Bangkok and Beyond! A quick trip to the Thai capital

[GrauGeist]

Excellent photos and descriptions, Grant!

Thanks for taking us along on your walkabout.

Out of curiousity, are you and Rob in ol' Siam at the same time?

 

[SaparotRob]

Excellent photos and descriptions, Grant!

Thanks for taking us along on your walkabout.

Out of curiousity, are you and Rob in ol' Siam at the same time?

I'm in Pattaya right now and Sunday, my family and I will be hooking up and heading to Jomtien.
I don't know my son's schedule but I might be able to get him to take us to the Royal Thai Air Force museum the following Sunday. If we're lucky, my granddaughter will be able to break us into another locked hall.

 

[Geoffrey Sinclair]

According to Curtiss documents the 12 Siam order 75N were delivered in the US November 1938 to January 1939. This was during the main P-36A run (September 1938 to March 1939), alongside the 30 75O for Argentina (Nov/Dec 38) and the start of the 75A-1 order for France in December 1939.

 

[Gnomey]

Lovely shots Grant!

 

[nuuumannn]

According to Curtiss documents the 12 Siam order 75N were delivered in the US November 1938 to January 1939. This was during the main P-36A run (September 1938 to March 1939), alongside the 30 75O for Argentina (Nov/Dec 38) and the start of the 75A-1 order for France in December 1939.

Excellent, thank you Geoff. While the initial order was for 12 aircraft, can you confirm or deny that a total of 25 Hawk 75Ns were operated by the Thais? I've not been able to nail an accurate total figure down.

 

[nuuumannn]

I'm in Pattaya right now and Sunday, my family and I will be hooking up and heading to Jomtien.
I don't know my son's schedule but I might be able to get him to take us to the Royal Thai Air Force museum the following Sunday. If we're lucky, my granddaughter will be able to break us into another locked hall.

Excellent. Are you able to get to U Tapao? There's an outdoor Naval Aviation Museum there, although it's been closed to the public for sometime.

 

[nuuumannn]

Excellent photos and descriptions, Grant!

Thanks for taking us along on your walkabout.

Out of curiousity, are you and Rob in ol' Siam at the same time?

Cheers Dave, no, I'm back home. I was there just before Christmas so I had to suffer the inflatable Christmas trees and Santas that the Thais inexplicably seem to love and decorate anything that remains static for longer than ten minutes with!

 

[nuuumannn]

Thanks for stopping by, guys, back to the Royal Thai Air Force Museum. continuing on Wanchai's evocative paintings of RTAF aircraft, this 12 Sqn F-84G symbolizes the first jet fighter operated by the RTAF, with a total of 31 aircraft, deliveries beginning in 1956.

_ADP9538

Thailand never operated a large number of F-86s, nor were they in service for long, but they were important in the RTAF's development as the force was taught limitations in operating jet aircraft. 25 F-86Fs arrived in 1960 and were retired in the early 1970s.

_ADP9539

It is not commonly known that Thailand was the third largest supplier of ground forces to South Vietnam, aside from South Korea and the United States. Some 40,000 Thai solders fought in the Vietnam War, with 351 killed and 1,358 wounded in action. The RTAF provided C-47s, C-123s and UH-1Hs in support of Thai troops. Here, a UH-1H of 32 Sqn arrives during a troop deployment.

_ADP9540

An RTAF AC-47D in action during the Vietnam War. In 1967, the RTAF converted its own C-47s for the gunship role, fitting some with M134 7.62 mm miniguns, although some were fitted with 50 cal MGs and 20 mm M197 cannon.

_ADP9541

An F-5E Tiger II, the principal RTAF interceptor in the 1970s and 1980s until supplemented by F-16As at the end of the decade. Upgraded F-5Fs by Israel Aircraft Industries, designated F-5TH Tigris remain in service.

_ADP9542

Lastly, an F-16A. Thailand ordered the type at the end of 1987, receiving the first in 1988 and subsequent orders throughout the next 20 years to reach a total of 54 of the type, which includes seven from the Royal Singaporean Air Force.

_ADP9543

Between photographing aircraft I took breaks in the main hall because of the air con units blasting out cool air. Here's the Boeing 100E from above.

