The development of civil aviation in Thailand has not been fully documented in any great detail so far. One book on the topic is Ed Young’s 1995 Aerial Nationalism – A History of Aviation in Thailand. This excellent book covers both military and civil aviation but with an emphasis on the pre-1945 period. Only an overview of the post-war period is included. Other than this resource, there is no significant book, in Thai or in English, which is dedicated to recording in detail the post-war development of Thai civil aviation.
The purpose of the current project is to set out how civil aviation in Thailand developed following the departure of the Japanese occupation forces in 1945. While doing this, the book also attempts to put the development of civil aviation into the context of the direction Thai political affairs have taken post-1945.
Source: Aad Neeven
It is safe to say that Thailand is unique in South East Asia in the sense that it succeeded in resisting the colonial pressures to which all of its neighbours succumbed. It has had highly volatile governments, heavily influenced by the military. Moreover, Thai involvement in the Laos and Vietnam conflict reinforced the American influence on the country. These and other circumstances have affected the unique path Thai civil aviation has taken.
Having said all of the above, Stephen Darke and Dr. Virachai Vannukul, the authors of soon-to-be-published Royal Orchid: The Anatomy of Civil Aviation in Thailand, intend this book to be a detailed reference to the scholar as well as an enjoyable read for the enthusiast. Therefore, they have kept the language simple whilst giving painstakingly detailed information in both the text and the Appendices. They have tried to enliven the text with as many colour photographs as possible from the authors’ own collections, which have been assembled over many years. Particularly for the earlier sections, many of these photographs have been obtained from private collections, with authority to publish, and have never been published before.
The research for the book has led to many previously untapped sources of information. The authors have taken particular pains to check back to original source material where still available, and to therefore correct many ‘facts’ which have appeared in print over the years. The Department of Aviation in Bangkok have been very helpful, particularly during the 1990’s when one of the authors had access to the original hand-written register books.
Source: Ed Young
Standard sources have of course also been used, including the UK, US and Thai National Archives, the archives of individual airlines, contemporary press reports etc. The authors have been fortunate in finding many US aircrew from the earlier periods, and they (or their families) have generously provided information, photos etc.
In this project, Stephen Darke is joined by Dr Virachai Vannukul as co-author. Stephen Darke has been researching Thai aviation history for 20 years, has developed a wide network of contacts both in Thailand and overseas, and is the author of many articles on Thai aviation history. Dr. Virachai is a major player in the airline industry in Thailand, starting with Thai International in 1962, through Air Siam, to senior management involvement with many other operators. His credibility within, and access to, the industry has been invaluable.
The book excluding appendices is about 100,000 words, with another estimated 50,000 words in the appendices.
The authors hope that the detail in the book will provide reliable source material for further work, whilst being accessible and enjoyable for the enthusiast.
