A Real Thai Navy

Factual Bit.

In 1920, King Vajiravudh in Thailand was a keen supporter of naval power. He wanted to build a Navy for Thailand but he was unable to get funding for it, primarily due to him being rather unpopular with various circles. So, he opened a public subscription to buy a battleship for the Thai Navy. It wasn't very successful; he did raise enough money to buy a British R-class destroyer that became the Phra Ruang and served until the mid-1950s.

HOWEVER SUPPOSE.....

The collection goes a bit better and faced with the popular support for a real Thai Navy, the people who had opposed the idea change their mind and put up the rest of the cash. The Thais enter negotiations with the British (relations were pretty good then) and the British, by now facing mass scrappings under the Washington Treaty, offer not one battleship but two battle cruisers. Lion and Princess Royal.

The Thais grab them, they take delivery and for years run one while keeping the other in dock while they train enough crew for both. They don't order teh four armored gunboats they eventually ended up with and scrap a lot of superfluous tonnage to make the crews available. In the 1930s, both battle cruisers get modernized in Japan, being converted to oil firing and having an anti-aircraft armament installed in place of some of their 4 inch low-angle guns.

So, by 1939, the RTN has two battle cruisers in good condition, eight pretty neat torpedo boats and four submarines. ANd the effects of that force structure are......?
 

Markus

Banned
A very bad idea. Even if the Brits give the ships away for nothing the cost of operating them will eat most of the defence budget. With alomost 2500 men you could crew a lot of ships. Better spend the money on more smaller warships like four to six W/V-class like DDs plus torpedo and gunboats and last but not least airplanes.
 
Be interesting to see the fight with the French during their border skirmish. Historically the Thai Navy got its rear end whipped.
 

Sargon

Donor
Monthly Donor
Smashed because the IJN was much more powerful in terms of ships, personnel and fire power.

Japan and Thailand were allies during WWII (Thailand a rather reluctant one, but still).

Expect them to be sunk by Allied forces. Probably the US.


Sargon
 

Markus

Banned
Japan and Thailand were allies during WWII (Thailand a rather reluctant one, but still).

Didn´t the Thais shake hands with the Japanese because they realized cutting them off wasn´t an option? With a considerably more powerful military they might reconsider. Speaking of which, if the Thais have two BCs the French will have a stronger military, too in Indochina.
 
Here's an article on the actual Thai navy during WWII:

http://www.avalanchepress.com/SiameseFleet.php

Note that four submarines and two light cruisers had been ordered but would never arrive, also what happened when the fleet actually met the French Navy. Not a pretty sight.:(



Change will have to come earlier for Thailand to be a factor, and I found another game company which offers you the opportunity!:D

http://www.heliograph.com/trmgs/trmgs4/siam1.shtml

http://www.heliograph.com/trmgs/trmgs4/siam2.shtml
 

Sargon

Donor
Monthly Donor
Didn´t the Thais shake hands with the Japanese because they realized cutting them off wasn´t an option? With a considerably more powerful military they might reconsider. Speaking of which, if the Thais have two BCs the French will have a stronger military, too in Indochina.

Perhaps, but then the Japanese invaded overland, and thus the navy isn't really in the equation. I don't think the Thai Navy is going to be anywhere near powerful enough, even coupled with the French to stave off an attack on Indochina.

Anyway, if the navy is getting the cash for running these ships, then how about the rest of the armed forces? I'm not convinced there is enough to go around to balance things out. Something is going to suffer because of lesser investment somewhere.


Sargon
 

Markus

Banned
Perhaps, but then the Japanese invaded overland, and thus the navy isn't really in the equation. I don't think the Thai Navy is going to be anywhere near powerful enough, even coupled with the French to stave off an attack on Indochina.

You answered that right below.


Anyway, if the navy is getting the cash for running these ships, then how about the rest of the armed forces? I'm not convinced there is enough to go around to balance things out. Something is going to suffer because of lesser investment somewhere.

Sargon
To a degree the other branches will also benefit from increased spending. So to a dregree you can balance things out- unless you buy the BCs. The article says the Army continued to receive preferential treatment, the Thais invested in a modern Air Force in the mid 30´s and it´s not like the Japanese attacked Malay with an overwhelming numerical superiority.

More Hawk-75N fighters, A-27 light bombers(like a CAC Wirraway), twin engine bombers and a "well equipped five divison Army"(wiki) is nothing the Japanese can afford to ignore.
 
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The situation would be like the Thais and their silly little aircraft carrier today- they wouldn't have the money to keep these ships in proper condition and they'd end up rusting at the docks eating up money that could be better spent elsewhere.
 
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