_ADP9330

We are back outside in the darkness photographing more aircraft outside. Amid the aircraft parked outside were stalls and so forth, so I didn't photograph them all, plus, the lighting in this area of the museum was not supportive of good photographs, being spots mounted on the walls behind the aircraft. An L-39ZA Albatross.

_ADP9545

CT/4A Airtrainer.

_ADP9546

Cessna T-41 Mescalero, the classic Wun Seven Too.

_ADP9547

T-6G, the most numerous type in RTAF service, with 220 used in total.

_ADP9551

Spitfire FR.XIVe. A total of 29 were acquired second hand from RAF stocks in 1950, although only 24 were restored to airworthiness, replacing the last of the Ki-43 Hayabusa still operating, by that time, very few.

_ADP9553

One of ten Royal Thai Navy Aviation Division ex-Spanish Navy AV-8A Matadors that served aboard HTMS Chakri Naruebet. It was great to see this, I do like me a Harrier. It is worth remembering that despite the AV-8 designation, these were built by Hawker Siddeley, not McDonnell Douglas as is often claimed.

_ADP9555

RTNAD A-7E Corsair II, of which a total of 14 former US Navy airframes were bought, with four TA-7C two-seaters were also bought. I'll elaborate on the A-7 on my next visit to the museum coming up.

_ADP9559

Finally from the museum, the exterior festively lit up. Time for the long train ride back to the hotel and a shower!

_ADP9566

Bright and early in the morning I arose and readied myself for my next day's adventurising. The previous night I had asked the hotel receptionist to help me get to this day's site, the Phra Chulachomklao Fort, as it is located over an hour from Bangkok city by road. My proposed route was to catch the BTS to Pak Nam, then get a river taxi to Phra Samut Chedi wharf and get a taxi from there, but the receptionist said "no". Apparently, being a Saturday, street taxis were not operating, so she suggested hiring a taxi for the day. It would cost me 500 baht, which is only 25 NZ Dolla. I agreed and rose early to get my taxi, waiting for me downstairs after breakfast.

After more than an hour on the road, we arrive at Chulachomklao Fort, which is on Thai navy land, but is open to the public, so the guard at the entrance waved us in. It doesn't get many foreign tourists because the only way of getting there is by car; there is no public transport to the site, except a local bus that stops well short of the site. The centrepiece of the fort, is the monument to King Rama V, or King Chulalongkorn, esteemed Siamese monarch who presided over military and political reform in Siam, which included improving the national defence. This included the construction of two forts on the Chao Phraya River, the other of which we'll see later today. The two guns out front are original naval artillery; US-built Dahlgren muzzle loaded cannon.

_ADP9567

Built in 1884, the fort comprised seven Armstrong BL 6-inch disappearing guns in separate cupolas aligned in a row and protected by a concrete structure built into the ground. A total of ten Armstrong guns mounted on Elswick hydraulic carriages were bought at the same time to equip the two new coastal forts on the river, this one located right at the mouth that flows into the Gulf of Thailand. The disappearing gun, the most modern piece of coastal defence artillery in the mid 19th Century was appropriately called the "Crouching Tiger Gun" by the Siamese. The display boards give a description of how the guns worked.

_ADP9571

Inside the fort, the two sections were separated owing to shells and cordite being stored separately. The small square orifices were for allowing lanterns to illuminate the rooms, owing to the fact there was no lighting within them. Because lanterns were naked flames, these orifices were where they were placed before entry into the rooms, for obvious reasons. The guns were through the archways to the left of the image.

_ADP9573

The interior of an ammunition storage room. Note the thickness of the concrete walls. These did not have doors, enabling swift retrieval of shells during battle.

_ADP9575

Finally for today, the first of seven disappearing guns in its barbette. We'll go into greater detail in the next installment.

_ADP9576

Thanks for watching.

 

[SaparotRob]

Thanks for stopping by, guys, back to the Royal Thai Air Force Museum. continuing on Wanchai's evocative paintings of RTAF aircraft, this 12 Sqn F-84G symbolizes the first jet fighter operated by the RTAF, with a total of 31 aircraft, deliveries beginning in 1956.

View attachment 814512_ADP9538

Thailand never operated a large number of F-86s, nor were they in service for long, but they were important in the RTAF's development as the force was taught limitations in operating jet aircraft. 25 F-86Fs arrived in 1960 and were retired in the early 1970s.

