Grumman F8F Bearcat at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum
Overview[]
The Royal Thai Air Force Museum is located in Don Mueang District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located on the Phahonyothin road just to the south of Wing 6 of the domestic terminal of the Don Mueang Airport. The museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM every day, except special holidays.
The museum was established in 1952 to collect, preserve and restore different airplanes and other aviation equipment used by the Royal Thai Air Force. In addition to one F11C and other rare aircraft,[1] the museum's collection also includes one of only 2 surviving Japanese Tachikawa Ki-36 trainers, the last surviving Vought O2U Corsair, one of 3 surviving Curtiss BF2C Goshawks, a Spitfire and several Nieuports and Breguets.[2]
The museum provides details of Thailand's role in World War II. Imperial Japanese forces landed in southern Thailand on 8 December 1941 and after a skirmish of several hours Thai forces were ordered to cease fighting the Japanese. Thailand declared war on Britain and the United States in January 1942 and remained a Japanese ally until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. The museum contains several paintings of Thai fighter aircraft intercepting US B-29s, P-38s and P-51s.
Pro-Japanese, anti British poster at the museum
Aircraft on display[]
- Baribatra bomber type 2
- Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor
- Beechcraft Bonanza 35
- Bell 206B Jetranger
- Bell 212
- Bell 412
- Bell 412SP
- Bell 412EP
- Bell H-13 Sioux H model
- Bell UH-1H Iroquois
- Breguet 14
- Cessna A-37 Dragonfly B model
- Cessna O-1 Bird Dog
- Cessna T-37
- Chandra type 17 trainer
- Curtiss BF2C Goshawk
- the last remaining example in the world
- Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
- Curtiss Hawk 75N
- De Havilland Tiger Moth
- De Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk
- Douglas A-1 Skyraider
- as this type was never operated by the RTAF it is presumably a Vietnam Air Force plane flown to Thailand in 1975 during the collapse of South Vietnam
- Douglas C-47
- Fairchild C-123B Provider
- Fairey Firefly I
- Grumman F8F Bearcat
- Grumman Widgeon G-44A
- Helio Courier U-10B
- Hiller UH-12B Raven
- Kaman HH-43B Huskie
- Kawasaki KH-4
- Lockheed RT-33
- Nakajima Ki-27 Nate wreckage
- North American F-86F Sabre
- North American F-86D Sabre
- Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter
- Northrop F-5E Tiger II
- Pazmany PL-2
- Piper L-4 Grasshopper
- Republic F-84 Thunderjet G model
- Rockwell OV-10 Bronco C model
- RTAF-5
- Sikorsky H-5A model
- Sikorsky H-19A Chickasaw
- Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw
- Sikorsky S-58T
- Stinson L-5 Sentinel
- Supermarine Spitfire XIV
- T-6 Texan
- Tachikawa Ki-36
- one of 2 remaining in the world
- the last remaining example in the world
- Westland S-51 Dragonfly
- First Northrop F-5A and B in The world
- Jas-39 Gripen A
- Boeing P-12
See also[]
- List of aerospace museums
References[]
- ↑ Boyne, Walter J. (2001). The Best of Wings Magazine. Brassey's. pp. 41. ISBN 1574883682. http://books.google.com/books?id=Hex7N1hgjA8C&pg=PA41&dq=%22Royal+Thai+Air+Force+Museum%22&ei=lH-lSJCZI5X4iQGd78n6BA&sig=ACfU3U3VN-9Kmv7FZyRKKsxyHZDI8wgCFg#PPA41,M1.
- ↑ Cummings, Joe; China Williams. Bangkok. Lonely Planet. pp. 98. ISBN 1740594606. http://books.google.com/books?id=tpoYBZ0i0zEC&pg=PA98&dq=%22Royal+Thai+Air+Force+Museum%22&ei=lH-lSJCZI5X4iQGd78n6BA&sig=ACfU3U2wfPvDWudxyag1HnEDF8sivc0f0g.
External links[]
Coordinates: 13°55′11″N 100°37′20″E / 13.919832°N 100.622256°E
The original article can be found at Royal Thai Air Force Museum and the edit history here.