AHC :Thailand buys older Japanese Dreadnoughts .

What if right after WWI Thailand bought either one or both of the Japanese Settsu class Dreadnought (I know they had twelves of different caliber but hey ,they were still twelve inch and gave the ship a uniform battery of big guns )
How would this come about in the first place ?Would other nations allow it if it took place before the Washington Naval Treaty was even negotiated ?And could Thailand afford them and screening units to go along ?
What about WWII ?Assuming it still happens (How could two Dreadnoughts in IndoChina affect Europe I ask ?)How would two Dreadnoughts affect how Thailand behaved in the war and would they have been modernized at all ?Maybe all the guns were brought up to the same caliber perhaps ?
 
Technically they could buy dreads but would have been impractical and a waste of money due to the geographical realities of thailand. Money put on navy means money less on the army.
 
Buying battleships would only be suspicious in the eyes of Britain and France.

So what ?It`s not like they will invade right after the great war .And besides those ships were practically obsolete by 1919 anyway .Maybe Thailand makes some sort of arms treaty with both powers pledging not to use the ships against them (though what other nation they could be used against escapes me they might pull it off with some clever diplomatic promises )
 
So what ?It`s not like they will invade right after the great war .And besides those ships were practically obsolete by 1919 anyway .Maybe Thailand makes some sort of arms treaty with both powers pledging not to use the ships against them (though what other nation they could be used against escapes me they might pull it off with some clever diplomatic promises )

But coupled with the expenses the ships are going to drain, what's the point of buying them? But let's assume for the sake of the WI that they do - and I think there'll barely be any difference, maybe Japan/Thailand goes a few miles more into Burma or something.
 
What's the point, having one (and Kawachi isn't working by the end of WWI) dreadnought gives you nothing. France or Britain will destroy you if you fight in the 20s or early 30s and by WWII its old and virtually useless?

Why not buy a real 12" dreadnought from GB if you only care about prestige? I doubt that the RN would care about one old 12" ship and you get a real dreadnought...
 
my scenario is they follow the Dutch and acquire a submarine force, that and equip some cargo ships as auxiliary cruisers would be a bargain navy.
 

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It would be better to procure surplus cruisers and destroyers instead of an early dreadnought or battlecruiser. Anything less powerful than a super-dreadnought or super-battlecruiser would be utterly obsolete and a waste of funding.
 
It would be better to procure surplus cruisers and destroyers instead of an early dreadnought or battlecruiser. Anything less powerful than a super-dreadnought or super-battlecruiser would be utterly obsolete and a waste of funding.

More likely useless.

If you are Thailand, your concern for defense is how the land invasion will occur.

1) british from burma, 2) british from Malaya, 3) french from indochina, 4) Chinese from China

Unless Thailand has the same wealth as USA or at least Germany or France, there is no point buying a dreadnought or battleships when you are suppose to be a land power. The necessity to defend your nation via Navy is not priority if you have meager funds.

Had Thailand been an island nation they would have bought a large navy than otl.

For me the most likely changes for Thailand in WW2 were tanks, aircraft not navy. They can technically be better than japan in land warfare especially if they focused most of their defensive efforts, budget in the army and air force from 1918 until 1941 rather than the navy.
 
I don't think you need a island just having another equal nation to compete against should do?

The problem with Thailand (all v south America) is,
1- They are much poorer
2- They don't have any equals to compete against

They realistically cant do anything v GB or France so why bother trying?
 
If for whatever reason they get 1-2 battleships, might they try to trade them (offer to have them scrapped) in return for cruisers/destroyers? Or even concessions on modern planes and tanks? Might they use the turrets as shore batteries?
 
As other posters have asked why would Thailand purchase older Japanese Dreadnoughts? If anything they would be better placed as a member of the Allies during the Great War to request ships or submarines from the now defunct High Seas Fleet.

Furthermore the Royal Thai Navy ("RTN") in OTL had two coastal defence ships the Thonburi class that they were hard pressed to keep in active service due to both manning and running costs. Dreadnoughts are going to be a magnitude of sophistication above a Coastal Defence Ship.

They also operated a submarine flotilla during WW II that were purchased from Japan in IIRC 1938. Now if you establish stronger links with the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich they could also receive Type II Submarines which would be ideal for their needs. Unless you are planning something cool like a surviving independent Burma, which would be good fun.

All in all I would contend that the RTN unless you have massive changes would need 3 Avisos, 1 sail training ship and possibly 1 - 2 fleet destroyers with a submarine flotilla if you wish (includes submarine tender). With a much smaller force structure the RTN will be able to concentrate on improving their abysmal training, but as other posters will suggest the IJN would obliterate the RTN regardless of the funds provided.

That's my 0.02c.
 
The king gets a new yacht.

Right .And besides it is not like the Thai are known for making smart financial decisions when it comes to their navy .Look at the current navy as an example .
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