View attachment 814513_ADP9539

It is not commonly known that Thailand was the third largest supplier of ground forces to South Vietnam, aside from South Korea and the United States. Some 40,000 Thai solders fought in the Vietnam War, with 351 killed and 1,358 wounded in action. The RTAF provided C-47s, C-123s and UH-1Hs in support of Thai troops. Here, a UH-1H of 32 Sqn arrives during a troop deployment.

View attachment 814514_ADP9540

An RTAF AC-47D in action during the Vietnam War. In 1967, the RTAF converted its own C-47s for the gunship role, fitting some with M134 7.62 mm miniguns, although some were fitted with 50 cal MGs and 20 mm M197 cannon.

View attachment 814515_ADP9541

An F-5E Tiger II, the principal RTAF interceptor in the 1970s and 1980s until supplemented by F-16As at the end of the decade. Upgraded F-5Fs by Israel Aircraft Industries, designated F-5TH Tigris remain in service.

View attachment 814516_ADP9542

Lastly, an F-16A. Thailand ordered the type at the end of 1987, receiving the first in 1988 and subsequent orders throughout the next 20 years to reach a total of 54 of the type, which includes seven from the Royal Singaporean Air Force.

View attachment 814517_ADP9543

Between photographing aircraft I took breaks in the main hall because of the air con units blasting out cool air. Here's the Boeing 100E from above.

View attachment 814518_ADP9330

We are back outside in the darkness photographing more aircraft outside. Amid the aircraft parked outside were stalls and so forth, so I didn't photograph them all, plus, the lighting in this area of the museum was not supportive of good photographs, being spots mounted on the walls behind the aircraft. An L-39ZA Albatross.

View attachment 814519_ADP9545

CT/4A Airtrainer.

View attachment 814520_ADP9546

Cessna T-41 Mescalero, the classic Wun Seven Too.

View attachment 814521_ADP9547

T-6G, the most numerous type in RTAF service, with 220 used in total.

View attachment 814522_ADP9551

Spitfire FR.XIVe. A total of 29 were acquired second hand from RAF stocks in 1950, although only 24 were restored to airworthiness, replacing the last of the Ki-43 Hayabusa still operating, by that time, very few.

View attachment 814523_ADP9553

One of ten Royal Thai Navy Aviation Division ex-Spanish Navy AV-8A Matadors that served aboard HTMS Chakri Naruebet. It was great to see this, I do like me a Harrier. It is worth remembering that despite the AV-8 designation, these were built by Hawker Siddeley, not McDonnell Douglas as is often claimed.

View attachment 814524_ADP9555

RTNAD A-7E Corsair II, of which a total of 14 former US Navy airframes were bought, with four TA-7C two-seaters were also bought. I'll elaborate on the A-7 on my next visit to the museum coming up.

View attachment 814525_ADP9559

Finally from the museum, the exterior festively lit up. Time for the long train ride back to the hotel and a shower!

View attachment 814526_ADP9566

Bright and early in the morning I arose and readied myself for my next day's adventurising. The previous night I had asked the hotel receptionist to help me get to this day's site, the Phra Chulachomklao Fort, as it is located over an hour from Bangkok city by road. My proposed route was to catch the BTS to Pak Nam, then get a river taxi to Phra Samut Chedi wharf and get a taxi from there, but the receptionist said "no". Apparently, being a Saturday, street taxis were not operating, so she suggested hiring a taxi for the day. It would cost me 500 baht, which is only 25 NZ Dolla. I agreed and rose early to get my taxi, waiting for me downstairs after breakfast.

After more than an hour on the road, we arrive at Chulachomklao Fort, which is on Thai navy land, but is open to the public, so the guard at the entrance waved us in. It doesn't get many foreign tourists because the only way of getting there is by car; there is no public transport to the site, except a local bus that stops well short of the site. The centrepiece of the fort, is the monument to King Rama V, or King Chulalongkorn, esteemed Siamese monarch who presided over military and political reform in Siam, which included improving the national defence. This included the construction of two forts on the Chao Phraya River, the other of which we'll see later today. The two guns out front are original naval artillery; US-built Dahlgren muzzle loaded cannon.

