Matchanu-class submarine
HTMS Matchanu
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Class overview | |
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Builders | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
Operators | Royal Thai Navy |
Built | 1936–38 |
In commission | 19 July 1938 – 30 November 1951 |
Completed | 4 |
Scrapped | 4 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 51.00 m (167.32 ft) |
Beam | 4.10 m (13.5 ft) |
Draught | 3.60 m (11.8 ft) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | 4,770 nmi (8,830 km; 5,490 mi) |
Test depth | 60 m (200 ft) |
Complement | 5 officers & 28 crew |
Armament |
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The Matchanu class comprised the only four
Construction and design
The
The submarines were built in Kobe, with the first two being laid down on 6 May 1936. Construction of the others began on 1 October.[2] The first group was launched on 24 December 1936, with the second following on 14 May 1937. The first two submarines were completed and delivered to the Royal Siamese Navy on 4 September 1937, the date the Thai Navy still observes as Submarine Day. The others were delivered on 30 April 1938.[3]
The Thai Navy's submarines were named after literary characters known for their mythical diving abilities from the Ramakien, Phra Aphai Mani, and Khun Chang Khun Phaen. They are:[4]
- HTMS Matchanu (II)
- HTMS Wirun
- HTMS Sinsamut
- HTMS Phlai Chumphon
The Thai submarines were relatively small, since they were intended primarily for coastal defence.[2] Each had a displacement of 374.5 tonnes (368.6 long tons; 412.8 short tons) on the surface and 430 tonnes (420 long tons; 470 short tons) when submerged. They were armed with four 450-millimetre (18 in) torpedo tubes, plus a 76/25-millimetre (3-inch) deck gun and an 8-millimetre (0.31 in) machine gun.[5]
Careers
All four submarines departed Kobe for Thailand on 5 June 1938. They stopped for supplies at
The submarine crews underwent several training exercises in 1938 and 1939. In November 1940, following a number of border skirmishes, the undeclared Franco-Thai War over disputed border areas began when the Royal Thai Air Force made air raids on military bases in French Indochina. The navy was mobilised to protect Thailand's territorial waters, and the submarines conducted reconnaissance in the Gulf of Thailand. However, they were unable to prevent a surprise French naval raid, which resulted in heavy Thai naval losses at the Battle of Ko Chang on 17 January 1941. Following the battle, the submarines were sent to patrol the vicinity of Ream Naval Base in present-day Cambodia,[7] but no further naval clashes took place and Japan soon negotiated an end to the war.
The submarines remained in service throughout
After the war's end, supplies and parts for the submarines became unavailable because of the
The submarines were moored for some time in the Chao Phraya River near
See also
- Macchanu, the Ramakien character after whom the submarine and class are named
Notes
- ^ Thailand was known as Siam until 1939