Bangkok and Beyond! A quick trip to the Thai capital (1 Viewer)

[SaparotRob]

Hi Guys, been a bit busy recently. We continue our tour of the Chulachomklao Fort by taking a closer look at the warship HTMS Mae Klong, the last surviving warship built in an Imperial Japanese Navy shipyard (that I know about!). A bit of background to the Mae Klong and her sister the Taksin, the name ship of the class from text that I have written about this ship in the past.

View attachment 815876_ADP9636

The Siamese Navy vessel Mae Klong was built by the Uraga Dock Company in Japan, a privately run ship building concern at Yokosuka at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Ordered on 13 August 1935, the Mae Klong and her sister ship the Tachin were both named after the major Siamese rivers the Mekong and Thachin, the latter a tributary of the Chao Phraya River that flows through Bangkok. Costing 1.885 million baht, the ships were designed to Siamese specifications as heavily armed mine laying sloops that would also serve as training vessels.

View attachment 815877_ADP9641

Main armament forward comprising two 4.7-inch guns. A keel-laying ceremony was held for the Mae Klong, at which Siamese King Rama VIII was in attendance, on 24 July 1936, with its hull launch four months later on 27 November that year. Fitting out took another seven months before the Mae Klong departed for Siam on 10 June 1937. Following arrival, the Mae Klong was commissioned into the Siamese Navy at Rajavaradit Dock, Bangkok on 26 September 1937 and served with the 1st​ Frigate Squadron.

View attachment 815878_ADP9642

The forward superstructure housing the bridge and wardroom. Throughout World War Two, during which Thailand (officially named as such on 23 June 1939) allied itself with Japan, by then His Thai Majesty's Ship Mae Klong spent service patrolling the Gulf of Thailand. A notable engagement it took part in was the Battle of Koh Chang on 17 January 1941 during the Franco-Thai War with Vichy France over various territories in French Indo-China that the Thais sought to control following the fall of France in 1940. During the engagement, the Mae Klong was attached to the 2nd​ Flotilla, 4th​ Division but received no damage.

View attachment 815879_ADP9645

Funnel and galley. Following World War Two's end and Japanese capitulation, the Mae Klong primarily served as a training vessel but was employed as a royal conveyance on numerous occasions. In this period, it is reputed that every Royal Thai Navy officer trained aboard the Mae Klong at some stage. Retired in 1995 (some sources state 1996), a decision was made to preserve it, having been the longest serving vessel in the Royal Thai Navy and the last serving Imperial Japanese built warship.

View attachment 815880_ADP9647

Torpedo tubes, aircraft storage deck and twin Breda 20 mm AA gun. Mae Klong's sister Taksin was severely damaged on 1 June 1945 off Gauteng Island in Sattahip Bay during an air attack by 23 Consolidated Liberators of 99 and 159 Sqns, RAF and returned to shore, but was later scrapped.

View attachment 815895_ADP9649

X and Y Turrets. Armament for a sloop the size of Mae Klong was heavy and resembled contemporary Japanese destroyers of larger size and displacement. Its main armament was the 4.7-in 45-calibre 3-Shiki quick firing high-angle gun as fitted to numerous contemporary Japanese warships, with blast shields around each gun as first seen aboard the Myoko Class heavy cruiser Nachi, built in 1924.

View attachment 815881_ADP9650

Mine deck. Its four guns were distributed with two forward in the A and B positions and two aft in the X and Y positions and were superimposed at each ends. It was also fitted with a twin AA gun mounting aft of the funnel equipped with Breda 20 mm/65 Model 35 guns, and two 7.62-mm/87 RU guns were carried aboard, which were Japanese licence built British Lewis (.300-in) machine guns.