View attachment 814527_ADP9567

Built in 1884, the fort comprised seven Armstrong BL 6-inch disappearing guns in separate cupolas aligned in a row and protected by a concrete structure built into the ground. A total of ten Armstrong guns mounted on Elswick hydraulic carriages were bought at the same time to equip the two new coastal forts on the river, this one located right at the mouth that flows into the Gulf of Thailand. The disappearing gun, the most modern piece of coastal defence artillery in the mid 19th Century was appropriately called the "Crouching Tiger Gun" by the Siamese. The display boards give a description of how the guns worked.

View attachment 814528_ADP9571

Inside the fort, the two sections were separated owing to shells and cordite being stored separately. The small square orifices were for allowing lanters to illuminate the rooms, owing to the fact there was no lighting within them. Because lanterns were naked flames, these orifices were where they were placed before entry into the rooms, for obvious reasons. The guns were through the archways to the left of the image.

View attachment 814529_ADP9573

The interior of an ammunition storage room. Note the thickness of the concrete walls. These did not have doors, enabling swift retrieval of shells during battle.

View attachment 814530_ADP9575

Finally for today, the first of seven disappearing guns in is turret. We'll go into greater detail in the next installment.

View attachment 814531_ADP9576

Thanks for watching.

Very informative and a hoot to boot!

 

[Wurger]

 

[Geoffrey Sinclair]

Excellent, thank you Geoff. While the initial order was for 12 aircraft, can you confirm or deny that a total of 25 Hawk 75Ns were operated by the Thais? I've not been able to nail an accurate total figure down.

According to Curtiss only 12 H-75N,

3 Y1P-36 USA
177 P-36A USA
1 P-36B USA
31 P-36C USA
30 Hawk H-75O Argentina
30 Hawk H-75M China
12 Hawk H-75N Siam
1 Hawk H-75Q China
1 Hawk H-75R Curtiss
100 Hawk H-75A-1 France
100 Hawk H-75A-2 France
135 Hawk H-75A-3 France
285 Hawk H-75A-4 France/Britain
1 Hawk H-75A-5 China
24 Hawk H-75A-6 Norway
20 Hawk H-75A-7 Holland
18 Hawk H-75A-8 Norway
10 Hawk H-75A-9 Persia
18 P-36G/Hawk H-75A-8 Norway/Peru

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots Grant!

 

[nuuumannn]

According to Curtiss only 12 H-75N,

3 Y1P-36 USA
177 P-36A USA
1 P-36B USA
31 P-36C USA
30 Hawk H-75O Argentina
30 Hawk H-75M China
12 Hawk H-75N Siam
1 Hawk H-75Q China
1 Hawk H-75R Curtiss
100 Hawk H-75A-1 France
100 Hawk H-75A-2 France
135 Hawk H-75A-3 France
285 Hawk H-75A-4 France/Britain
1 Hawk H-75A-5 China
24 Hawk H-75A-6 Norway
20 Hawk H-75A-7 Holland
18 Hawk H-75A-8 Norway
10 Hawk H-75A-9 Persia
18 P-36G/Hawk H-75A-8 Norway/Peru

Interesting. There are a few sources that dispute this figure, meaning that there were more operated in Thailand than the first 12.

 

[nuuumannn]

Continuing the insight into The Siamese/Thai use of the Hawk 75N, I recently saw a reference that stated there were 25 Thai Hawk 75s, which is unsubstantiated, but hints at numbers beyond the initial order of 12. If true, these other airframes can only really have come from two sources, either the Chinese gave the Thais airframes, or they were built under licence. I haven't seen any reference to Hawk 75s built in Thailand, but the Hawk III (BFC-2) was built there in numbers, nor have I seen any evidence that China actually supplied the Thais with airframes at this time. The licence built theory is speculation only, but FMA in Argentina built the Hawk 75 under licence, producing 20. No current sources support this theory, though.

