World War II bomb found at Bangkok MRT project site

[shaurene]

Reply to David48.

As far as I know Bangkok was never bombed it was probably just dumped from a Japanese/Britsh or American plane that were dropping them on Burma.

Thailand supported the Japanese in WW2 they allowed them to land their troops and tanks in South Thailand to invade Malaysia and Burma. Thailand declared war on UK and USA after the Japanese landed.

[axact]

Was Bangkok 'bombed' during WWII ?

Not a piss take, I didn't know.

What was the history?

Wikipedia is your friend! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Bangkok_in_World_War_II

"Allied bombing raids on the Thai capital city of Bangkok began even before Thailand had declared war, since the Empire of Japan was using the country as a staging area for its invasions of both Malaya and Burma, with the agreement of the Thai government after Japan's successful invasion of the southeast Asian country. The first raid came on January 7, 1942, when Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft flying fromRangoon, attacked military targets in the city.^[1][2] The American Volunteer Group, together with seven No. 113 Squadron RAF and three No. 45 Squadron RAFBlenheim bombers, were involved in the first raid.^[3] No. 113 Squadron's planes were piloted by No. 60 Squadron's air crew. The second night raid was carried out with 8 Blenheims on 24-25 January and included No. 60 Squadron RAF aircrew.^[4] A final raid was made three days later by four Blenheims. This was the last raid by Blenheims until May or June 1945."

Fact check: Thailand was not involved in WW2.

SIAM was.

This enables Thais to say Thailand has never been invaded.

I seem to think the Thai's say they were never colonised which is a completely different thing from being invaded !

[Greg Nixon]

How careless that people are standing near such an unstable and explosive bomb unnecessarily. Only one or two ordinance experts should be close to the bomb and everyone else should be evacuated to a safe distance. One blew up recently - that should be a clue.

[lostmebike]

WW2 bomb found at Bangkok MRT results in silver-surfing, old farts bickering about origins of bomb and history on a news forum site.

Love it.

[Misterwhisper]

Was Bangkok 'bombed' during WWII ?

Not a piss take, I didn't know.

What was the history?

Wikipedia is your friend! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Bangkok_in_World_War_II

"Allied bombing raids on the Thai capital city of Bangkok began even before Thailand had declared war, since the Empire of Japan was using the country as a staging area for its invasions of both Malaya and Burma, with the agreement of the Thai government after Japan's successful invasion of the southeast Asian country. The first raid came on January 7, 1942, when Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft flying fromRangoon, attacked military targets in the city.^[1][2] The American Volunteer Group, together with seven No. 113 Squadron RAF and three No. 45 Squadron RAFBlenheim bombers, were involved in the first raid.^[3] No. 113 Squadron's planes were piloted by No. 60 Squadron's air crew. The second night raid was carried out with 8 Blenheims on 24-25 January and included No. 60 Squadron RAF aircrew.^[4] A final raid was made three days later by four Blenheims. This was the last raid by Blenheims until May or June 1945."

Fact check: Thailand was not involved in WW2.

SIAM was.

This enables Thais to say Thailand has never been invaded.

Wrong! Siam was renamed in 1939 by ultra-nationalist prime minister Filed Marshal Plaek Phibulsongkram (a self-confessed admirer of Adolf Hitler) into THAILAND.

[Basil B]

Reply to David48.

As far as I know Bangkok was never bombed it was probably just dumped from a Japanese/Britsh or American plane that were dropping them on Burma.

Thailand supported the Japanese in WW2 they allowed them to land their troops and tanks in South Thailand to invade Malaysia and Burma. Thailand declared war on UK and USA after the Japanese landed.

Well I think you are the first to say that, but given the countless replies that give information and links that give factual information that say's clearly that Bangkok was bombed and why, I am indeed inclined to believe them.

[Basil B]

I the UK we get from time to time incidents where WWII bombs are unearthed and have to be defused, I think I have read of a least 3 incidents this year so far.

In Germany and France (and probably Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and eastern Europe) bombs are found more frequently, not forgetting all the ordnance from the Vietnam war to be found in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

[Gonki]

200-plus kilogram bomb [...] the same sort that exploded in April at a scrap-metal shop [...] after workers tried to blowtorch it open

Their names were Bubba and Jethro

[Jim walker]

Get out the blowtorches it must be worth a few Baht or a good clean up and it would be a nice talking point sitting in the lounge at home.

[bigbamboo]

Cmon guys this is red shirt bomb isnt it ?

Absolutely Yes! Suthep told me that it was stored there by Red anti PRDC protestors. WW2 my backside !