View attachment 815882_ADP9652

The stern, showing the mine rails. In 1942 the Taksins had their light anti-aircraft armament improved with the addition of two Type 98 10-cm/65 (3.9-in) guns and two Type 91 40-mm HI mountings in place of their torpedo tubes, which were removed. The ships were initially fitted with two twin torpedo launchers, located each side amidships for launching Japanese Type 43 18-in torpedoes and were equipped with two mine laying rails that ejected mines over the transom, as well as depth charge dispensers each side of the stern.

View attachment 815883_ADP9664

Starboard bow view. On 14 March 1954, Six Thorneycroft depth charge launchers were added inboard of each mine laying rail aft of Y turret, three each side. A year later two paravanes were located amidships for mine sweeping, as well as improved AA armament of twin Bofors 40-mm L/60 Mk.3 mounts. In 1966 the twin torpedo tubes were refitted in their original location; the Japanese AA mounts having been removed. By 1974 the ship's AA armament was increased, with the addition of four US Mk.22 3-in/50 (76-mm) and three Oerlikon 20-mm/70 (0.79-in) Mk.IV guns.

View attachment 815884_ADP9667

Aboard the ship, showing Y Turret's exposed gun. To modernise the ship, navigation and fire control radars were fitted in the 1960s. The Taksins were initially equipped to carry a single Watanabe WS-103S single-seat floatplane, or Siam Navy Reconnaissance Seaplane in Japanese parlance, which was based on the Navy Type 96 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane (E9W1) designed for carriage aboard submarines. These were specifically manufactured for Siamese use aboard the newly ordered vessels in 1935 and six were built, of which the four not placed aboard ship were kept in reserve.

View attachment 815885_ADP9668

The turret face. The aircraft was lowered into the water by crane, the ships not being fitted with catapults, although the seaplanes were stressed for catapult launching. In 1946 the Mae Klong's aircraft capability was removed, and the Watanabe seaplanes withdrawn from service, the Taksins having been the first Siamese/Thai naval vessels equipped for carrying aircraft. The navy also received a quantity of Nakajima E8N1 Type 95 Navy Reconnaissance Seaplanes, but it is not known whether any of these served aboard the Taksins at all.

View attachment 815886_ADP9669

The fantail showing mines and depth charge launchers. Mae Klong's machinery amounted to two Volpi Tecno Energia triple-expansion oil fuelled reciprocating steam engines with two Kampon water-tube boilers, driving twin shafts, and steered by a single rudder. Mae Klong and her sister Taksin were unusual vessels, unlike any designed and built in Japan at the time. They had heavy armament for their size, but poor performance, reflecting their dual operational/secondary roles as armed sloops and training vessels when not active in wartime.

View attachment 815887_ADP9672

Mine rails. Compared to contemporary Japanese designs, they look very different, with a balanced appearance of a larger ship because of their turrets mounted in superimposed mountings fore and aft and the slightly raked funnel mounted directly aft of the fore mast on the forward superstructure. This was uncommon among contemporary Japanese sloops, which typically had widely spaced funnels away from the forward superstructure and gun distribution at deck level rather than superimposed mountings.

View attachment 815888_ADP9677

Looking forward from the fantail. Their unique appearance sets them apart, although they superficially resemble the Japanese minelayer Yaeyama in superstructure and armament distribution, although this ship was built by the Kure Naval Yard and was larger, lighter, and faster, but with less armament than the Tachins. Their superstructure and gun layout gives them a top-heavy appearance, with their boxy enclosed bridge, which was typical of Japanese destroyers and escort ships of the time.

View attachment 815889_ADP9679

Paravanes amidships. Further cues to the Mae Klong's Japanese origins are the shape of its gun shields and raked tripod main mast, with a dumpy funnel and its characteristic vertically curved bow. The 4.7-in gun shields appear overly large for the size of ship and serve to emphasise its small dimensions. In terms of size and weight, the Tachins were greater than typical Japanese escort sloops, although the quantity of their armament matched that of contemporary Japanese destroyer classes. Their performance, however, was worse than contemporary Japanese warships and reflect the coastal nature of Siamese naval operations and their dual role.