One source I have read states that when Japan invaded Thailand in December 1941, the RTAF had only nine Hawk 75s, which, following losses during the invasion, left six afterwards. This certainly fits the original order for 12 being the total number, as the RTAF's surviving Hawk IIs, Hawk IIIs and V-93S Corsairs were the fighter back bone of the Thai air force going into WW2. The arrival of 12 Ki-27 Ota (named after the Japanese city of Ota, although the Thai examples were Mansyu, China-built) in 1942 boosted the meagre supply of fighters, while its bomber force re-equipped with modern aircraft in the form of nine Ki-21s and 24 Ki-30s received in 1940 through 1941, and nine Martin 139s from the Netherlands East Indies Air Force in 1942, adding to its initial order for this type in 1937. Of course, we know that Thailand's fighter arm was to receive North American NA.68s, of which a licence to build the type was granted, but this and the order were rescinded after the Americans got sour when Thailand bought the aforementioned Japanese bombers in 1940. The search for info continues...

_ADP9284

 

[Wurger]

 

[nuuumannn]

Continuing on my trip to Thailand, we are at Chulachomklao Fort at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River and we are exploring the fort interior. As previously mentioned, the Siamese ordered ten Armstrong disappearing guns to equip its two new forts on the river that flows into its most important city. The Armstrong Disappearing Gun was a marvel of 19th Century design and represented the pinnacle of coastal defence engineering, but it was cumbersome in size, complicated to operate, and slow to reload. Nevertheless, a few coastal defence forts around the world received this type of armament from the British. The big wheels at each corner were how the unit was rotated, after information from an observer using an optical device in an elevated position gave reports on the range and bearing of the target warship, usually by shouting and signalling, but later by telephone. Barbettes were usually painted with directional markers around their rims to enable the gun to be positioned before firing. Following that, the gun was raised by winding a wheel on the right hand side of the carriage, then it was fired, its recoil being sufficient to return it to its original "crouched" position, arrested by a hydraulic ram.

_ADP9577

The entire disappearing gun unit was expensive, which would have included ammunition and shipping costs, while the fort was paid for locally. It is interesting to note that the barbettes were open topped, thus exposing the guns and their crews to the elements, but later Elswick carriages had four posts at each corner, on which sat a steel shield slightly lesser diameter than the orifice opening, with a centre cut out for the gun in its raised position. The Siamese guns do not appear to have been equipped with this shield, which was more for weather and shrapnel protection, rather than the effects of plunging shells, against which they would not have been able to withstand. Truthfully speaking, a 19th Century ship's gunnery team executing a shot accurate enough to destroy a gun emplacement with a plunging shell was a near impossibility and would have been an extremely lucky shot, rather than by good aim alone. The canopy placed over the emplacement is a modern addition for weather protection.

_ADP9578

The Armstrong rifled, breech loading, six-inch gun was the most common armament of the British Disappearing Gun, although the bigger eight-inch weapon was also used. The Siamese did not have this bigger gun however, contrary to a site I recently read. These guns are definitely the six-inch variety. The six-inch gun alone weighed five and a half tons, while the eight-inch gun weighed 13 tons. Following the Siamese decision to buy these guns, the British determined that it was unsafe to fire them with a full charge, and repair would require the fitting of an external hoop around the gun's diameter. This required the guns to be shipped back to Britain and a charge for each gun, at the owners' expense. It is not known whether this was done to the Siamese guns, but other countries evaded the cost by firing the guns with reduced powder and shell weight, thus reducing the erosion effects on the gun. This resulted in a lower projectile velocity but was still effective in damaging a warship.

_ADP9579

The Elswick Carriage, designed at the Armstrong Elswick Ordnance Company at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was an ingenious device, derived from the original disappearing gun dreamt up by Edinburgh Militiaman Capt A. Moncrieff in the 1860s. The first disappearing gun was built in 1871. Requiring hydro-pneumatic pressure to raise the gun, the fluid was a mix of soft soap and water, half a pound to a (Imperial) gallon for a total of 12 and a half gallons in the reservoir. Raising the gun was done manually via the big wheel and toothed bracket visible in this view. More advanced carriages than this were built, which used a hydraulic pump, which itself was man-power operated, but was faster in execution than turning the wheel.

_ADP9580

The shells used were a mix of types, the most common was standard cast iron, later steel filled with powder, Shrapnel, which were time-fused for use against soft targets, personnel and small boats, Palliser shot, which was freeze-hardened and filled with shot or powder and sand to maintain weight, Case shot, made of tinned steel and filled with sand shot and packed with clay and sand for use against soft targets, and Paper shot filled with paper and sand shot, which were primarily used for training and testing the guns. The indent within the barbette was used for shell storage during action and was replenished from the bunkers in the entrance to the fort.

