Naval Aviation Museum
Sukhumvit Road
Phla, Ban Chang District, Rayong 21130
Daily 10.00 - 18.00 h
Admission free


 

The Royal Thai Naval Aviation Museum in U-Tapao is quite new. It was opened in 2018 and the accessibility is quite special, as it is located within the Royal Thai Navy base on the U-Tapao naval base. You have to register with the guard at the gate and leave your ID. In my case, this was not necessary and I was even able to enter the base unchecked.

Entrance (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Entrance (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Grumman HU-16B Albatross 151265 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Grumman HU-16B Albatross 151265 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Grumman HU-16B Albatross 151265 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Due to the fact that the museum is quite new, the aircraft are in good condition. Compared to the first pictures from 2019, however, the grey Navy livery is already a little worn. It can be assumed that the condition of the aircraft will deteriorate significantly over the next few years as they are parked outdoors. Nevertheless, the museum is worth a visit if you are in the area as it does not charge admission.

A Grumman HU-16B Albatross flying boat stands in front of the main entrance to the base. Bu/Aer.151265 was one of three HU-16B versions delivered to the Royal Thai Navy. The type was initially deployed from Don Muang before the squadron was transferred to U-Tapao.

The Navy was founded in the late 19th century, and Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880-1923) is considered the "Father of the Royal Thai Navy". Similar to the organisational structure of the U.S. Navy, the Royal Thai Navy comprises the Navy Fleet and the Royal Thai Marine Corps. The Royal Thai Navy operates from the Sattahip Naval Base in Sattahip Bay. Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country to operate an aircraft carrier, even though it is now only used as a helicopter carrier following the decommissioning of the Harrier fighter squadron. Thailand was the second Asian country after Japan to acquire submarines, but has not had any submarines since 1950.

Carrier-based aircraft

Nine Mc Donnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier were procured by the Spanish Navy in 1996 and deployed on the aircraft carrier CVH-911 HTMS Chakri Naruebet from 1997. The aircraft were deployed by 301 Squadron. Two TAV-8S and seven AV-8S were operated for a short time until the type was decommissioned in 2006 due to a lack of spare parts.

Mc Donnell Douglas TAV-8S Harrier (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Mc Donnell Douglas TAV-8S Harrier (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Mc Donnell Douglas TAV-8S Harrier (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Mc Donnell Douglas TAV-8S Harrier (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Mc Donnell Douglas TAV-8S Harrier (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Attack

The RTN did not have many attack aircraft, the first of which was the Summit T-337 Sentry, a further development of the Cessna O-2 Skymaster. This was then replaced by the Vought A-7E Corsair. The Corsair proved to be unsuitable. The RTN simply had too few bombs for effective operation. The aircraft were often only armed with Zuni missiles. In addition, the Corsair was not suitable as a carrier for the Thai carrier CVH-911 HTMS Chakri Naruebet. As a result, the aircraft operated by 104 Squadron were quickly decommissioned and the Summit T-337 Sentry returned to service. A total of three Corsairs are on display in the museum.

Vought A-7E & TA-7C Corsair (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Vought A-7E & TA-7C Corsair (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Vought A-7E Corsair (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Vought A-7E Corsair (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Vought TA-7C Corsair (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Patrol & Sub Hunter

One of the first aircraft to be used for coastal defence was the Grumman S-2F Tracker. The RTN had around 11 aircraft. Today one aircraft is in the museum. The painting with a shark's mouth is completely wrong, this was only painted on after the Tracker was in service. The GAF Nomad and the Lockheed P-3T Orion were also used for surveillance tasks. The GAF N.24A Nomad, of which the RTN had 5 aircraft, was also used for "rain-making" towards the end of its service, which was actually a task of the Kaset, but this organisation sometimes had too few aircraft. The Lockheed is still in service today from U-Tapao.

Grumman S-2F Tracker (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Grumman S-2F Tracker (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

GAF N24 Nomad (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

GAF N24 Nomad, Discharge device for silver iodite for rain generation  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Lockheed P-3T Orion (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Lockheed P-3T Orion (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

SAR

Somewhat unusual is the Canadair CL-215, which replaced the outdated Grumman Albatross. Two aircraft were acquired in 1978 and one was operated until 2009. The Canadair is also equipped to fight forest fires. Another aircraft in the museum is the Douglas C-47A Skytrain which was used for various purposes such as reconnaissance and electronic jamming.

Canadair CL-215  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Canadair CL-215  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Canadair CL-215  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Douglas C-47A Skytrain (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Douglas C-47A Skytrain (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Helicopter & Observation

Two versions of the Bell UH-1 helicopter can be seen in the museum. Although they are the same basic type, the machines are completely different. The Bell UH-1H Iroquois or Bell 205 is one of the first versions, while the Bell 214ST is a massively stretched version that has almost nothing to do with the original model. Only a few of both types were procured. The Bell UH-1H came to the RTN from the Cambodian Air Force, while the Bell 214ST was acquired from different sources at different times.

The Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and the Cessna U-17B Skywagon were procured for reconnaissance and observation missions. Again, the livery of the aircraft is not correct. The sharkmouth's was also painted on these aircraft much later. However, the camouflage with brown and green colours is correct.

Bell UH-1H Iroquois (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Bell UH-1H Iroquois (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Bell UH-1H Iroquois (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Bell UH-1H Iroquois (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Bell 214ST (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Bell 214ST (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Bell 214ST (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Bell 214ST (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Cessna U-17B Skywagon (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Cessna U-17B Skywagon (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Cessna O-1G Birddog (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Cessna O-1G Birddog (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

U-Tapao from the Air (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

last update 18. February 2023

Written 1. December 2023

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