Prajadhipok (aircraft)
| Prajadhipok | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Royal Siamese Air Force Manufacturing Division |
| Designer | Lt. Colonel Luang Neramit Baijayonta |
| Status | retired |
| Primary user | Air Force Directorate, Royal Siamese Army, Royal Thai Air Force |
| Number built | only one was built[1] |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1929 |
| First flight | 1929 |
The Prajadhipok (Thai: ประชาธิปก), officially designated B.ThO.1 (Thai: บ.ทอ.๑) and later B.Kh.5 (Thai: บ.ข.๕),[2] was a Siamese single-seat biplane fighter. It was the second indigenous Siamese aircraft design and the first fighter aircraft.
Lieutenant Colonel Luang Neramit Baijayonta designed and oversaw construction of the aircraft in 1929, which was named Prajadhipok (Democrat) for the then reigning monarch King Prajadhipok (Rama VII). It was the second aircraft designed and built in Siam and the first Siamese designed and built fighter, designated Fighter Type 5. However it remained experimental and production does not seem to have ensued,[3] possibly due to the death of the designer shortly after the first flight. The aircraft was still in service at the start of World War II.
Specifications (Prajadhipok Fighter type 5.)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss water-cooled inline engine, 257 kW (345 hp)
References
Citations
- ^ Jan Forsgren (November 20, 2004). "Aircraft Production in Thailand". .aeroflight.co.uk. Archived from the original on November 9, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
- ^ "Thai Military Aircraft Designations". designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
- ^ Forsgren, aeroflight 2004
Bibliography
- Forsgren, Jan. "Aircraft Production in Thailand: Part 2". aeroflight. 20 November 2004. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- Thornburg, Chris (3 December 2006). "World Air Forces - Historical Listings Thailand (THL)". www.worldairforces.com. Waipahu, Hawaii.