_ADP9581

This is Gun No.5, our exhibition gun above was No.4 at the centre of the fort. This fort bears the distinction of firing its guns in anger, against French warships in 1893. That year was the Franco-Siamese Crisis, as it has come to be known, the culmination of which was the advancement of French warships up the Chao Phraya River during the Pak Nam Incident on 13 July. This was when French gunboats powered up the river to join the French ship Lutin already anchored off Bangkok in threatening the Siamese Monarch into surrender. Defending the river were the two forts, recently completed with a total of ten six-inch guns, as well as under-sea mines and hulks sunk in the channel to narrow it. A small handful of Siamese gunboats also awaited the French ships upstream. The French knew the river's defences were formidable but pressed on into the river mouth anyway...

_ADP9586

An access tunnel within the fort, note the water channels, given the gun emplacements were open topped. Being so low to sea level, the fort frequently flooded.

_ADP9593

Gun No.6. At the time the French ship crossed the bar into the river, it was raining and overcast, but the Siamese were ready. The fort was commanded by Dane Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu, who ordered the fort to fire warning shots at the approaching ships at around 6:30 pm. Ignoring these, the French pressed on and the firing continued, this time in earnest. Hits were recorded on the gunboat Inconstant, but further damage to the French ships was prevented by sheer incompetence within the fort itself...

_ADP9594

Gun No.7 at the Western end of the fort, canted in from the row of guns. In support of their commander were three more Danes, who struggled to communicate effectively with the Siamese gunners as they did not speak the local language. Running up and down the steps and through the smoke-filled corridors, the three men struggled to control proceedings, using pidgin language and hand signals, but it was to no avail; the fort's guns could not be brought to bear effectively on the French ships...

_ADP9598

Gun No.3, back the way we came. The Siamese gunships gunnery crews were suffering the same lack of leadership, but managed to hit the French ships, with one of them being beached after repeated hits, two of which were from the Chulachomklao Fort...

_ADP9603

Gun No.2. By nightfall, the French squadron had breached the first line of defences, passed the Chulachomklao Fort and the gunboats and proceeded upriver toward the Phi Suea Samut Fort opposite Pak Nam, with its three disappearing guns, but a similar situation to that at Chulachomklao Fort existed there and these guns' fire was wildly inaccurate also...

_ADP9609

The tunnel to Gun No.1, also canted inward at the fort's Eastern end. The room to the right of the emplacement entrance was for storage of cordite bags during action, which was replenished from the separate bunkers.

_ADP9616

Finally, Gun No.1. The aftermath saw the French, having gained the initiative and successfully pushing upriver to Bangkok and threatening the King's palace from its gunboats, was forced into a negotiated peace with the Siamese. This was under the instruction of the British, who stood to lose significantly from French control of Siam, owing to it being the country's largest trading partner. This was one of the few times that disappearing guns were used in anger, but was not a shining example of their use, owing to the lack of control the commander had over his subordinates.

_ADP9617

Outside into the warmth, with one of the site's main attractions behind, the training vessel HTMS Mae Klong.

_ADP9570

The rear of the great monument to the King. The entire site is maintained by navy cadets and while I was walking around the fort's interior, they were busily sweeping up leaves and dirt while singing Oasis' song Wonderwall badly. I joined them for a few bars, also badly...

_ADP9625

This is the front of the fort, showing the row of emplacements, with Gun No.2 to the right. Note how low the defensive wall is. I'm not even sure what this would defend against and I suspect it is a part of the site's remodelling into a visitor attraction.

_ADP9630

The ceremonial mast on site is from the former Royal Yacht Maha Chakri, it's first incarnation as a gun armed-cruiser.

_ADP9632

The fort layout can be seen from the deck of the Mae Klong. Note the pumping equipment, for obvious reasons as the water level is very low here. The decorative pond is a part of the visitor attraction modifications to the site.

_ADP9633

The decorative part of the site. This was opened as a public attraction after considerable work to the site in 1993, with a dedication to King Rama V. The site includes the fort, which we've just seen and the Mae Klong, which we are about to see, as well as several artillery pieces and things of interest from Siamese and Thai naval history.