Red shirts?

Oh yes, I remember them. Are they still around?

[jerome2]

One more bell for a temple ...or

[wwest5829]

Was Bangkok 'bombed' during WWII ?

Not a piss take, I didn't know.

What was the history?

Wikipedia is your friend! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Bangkok_in_World_War_II

"Allied bombing raids on the Thai capital city of Bangkok began even before Thailand had declared war, since the Empire of Japan was using the country as a staging area for its invasions of both Malaya and Burma, with the agreement of the Thai government after Japan's successful invasion of the southeast Asian country. The first raid came on January 7, 1942, when Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft flying fromRangoon, attacked military targets in the city.^[1][2] The American Volunteer Group, together with seven No. 113 Squadron RAF and three No. 45 Squadron RAFBlenheim bombers, were involved in the first raid.^[3] No. 113 Squadron's planes were piloted by No. 60 Squadron's air crew. The second night raid was carried out with 8 Blenheims on 24-25 January and included No. 60 Squadron RAF aircrew.^[4] A final raid was made three days later by four Blenheims. This was the last raid by Blenheims until May or June 1945."

Fact check: Thailand was not involved in WW2.

SIAM was.

This enables Thais to say Thailand has never been invaded.

Siam became Thailand in 1939 under PHIBUN regime ( with the slogan Thailand for Thai) in 21 December 1941,Thailand and Japan signed a military alliance......

Thai style. The name change to Thailand in 1939 allowed "Thailand" to declare war, but the name was not recognized, so they later changed the name to Thailand, again, in 1948, so... neither Siam or Thailand did anything in WWII.

On July 20th, 1948, the Siamese constituent assembly voted to change the name of Siam to Thailand, the change to come into effect the following year. Muang Thai or Thailand means land of the free and the name had been changed before, in 1939 under the fascist military dictatorship of Field Marshal Luang Phibunsongkhram, but the anti-Axis powers refused to recognise the new name after Siam allied herself with the Japanese and in 1942 declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom.

Response:

If I am not mistaken, a critical nuance of correction. The Thai Embassy in D.C. Refused its government's orders and did not deliver the declaration of war to the U.S. Government. Thus at the end of the war some political manuvering was done to cajole the British government in allowing the U.S. to not treat Thailand as a defeated nation. The British, quite correctly, viewed Thailand as a defeated nation as it had declared war on England.

Edited June 3, 2014 by wwest5829

[Beetlejuice]

Considering this was an allied forces bomb, than I would think the only people in danger are the Japanese tourists.

[Beetlejuice]

I doubt if there are many WW2 veterans left today. Even those who were the minimum age of 18 and joined the war in 1945 would now be 87 years old.

And I very much doubt that there could be any WW1 vets alive and well now. Those who joined that war in 1918 and were 16 years old would be 112 today. My guess is that WW1 is now out of living memory.

[shirtless]

Lets all be thankful they learnt their lesson after the first one. They sure pack a punch.

[Strangebrew]

Had to be brits who dropped that one US hit most of there targets Think that one said this is for you Hitler your chicken sucks.

[peecee]

Was Bangkok 'bombed' during WWII ?

Not a piss take, I didn't know.

What was the history?

Wikipedia is your friend! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Bangkok_in_World_War_II

"Allied bombing raids on the Thai capital city of Bangkok began even before Thailand had declared war, since the Empire of Japan was using the country as a staging area for its invasions of both Malaya and Burma, with the agreement of the Thai government after Japan's successful invasion of the southeast Asian country. The first raid came on January 7, 1942, when Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft flying fromRangoon, attacked military targets in the city.^[1][2] The American Volunteer Group, together with seven No. 113 Squadron RAF and three No. 45 Squadron RAFBlenheim bombers, were involved in the first raid.^[3] No. 113 Squadron's planes were piloted by No. 60 Squadron's air crew. The second night raid was carried out with 8 Blenheims on 24-25 January and included No. 60 Squadron RAF aircrew.^[4] A final raid was made three days later by four Blenheims. This was the last raid by Blenheims until May or June 1945."

Fact check: Thailand was not involved in WW2.

SIAM was.

This enables Thais to say Thailand has never been invaded.

I believe Siam changed to Thailand on 23rd June 1939 only to revert back to Siam from 1945 to 1949 when they finally adopted Thailand (curiously a non Thai word) as their country's title.

