WesWorld

Thanks, more to come that will carry this series of events into 1941.

Adirake Saranuchit sat inside one of the meeting rooms in the Thailand Naval Ministry. The contence of the folder given to him by the Dutch engineers at Medan had been set out on the table with a stack of summaries printed on fresh white paper next to them. Adirake hated meetings with the higher-ups, he was an engineer who was more at home around machines then men. But the Dutchmen had given him this information on the condition that a few people as possible are exposed to the information, so talking to people it was. Besides, he wanted this project for himself should the brass decide to pursue it. A female secretary wheeled in a cart laden down with food and drink, the brass would be arriving soon. Adirake gulped as men in fancy uniforms with ribbons and shiny buttons filed in. Maybe taking a chance to get cleaned up a bit more would have been a good idea.

About an hour later, the meeting was wrapping up. Adirake was feeling confident that he had sold the brass on the need for investigation into this new equipment that the documentation provided by the Dutch detailed. He had spent the last 20 minutes or so answering questions. After many questions on the technical aspects of the project, finally he had said, “And that is all I know until I get a chance to operate or build one. That or speaking to the man who designed them would give me much more knowledge on the subject then these papers .” Most of the brass had already left, but two still remained as Adirake began to clean up his presentation. One of the two said “So having a hands-on lesson with the creator of these devices would help you build some for us?” Aidirake gulped, “Yes, as you both know, I am no submariner. My knowledge is limited by that fact in addition to the fact that I did not come up with this equipment myself.” The two officers looked at each other and one nodded. “Then pack your bags” one said “You’re going to The Netherlands. We have decided to send a small group to meet with this J.J.Wichers. Congratulations, you are the technical expert for this group. We will inform you of the details as they become available.” Adirake tried to hide just how happy he was, talking to people was not so bad afterall.

Very interesting developments... Indeed!

Excerpt from a article in the Sattahip Daily, September 6th:

Fleet Week Moved
In a letter from the headquarters of the First Fleet, this publication was informed the Fleet Week has been moved from the end of the month, to begin instead on the 16th. According to the letter, this move was made to bring the celebrations into the same time frame as a port call by the German Fourth Cruiser Squadron. The 4th Cruiser Squadron has been on an around-the-world cruise for the past several months. The same timeline is in place for the event, with the Inaugural Address from Admiral Bunyakhup and His Majesty, King Ramkhamhaeng III at around 1PM on the 16th. More details on the Fourth Cruiser Squadron and the Fleet Week Celebrations can be found on page A6.

The Dutch homeland was a prosperous and tidy place, and Den Helder an interesting city, but in November the air was cold with frost on the ground most mornings. The temperatures were far different than Adirake's homeland but the prospects of what this trip could mean for the future of his country and his career kept his spirits up. None of the officers sent by the Navy, and Adirake himself, looked happy in this weather, but the Dutch Commander who led the welcoming committee looked perfectly happy as he led them across the grounds of the Naval Academy.

Leading them into the hallowed halls, the Thai party found the billowing heat inside rather refreshing. The Commander led them to a meeting room, where they were introduced to a small party. The most prominent personage was Chief of the Royal Dutch Navy's Naval Design Bureau, Martin De Vries. Lieutenant-Commander Jan J. Wichers, currently the Instructor of Torpedos and inventor of the schnorkel was introduced. Then Naval Design Bureau engineers Wiet Knoester , Joek Huidekoper and Tjokorda Surya were also introduced.

Lieutenant-Commander J.J. Wichers broke the ice "Greetings gentlemen, I understand you are curious as to our design parameters for my little device and the data we have gathered. We are eager to discuss ideas with you, please, be seated."

Adirake sat down at the end of the table next to the Dutch engineers. The one Navy man who had accompanied him to this meeting Capitan Manitho Seniwong, sat on the other side of the table. After a short pause that allowed a cartful of traditional Dutch food and drink to be brought into the room, Adirake turned to Lt. Wichers. In fairly good Dutch he said, “Yes very curious indeed. As I am sure you have heard, these schnorkels caught my eye in Medan. Now that we are beginning to build our own subs, both myself, and the Navy feel that we should become as familiar as possible with the latest technology in the field” Capitan Seniwong nodded in agreement. “To that end, we also feel that simply buying the equipment we need would not be helpful with achieving this goal. We want to be well versed in both the theory and the practice of making schnorkels.”

Wichers nooded “And I assume that you have a proposal regarding this, being one of the best submarine designers in all of Thailand.”

“What would be most helpful to me” Adirake took a sip of water and continued “would be to have someone who has experience in both the theoretical design and the practical design.”

Wichers nodded. “ Well, I know one person who would be great for that job.”

Adirake cut him off. “Actualy, I had someone in mind. Would you accept an offer to come to Bangkok to assist me and my team in the development of a schnorkel for the Thai submarine arm?”

“I feel honored by your offer. I would need to clear it with my superiors, but I am coming up on a duty rotation soon that is scheduled to take me to Soerabaja anyway. I think that I should be able to clear this.”

“I hope that the appropriate arrangements can be made.” Adirake said “I feel I have much that I can learn from you on this subject and others. Now, I believe that you had some documentation you wished to show me and Capitan Seniwong.”