_ADP9634

Finally for today, the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. Note how close to sea level we are. While I was here, a few boats entered the river and their wakes were cascading over the concrete wall. This is a problem affecting the greater Bangkok area and it is well known that the city of Bangkok is sinking.

_ADP9635

Next time, HTMS Mae Klong, the last surviving warship built in an Imperial Japanese Navy shipyard.

 

[Wurger]

 

[SaparotRob]

Continuing on my trip to Thailand, we are at Chulachomklao Fort at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River and we are exploring the fort interior. As previously mentioned, the Siamese ordered ten Armstrong disappearing guns to equip its two new forts on the river that flows into its most important city. The Armstrong Disappearing Gun was a marvel of 19th Century design and represented the pinnacle of coastal defence engineering, but it was cumbersome in size, complicated to operate, and slow to reload. Nevertheless, a few coastal defence forts around the world received this type of armament from the British. The big wheels at each corner were how the unit was rotated, after information from an observer using an optical device in an elevated position gave reports on the range and bearing of the target warship, usually by shouting and signalling, but later by telephone. Barbettes were usually painted with directional markers around their rims to enable the gun to be positioned before firing. Following that, the gun was raised by winding a wheel on the right hand side of the carriage, then it was fired, its recoil being sufficient to return it to its original "crouched" position, arrested by a hydraulic ram.

View attachment 814848_ADP9577

The entire disappearing gun unit was expensive, which would have included ammunition and shipping costs, while the fort was paid for locally. It is interesting to note that the barbettes were open topped, thus exposing the guns and their crews to the elements, but later Elswick carriages had four posts at each corner, on which sat a steel shield slightly lesser diameter than the orifice opening, with a centre cut out for the gun in its raised position. The Siamese guns do not appear to have been equipped with this shield, which was more for weather and shrapnel protection, rather than the effects of plunging shells, against which they would not have been able to withstand. Truthfully speaking, a 19th Century ship's gunnery team executing a shot accurate enough to destroy a gun emplacement with a plunging shell was a near impossibility and would have been an extremely lucky shot, rather than by good aim alone. The canopy placed over the emplacement is a modern addition for weather protection.

View attachment 814849_ADP9578

The Armstrong rifled, breech loading, six-inch gun was the most common armament of the British Disappearing Gun, although the bigger eight-inch weapon was also used. The Siamese did not have this bigger gun however, contrary to a site I recently read. These guns are definitely the six-inch variety. The six-inch gun alone weighed five and a half tons, while the eight-inch gun weighed 13 tons. Following the Siamese decision to buy these guns, the British determined that it was unsafe to fire them with a full charge, and repair would require the fitting of an external hoop around the gun's diameter. This required the guns to be shipped back to Britain and a charge for each gun, at the owners' expense. It is not known whether this was done to the Siamese guns, but other countries evaded the cost by firing the guns with reduced powder and shell weight, thus reducing the erosion effects on the gun. This resulted in a lower projectile velocity but was still effective in damaging a warship.

View attachment 814850_ADP9579

The Elswick Carriage, designed at the Armstrong Elswick Ordnance Company at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was an ingenious device, derived from the original disappearing gun dreamt up by Edinburgh Militiaman Capt A. Moncrieff in the 1860s. The first disappearing gun was built in 1871. Requiring hydro-pneumatic pressure to raise the gun, the fluid was a mix of soft soap and water, half a pound to a (Imperial) gallon for a total of 12 and a half gallons in the reservoir. Raising the gun was done manually via the big wheel and toothed bracket visible in this view. More advanced carriages than this were built, which used a hydraulic pump, which itself was man-power operated, but was faster in execution than turning the wheel.

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The shells used were a mix of types, the most common was standard cast iron, later steel filled with powder, Shrapnel, which were time-fused for use against soft targets, personnel and small boats, Palliser shot, which was freeze-hardened and filled with shot or powder and sand to maintain weight, Case shot, made of tinned steel and filled with sand shot and packed with clay and sand for use against soft targets, and Paper shot filled with paper and sand shot, which were primarily used for training and testing the guns. The indent within the barbette was used for shell storage during action and was replenished from the bunkers in the entrance to the fort.