View attachment 815890_ADP9683

Starboard torpedo tubes.

View attachment 815891_ADP9687

The galley.

View attachment 815892_ADP9698

Breda twin 20 mm AA guns.

View attachment 815893_ADP9707

Wardroom.

View attachment 815894_ADP9715

The bow ahead of A Turret, with the Gulf of Thailand stretching out ahead of the shore.

Next, more to come from aboard the Mae Klong.

I love this stuff.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots Grant!

 

[nuuumannn]

Continuing our walking tour of the Mae Klong.

_ADP9718

Forward superstructure and bridge. Some fairly post-war antennae above the bridge there.

_ADP9723

The bridge from inside, showing captain's chair, the wheel, binnacle and radar unit.

_ADP9729

The captain's chair.

_ADP9730

View from the captain's chair showing B Turret.

_ADP9734

Electronic telegraph behind the captain's chair.

_ADP9737

The upper conning deck.

_ADP9738

Looking forward, with the Thai banner on the top of the forward superstructure.

_ADP9739

Range finder and equipment on the upper conning deck.

_ADP9753

A and B Turrets.

_ADP9760

Mae Klong's starboard side from the jetty. She's a good looking ship, betraying some of her distinctly Japanese design features. This was one of my main hopes for visiting Bangkok at this time was to come here and see this ship in person. Given it is the last surviving warship built in an Imperial Japanese navy yard, it is unique and I do feel privileged to have seen it. Unfortunately, there was no access below decks and I have been told this is deliberate as the ship, being mounted so close to sea level is deteriorating below the waterline and naturally it is prone to flooding. Anyway, on with the tour.

This site was the first in Thailand with electrical powerlines, of which the two above the sign are preserved.

_ADP9761

The final part of Chulachomklao Fort is a display of hardware, predominantly guns, of which I'll attempt to caption, although I'm likely to get some of this stuff wrong. The first one is a British Quick Firing 4-inch naval gun from the minesweeper Phosamton, formerly HMS Minstrel built in Canada.

_ADP9765

British 25 pdr QF gun.

_ADP9767

Japanese Type 88 75-mm AA gun given to Thailand in 1941 for land-based anti-aircraft defence.

_ADP9770

Japanese Type 91 40-mm twin mount. not sure what ship this is from, possibly the Thonburi Class coast defence vessels.

_ADP9772

What looks a little like a mausoleum, thanks to a Facebook post, this is a reproduction of a Machanu Class submarine conning tower rather than an original, as it houses the periscope from the Machanu's sister submarine the Virun.

_ADP9776

When I went to the naval museum, right at the beginning of this thread I mentioned that the Machanu's conning tower had a twin, but this is a reproduction and small differences can be seen between the two, including the general shape, which appears slightly taller than the original.

_ADP9777

The Virun's periscope. Unfortunately, the view was blurry and unable to be refocussed during my visit.

_ADP9778

Madsen 20 mm MGs.

_ADP9783

Finally for today, Bofors 75/51 dual purpose gun from one of the Thonburi Class coastal defence ships.

_ADP9784

Next up, guns, guns, torpedoes, and more guns. Stay handsome, folks.

 

[SaparotRob]

Did the Royal Thai Navy ever receive Fletchers? Many years ago I was with a friend visiting the base at Sattahip for "fleet week". His son was a serving officer so we were wandering around. Tied up to a mole, breakwater, whatever, I saw a very long sleek hull, cut down to the main deck. I took a picture with a disposable camera which is long gone.
I wondered if it had been a Fletcher.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shots Grant!

 

[nuuumannn]

Did the Royal Thai Navy ever receive Fletchers?

No Fletchers. The Thais were not high on the USA's favourites list after WW2, it missed out on the giveaway of surplus US naval equipment that went to minor naves, so much so that the surviving stuff from pre-WW2 like the Mae Klong and the Italian torpedo boats and those oddly proportioned coast defence ships remained in service for years after the war.