[ThiravetPramuanratkarn]

Quite an amazing but only recently declassified information about American Missions Against Bankok

These bombers from India kept bombing Bangkok mostly from December 26, 1942 to February 7, 1945

December 26, 1942

(10th AF) B-24s bomb the railroad station, dock area, arsenal, and power plant at Bangkok

April 21, 1943

(10th AF) 16 B-24's are dispatched to bomb the Bangsue Arsenal and other targets in Bangkok, but only 4 reach the target area and loose bombs over the city.

December 19, 1943

(10th AF) 20 B-24's fly a night strike against newly expanded dock area at Bangkok, causing considerable destruction.

December 23, 1943

(10th AF) 19 B-24's on a night raid bomb the railroad terminal at Bangkok; heavy explosions and large fires result.

Janurary 10, 1944

(10th AF) During the night of 9/10 Jan, 7 B-24's lay mines in the Menam River estuary near Bangkok. Also, B-24's during the day bomb marshalling yard and airfield in the Bangkok area

January 12, 1944

(14th AF) 14 B-24's bomb the Bangsue marshalling yard at Bangkok.

Januarary 19, 1944

(10th AF) 16 B-24's bomb the marshalling yard and Don Maung railroad station at Bangkok

February 5, 1944

(10th AF) 8 B-24s during the night of 5/6 Feb bomb Bangkok

February 10, 1944

(10th AF) 9 B-24s bomb the Ban Mah arsenal at Bangkok and Don Maung Airfield immediately to the N.

March 15, 1944

(10th AF) 8 other B-24s hit barracks near Bangkok.

June 6, 1944

(20th AF) First B-29 mission: 77 B-29s bomb the primary target-the railroad shops at Bangkok, Siam; Lost are five B-29s due to non-battle causes.

June 8, 1944

(10th AF ) B-24s mine the Bangkok area.

November 27, 1944

(20th AF) 55 B-29s bomb the Bangsue railroad yards at Bangkok

December 14, 1944

(20th AF) Mission 20: 48 B-29s, flying out of the Calcutta, India area, are sent to bomb a railroad bridge at Bangkok,Thailand; 33 hit the primary and 14 others hit targets of opportunity and alternate targets; they claim 0-1-0 enemy aircraft; 4 B-29s are lost.

January 2, 1945

Mission 24: 49 B-29s, operating from the Calcutta, India area, are dispatched to attack a railroad bridge at Bangkok; 44 hit the primary target and 2 hit an alternate and a target of opportunity; they claim 0-1-1 Japanese aircraft.

January 28, 1945

(20th AF) One B-29 bombs a bridge at Bangkok, without loss; the results are poor

February 7, 1945

(20th AF) Mission 35: 64 B-29s are dispatched to hit the Rama VI bridge at Bangkok, 58 bomb and effect the collapse of most of middle span of the bridge (this is the 3d strike at this target) and destroy the NE approach, no B-29s are lost.

Last Updated

August 28, 2012

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/thailand/bangkok/missions-bangkok.html

[EyesWideOpen]

WW2 bomb found at Bangkok MRT results in silver-surfing, old farts bickering about origins of bomb and history on a news forum site.

Love it.

Yep me too !!! Nice to see older men with some knowledge of history passing it on.

Guess the young guys on TV that proclaim they get Thai bar girls for free, would

have limited knowledge of history due to extensive time spent on video games....

And yes, I suspect that Thailand would be perfectly happy to forget WW2 ever

happened to them, as it did not go well for them. Always a bad move to pick

the losing side.....In fact, I'll bet you do not even know about the woman who saved

Thailand from the British at the end of the war, Betty McKenzie.

http://home.comcast.net/~dmckroot/thailand.htm

""About two or three months, I can't remember exactly how long but I think it was about two or three months, after the war ended low and behold over our ticker tape came a most horrifying piece of news information. That the United States, Britain, and Thailand had signed a treaty. Because of the puppet government that the Japanese set up in Thailand, Thailand was being ceded to the British Empire. This free country, for a thousand years, being ceded to the British Empire."

Edited June 3, 2014 by EyesWideOpen

[aboctok]

Are they sure it's not just a giant wooden phallus dropped from someone's keychain?

What do you mean "just" a giant wooden phallus? If it is, it might yet explode.

[lostmebike]

WW2 bomb found at Bangkok MRT results in silver-surfing, old farts bickering about origins of bomb and history on a news forum site.

Love it.

Yep me too !!! Nice to see older men with some knowledge of history passing it on.

Guess the young guys on TV that proclaim they get Thai bar girls for free, would

have limited knowledge of history due to extensive time spent on video games....