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This is Gun No.5, our exhibition gun above was No.4 at the centre of the fort. This fort bears the distinction of firing its guns in anger, against French warships in 1893. That year was the Franco-Siamese Crisis, as it has come to be known, the culmination of which was the advancement of French warships up the Chao Phraya River during the Pak Nam Incident on 13 July. This was when French gunboats powered up the river to join the French ship Lutin already anchored off Bangkok in threatening the Siamese Monarch into surrender. Defending the river were the two forts, recently completed with a total of ten six-inch guns, as well as under-sea mines and hulks sunk in the channel to narrow it. A small handful of Siamese gunboats also awaited the French ships upstream. The French knew the river's defences were formidable but pressed on into the river mouth anyway...

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An access tunnel within the fort, note the water channels, given the gun emplacements were open topped. Being so low to sea level, the fort frequently flooded.

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Gun No.6. At the time the French ship crossed the bar into the river, it was raining and overcast, but the Siamese were ready. The fort was commanded by Dane Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu, who ordered the fort to fire warning shots at the approaching ships at around 6:30 pm. Ignoring these, the French pressed on and the firing continued, this time in earnest. Hits were recorded on the gunboat Inconstant, but further damage to the French ships was prevented by sheer incompetence within the fort itself...

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Gun No.7 at the Western end of the fort, canted in from the row of guns. In support of their commander were three more Danes, who struggled to communicate effectively with the Siamese gunners as they did not speak the local language. Running up and down the steps and through the smoke-filled corridors, the three men struggled to control proceedings, using pidgin language and hand signals, but it was to no avail; the fort's guns could not be brought to bear effectively on the French ships...

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Gun No.3, back the way we came. The Siamese gunships gunnery crews were suffering the same lack of leadership, but managed to hit the French ships, with one of them being beached after repeated hits, two of which were from the Chulachomklao Fort...

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Gun No.2. By nightfall, the French squadron had breached the first line of defences, passed the Chulachomklao Fort and the gunboats and proceeded upriver toward the Phi Suea Samut Fort opposite Pak Nam, with its three disappearing guns, but a similar situation to that at Chulachomklao Fort existed there and these guns' fire was wildly inaccurate also...

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The tunnel to Gun No.1, also canted inward at the fort's Eastern end. The room to the right of the emplacement entrance was for storage of cordite bags during action, which was replenished from the separate bunkers.

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Finally, Gun No.1. The aftermath saw the French, having gained the initiative and successfully pushing upriver to Bangkok and threatening the King's palace from its gunboats, was forced into a negotiated peace with the Siamese. This was under the instruction of the British, who stood to lose significantly from French control of Siam, owing to it being the country's largest trading partner. This was one of the few times that disappearing guns were used in anger, but was not a shining example of their use, owing to the lack of control the commander had over his subordinates.

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Outside into the warmth, with one of the site's main attractions behind, the training vessel HTMS Mae Klong.

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The rear of the great monument to the King. The entire site is maintained by navy cadets and while I was walking around the fort's interior, they were busily sweeping up leaves and dirt while singing Oasis' song Wonderwall badly. I joined them for a few bars, also badly...

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This is the front of the fort, showing the row of emplacements, with Gun No.2 to the right. Note how low the defensive wall is. I'm not even sure what this would defend against and I suspect it is a part of the site's remodelling into a visitor attraction.

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The ceremonial mast on site is from the former Royal Yacht Maha Chakri, it's first incarnation as a gun armed-cruiser.

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The fort layout can be seen from the deck of the Mae Klong. Note the pumping equipment, for obvious reasons as the water level is very low here. The decorative pond is a part of the visitor attraction modifications to the site.

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The decorative part of the site. This was opened as a public attraction after considerable work to the site in 1993, with a dedication to King Rama V. The site includes the fort, which we've just seen and the Mae Klong, which we are about to see, as well as several artillery pieces and things of interest from Siamese and Thai naval history.

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Finally for today, the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. Note how close to sea level we are. While I was here, a few boats entered the river and their wakes were cascading over the concrete wall. This is a problem affecting the greater Bangkok area and it is well known that the city of Bangkok is sinking.

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Next time, HTMS Mae Klong, the last surviving warship built in an Imperial Japanese Navy shipyard.

Great stuff! Who doesn't like disappearing guns? I remember seeing clips of some of the U.S. Army disappearing guns in action. Again, great stuff!