Wichers nodded. “Yes right here” he said reaching into a briefcase. Several hours later when the meeting adjourned, Adirake had almost all the technical knowledge he needed to rough out a design for a schnorkel. He hoped that he would have the help of JJ Wichers in doing just that.

With thanks to Kirk for the intro

October 17th 1940

Admiral Bunyakhup looked over the intelligence report on the declaration that had been issued yesterday from the Foreign Ministry of the Philippines. "Well, sounds like the dogs of war are about to slip there leashes. To think, this all started because of some fishing boats." Bunyakhup picked up his coffee and took a sip as he mulled over ideas. Finaly, after much deliberation, he put pen to paper, drafting orders.

Message sent to all Thai-flagged civilian ships ships:
From: Thai Naval Command
To: All Thai-Flagged Merchant and Fishing vessels, Thai Navy vessels
Subject: Spratley Archipelago Exclusion zone

Warning to all vessels.
Philippines have declared 12-mile "quarantine" zone around select islands in the Spartley Archipelago.
This is to be followed at all times.
Recommend additional 12-miles for total of 24-mile no-operation zone.
War between Philippines and China believed possible.
In event of war, additional information will be forthcoming concerning safety of men and ships.

Adm. Bunyakhup, First Fleet

Supplemental Message to all Navy ships:
From: Thai Naval Command
To: First Fleet
Subject: Spratley Archipelago Exclusion zone, Supplement

In event of War between China and Philippines, following action to be taken.
Change in fleet movements depending on severity and scope of conflict.
Co-operation with AEGIS elements possible.

Adm. Bunyakhup, First Fleet

October 20th, 1940

The Thai Army today announced the purchase of 15000 STPR-36 semi-automatic rifle carbines from Kanzanlak and Sig-Sauer. These rifles will serve to augment the current Belgian-built Mauser rifles the are currently standard issue to the Thai Army. An official statement from the Army gives more information.

"After much debate, the Thai Army has chosen the STPR-36 as its first semi-automatic carbine. While the FN SLR40 was also considered, the larger clip size and more widespread use of the STPR-36 were the deciding factors. Proposals are still being sought for bolt-action replacements for the the FN-Mauser Model 1889 rifle and carbine that are the current standards for there type in the Thai Army."

This purchase signals a continuation of the modernization of Thailand's Armed forces.

October 23nd, 1940
Address from King Ramkhamhaeng III regarding the outbreak of hostilities between China and the Philippines:
"While we are greatly saddened by the fact that these two nations have resulted to violence to solve there disagreements, we still hope that peace can prevail. Our offer to host a neutral conference to resolve this disagreement still stands, and will continue to stand until such a time that the cessation of hostilities is realized. With this conflict come the potential for expansion, and to that end we will be collaborating with our AEGIS allies in there efforts to plan and carry out services to neutral merchant traffic in the region. Once again, we express our desire to see a peaceful resolution to this conflict as quickly as possible, with minimal loss of life.

Message to all Navy ships:
From: Thai Naval Command
To: First Fleet, Second Fleet
Subject: China-Philippine War

Official Declaration of War issued from China.
Reports of additional naval action around Spratley Archipelago.
Stand-by for more information on possible AEGIS activity
SATSUMA Involvement possible, but unlikely as of this time
Maintain Normal patrol patterns until otherwise notified.

November 1st, 1940
Article in the Bangkok Times:

Major shakeup to take place in Bangkok Aero Manufacturing
Over the next month, changes to the inner workings of BAM will render that company obsolete. BAM will be folded into a new nation-wide corporation that will specialized in the Manufacturing of Aircraft and there components. As of this writing, not all component manufacturers are included in this new deal. Taking BAM's place as Thailand's premiere aircraft manufacturer will be the Thailand National Aeronautical Company (TNAC). TNAC will be the primary contractor for spare-parts for the Royal Thai Air Force. The reorganization comes at a time of rumored talks to restart the domestic aircraft industry that was almost dismantled as it was just beginning to form in the mid 1930's. More information is on page 5.

November 15th, 1940,

King Ramkhamhaeng III turns 37 today.

November 21st, 1940

The Thai Navy Announces the details of the next class of Domestically built submarines and the next class of dedicated escorts. No details on how many of each class will be constructed:

Dolphin II class

Length: 64m
Beam: 5.8m
Draft: 4.4m

Main Weapons: 5x533mm Torpedo tubes, 1x100mm gun
Secondaries: 37mm and 20mm guns

Top speed: 16knts

Monarch Class

Length: 60m
Beam: 9.5m
Draft: 3m

Main Battery: 1x100mm gun
Secondaries: 57mm and 20mm guns

Top speed: 18knts

November 25th

The first of the Dolphin I class submarines, SS-20 is launched from its slipway at the Bangkok Navy Yard. The rest of the class (SS-21 to SS-25) are scheduled to follow within the next few weeks.

December 8th, 1940

TNAC announced today that it has reached an agreement with Fieseler Flugzeugbau AG to begin license production of Fieseler's Fi-156 liaison aircraft. The Fi-156 has recently been adopted by the Thai Royal Air Force and interest has been noted from other powers in the region, mainly French Indochina. The TNAC built plane will carry the company designation of TNAC-IL-1 and be named the Malkoha. Already an order has been placed for an unspecified quantity by the French Armee de l'Aire.