 

[GrauGeist]

Siam (Thailand) was an Axis member (and an active opponent of France), so yes, surplus from the U.S. would not be forthcoming.

 

[SaparotRob]

No Fletchers. The Thais were not high on the USA's favourites list after WW2, it missed out on the giveaway of surplus US naval equipment that went to minor naves, so much so that the surviving stuff from pre-WW2 like the Mae Klong and the Italian torpedo boats and those oddly proportioned coast defence ships remained in service for years after the war.

 

[nuuumannn]

Thailand found itself in a precarious position during the war. Following its declaration of war on the USA on 20 December 1941, Japanese forces in country, although they allowed the Thais some independence still called the shots and Thailand remained inextricably tied to them. Once the pace of the war changed, the Thais began regretting their alliance with Japan and began surreptitiously aiding the Allies with intelligence. Thais began helping Allied airmen escape within Indochina and Thai territory, while telling the Japanese the opposite. The air attacks on Bangkok by the Allies were a difficult proposition for Thailand as they did not want to shoot down Allied bombers operating over Thailand, same for raids against targets like the bridges and so on, on the Thai Burma Railway, which we'll be talking about soon, but because of their loyalties to Japan, the RTAF flew sorties against US bombers with their Japanese supplied fighters.

Nevertheless, this did nothing for relations between the USA and Thailand postwar, although Thailand once again turned to the USA for aircraft and ships in the 1950s by buying F8F Bearcats and T-6s and a small number of patrol craft. Beforehand, to replace its dwindling supplies of Japanese aircraft, which were being kept airworthy in puny numbers on the smell of an oily rag, Thailand turned to Britain and bought Fireflies and Spitfires in the late 40s. The Royal Thai Navy received two Tacoma Class patrol ships in 1951 and a gunboat, the former USS Cannon in 1959.

_ADP9534

 

[SaparotRob]

Did the B-29 pictured make it back?

 

[nuuumannn]

Did the B-29 pictured make it back?

Not sure exactly. There were one or two B-29s shot down over Thailand. I think I wrote that this incident took place in November 1944 during an air raid against the marshaling yards at Bang Sue, Bangkok. The B-29 was attacked by Flt Lt Therdsak Warrasap, but he was shot down by the B-29's return fire and survived. Off the top of my head I can't remember what I read about the B-29, whether it survived or crash landed further down the line.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

How come I missed this thread, bl**dy good stuff Grant.

 

[nuuumannn]

How come I missed this thread, bl**dy good stuff Grant.

Cheers Vic, glad you can follow along.

 

[nuuumannn]

Gidday everyone, apologies for the delay, life stuff 'n all. We are continuing our look at the guns and things at the Chulachomklao Fort at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River that flows through Bangkok. This hardware is from the Thai navy's rich heritage, with some interesting artifacts on a meandering pathway that conveniently ends at a coffee shop!

Our next gun is an Italian Type 78 76/40 high angle gun, which was fitted to the Phuket Class torpedo boats built in Italy. One of these, the Chumphon survives as a museum ship.

_ADP9785

This is a Hotchkiss 57 mm gun and was fitted to the four No.1 Class torpedo boats built by Kawasaki at Kobe, Japan from 1907.

_ADP9787

This is a Hotchkiss 8 mm machine gun that was installed on the patrol ship Hanhak Sattru, which entered service in 1923.

_ADP9789

A four-barrelled .43 inch US-made Gatling gun.

_ADP9791

Two more Gatling guns of greater barrel number.

_ADP9793

This is a Danish-built 19th Century sea mine. It had a total weight of 300 lbs, with an explosive weight of 65 lbs. Remember that the Siamese King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) had hired Danish advisors on naval warfare in the mid 19th Century, the commanding officer of the Chulachomklao Fort was a Dane.

