Martin 139s delivered in 1937 as the RSAF's first monoplanes and 12 Curtiss Hawk 75Ns in 1938 (1939? See later in the thread), brought the RTAF into the modern monoplane age. Following losses among the Hawk 75Ns and Martin bombers during the Japanese invasion, the RTAF's Japanese types became its primary combat aircraft throughout the war, although its most numerous combat types were its biplane Hawk IIIs and Vought Corsairs.
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Sadly, the Ki-55 is the only surviving complete example of the Japanese aeroplanes operated by the RTAF, which included 24 Ki-43 IIs delivered in 1944. It is interesting to note that Thailand was the only export customer of the Ki-43, all other foreign operators inherited the type, either from post-war Japanese stocks or via third parties. Two other contemporary Japanese aircraft are in the museum collection, which we'll see in the next post, and the museum has wreckage from a crashed Ki-27 and Ki-43 on display.
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Our last aircraft for this post is the Boeing 100E, the only surviving Boeing F4B derived airframe left. Its story ties in with the Siamese quest for advanced fighters during the late 1920s, as two were bought to compete alongside two Bristol Bulldogs and two Heinkel-designed fighters. Arriving in Siam in December 1929, the two Boeings were the first of the six evaluation fighters delivered, with the Bulldogs and the Heinkels arriving within days of each other in January 1930. A note before I continue, in the source of information I am reading, the Heinkel fighters are designated as HD 43b and HD 43D (on the same pages), but I have my doubts as most sources state that there was only a single prototype HD 43 built and it was completed in 1931, a full year after the Boeings and Bulldogs arrived in Siam. According to this source, a total of four HD 43s were built, two of which went to Siam but all I can find is that the Soviets built the aircraft it was derived from, the HD 37, as the Polikarpov I-7...
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Following evaluation of the fighters, none of the types evaluated were ordered and it wasn't until in 1933 before a new fighter was ordered to replace the Nieuport Delage NiD.29s it had operated since 1923. These were the 12 Curtiss Hawk IIs that were delivered a year later. Following evaluation the Boeings were operated as training aircraft, along with the Bulldogs and Heinkels, the former being withdrawn in 1932, while the Heinkels were allegedly disposed of as late as 1940. What happened to the other Boeing is not recorded. This is the oldest surviving aircraft operated by the Thai/Siamese air forces.
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Next time, we continue with our Night at the Museum and discuss the fascinating background to the lovely Curtiss Hawk 75N.
Sorry. I couldn't resist.
GO BOEING!
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