_ADP9796

This is a Japanese 18-inch torpedo of pre-World War One vintage, which armed the No.1 Class torpedo boats built by Kawasaki at Kobe.

_ADP9813

A row of British 18-inch torpedoes of Great War vintage, fired from the destroyer Phra Ruang, formerly HMS Radiant.

_ADP9802

Twin torpedo tube mount That I failed to record the display board of! They are possibly of Japanese origin.

_ADP9804

This is the funnel from the destroyer Phra Ruang, formerly HMS Radiant that was retired from Thai Navy service in 1957 and was broken up two years later. We've seen other bits and pieces from this ship throughout our wee adventure.

_ADP9805

This is a Japanese 40 mm anti-aircraft gun manufactured by Mitsui Bushan Daisha and was carried by a number of Siamese/Thai navy vessels, including the Mae Klong before it was fitted with its Italian Breda twin mounting aft of the funnel. The British-built destroyer Phra Ruang also had this type of mount retro-fitted to it.

_ADP9807

This is a British 4-inch gun from the Phra Ruang.

_ADP9809

Vickers Armstrong carriage-mounted 57 mm gun operated by the Siamese Marine Regiment from 1897.

_ADP9811

And finally from the Chulachomklao Fort, a Hotchkiss saluting gun that was mounted at shore establishments, including at the Chulachomklao Fort, entering service in 1898.

_ADP9818

Phew! I don't think I had ever seen as many pieces of Imperial Japanese Navy artillery before I visited this site. I spent a total of two hours wandering around in the morning heat and rewarded myself with a delicious iced coffee from the cafe on site. The Thais do make a strong iced coffee, something that I found very refreshing during my jaunts around the place. My next visit was the second disappearing gun fort built on the Chao Phraya River on the decree of King Rama V, the esteemed Chulalongkorn, who, as previously mentioned introduced political reform and military modernisation to Siam. Firstly though, my driver took me back to Samut Prakan from Chulachomklao Fort on naval land to the Phra Samut Chedi district, where I stopped to go for a wee stroll to reach the fort. On the way I encountered this guy again. Maybe it's a sign. He always seems to be smiling in a beguiling, yet passive manner as a source of invitation, who knows...

_ADP9822

This is the Viboonsri foot bridge that you cross to access the islet on which the fort sits, Phi Suea Samut, with which the fort shares its name. As I strolled along the elevated pathway mere feet from the water's surface, I saw a range of native wildlife, lizards, fish, road cones, shopping trollies, drink bottles, lots of those.

_ADP9826

The entrance to the Phi Suea Samut Fort, the recipient of three of the ten Armstrong 6-inch disappearing guns the Siamese bought for their upgraded fortifications on the Chao Phraya River. Built between 1819 and 1822, the fort is located across the river from Pak Nam and was the last line of defence along the Chao Phraya River for the Siamese capital.

_ADP9827

Looking toward the gun emplacements from the separate magazines. Note the water, this is simply because the island is so low to sea level.

_ADP9828

One of the magazines, which were kept quite separate from the gun bunker. Note the big breathing tubes and light openings. These were open to the elements because, as previously mentioned, there was no lighting inside these bunkers, they relied on naked flame lamps for lighting, which were placed in these orifices before entry into the bunkers. I didn't make an attempt to go inside given the depth of the water, and because there were lizards and fish swimming around in the shallow water...

_ADP9829

The second bunker. These were built of brick and covered in concrete, like the rest of the fortifications, and were subdivided inside to minimise blast damage. Their distance from the guns was deliberate, but would have been a hindrance during wartime owing to the time it would have taken to take supplies to the gun bunkers. We'll see these in our next instalment.

_ADP9831

Next up are the Phi Suea Samut disappearing guns, which were fired in anger during the Franco-Siamese war. Thanks for the gift of your continuing attention.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Love it.

 

[SaparotRob]

Great stuff! Dii mahk!

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots Grant!