And yes, I suspect that Thailand would be perfectly happy to forget WW2 ever

happened to them, as it did not go well for them. Always a bad move to pick

the losing side.....In fact, I'll bet you do not even know about the woman who saved

Thailand from the British at the end of the war, Betty McKenzie.

http://home.comcast.net/~dmckroot/thailand.htm

""About two or three months, I can't remember exactly how long but I think it was about two or three months, after the war ended low and behold over our ticker tape came a most horrifying piece of news information. That the United States, Britain, and Thailand had signed a treaty. Because of the puppet government that the Japanese set up in Thailand, Thailand was being ceded to the British Empire. This free country, for a thousand years, being ceded to the British Empire."

Sorry to piss on your fire gramps but read all this before and guess what, I still didn't need a review today either ... 'in fact I bet you didn't even know that.'

Guess the young guys on TV that proclaim they get Thai bar girls for free, would

have limited knowledge of history due to extensive time spent on video games

Bar girls for free..video games, what on earth are you on about? You know nothing about me yet you insinuate that 'my type' are whoring and playing video games? Too many words from your 'history teaching' mouth I fear. I'm a working father with a family to support and certainly no time for video games or whores!

Regardless of your attempts to educate the masses, some of us just wanted to read about the bomb found at the MRT site yet instead SOME wished to hijack the thread with their 'knowlegde' .... sound like anyone we know???

My late grandfather served in Burma so I have always had an interest in the conflict from this part of the world, probably more than most do .. bet you didn't know that did ya???

[HerbalEd]

Don't blow it open with a hammer now, do not leave it to the ignorant wannabe authorities who are too worried about saving face

Did you not read that the bomb "was secured by the Air Force? No need to save face.

[joboss]

This is why some refer to thailand as 3rd world

"that exploded in April at a scrap-metal shop in Lat Pla Khao in Bangkok after workers tried to blowtorch it open."

What is the thought processes here? The bomb must be a dud it didnt explode when they dropped it lets cut it up for scrap.

Bit harsh with your comments.

I saw a photo of the “bomb”

It looked a lot more like a strong 44 gallon drum than a bomb.

Fatal mistake unfortunately.

[HerbalEd]

Where are the guys with the blow torches and the saws????

They're dead.

[HerbalEd]

Was Bangkok 'bombed' during WWII ?

Not a piss take, I didn't know.

What was the history?

Wikipedia is your friend! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Bangkok_in_World_War_II

"Allied bombing raids on the Thai capital city of Bangkok began even before Thailand had declared war, since the Empire of Japan was using the country as a staging area for its invasions of both Malaya and Burma, with the agreement of the Thai government after Japan's successful invasion of the southeast Asian country. The first raid came on January 7, 1942, when Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft flying fromRangoon, attacked military targets in the city.^[1][2] The American Volunteer Group, together with seven No. 113 Squadron RAF and three No. 45 Squadron RAFBlenheim bombers, were involved in the first raid.^[3] No. 113 Squadron's planes were piloted by No. 60 Squadron's air crew. The second night raid was carried out with 8 Blenheims on 24-25 January and included No. 60 Squadron RAF aircrew.^[4] A final raid was made three days later by four Blenheims. This was the last raid by Blenheims until May or June 1945."

Fact check: Thailand was not involved in WW2.

SIAM was.

This enables Thais to say Thailand has never been invaded.

Many of the Thai's I've spoken to don't even know there was such a thing as WWll.

[The stuttering parrot]

I think this thread has been blown out of all proportion !

That being said I quite enjoyed the read and the history lesson.

Thanks for your input!

Edited June 3, 2014 by The stuttering parrot

[EyesWideOpen]

WW2 bomb found at Bangkok MRT results in silver-surfing, old farts bickering about origins of bomb and history on a news forum site.

Love it.

Yep me too !!! Nice to see older men with some knowledge of history passing it on.

Guess the young guys on TV that proclaim they get Thai bar girls for free, would

have limited knowledge of history due to extensive time spent on video games....

And yes, I suspect that Thailand would be perfectly happy to forget WW2 ever

happened to them, as it did not go well for them. Always a bad move to pick

the losing side.....In fact, I'll bet you do not even know about the woman who saved

Thailand from the British at the end of the war, Betty McKenzie.

http://home.comcast.net/~dmckroot/thailand.htm

""About two or three months, I can't remember exactly how long but I think it was about two or three months, after the war ended low and behold over our ticker tape came a most horrifying piece of news information. That the United States, Britain, and Thailand had signed a treaty. Because of the puppet government that the Japanese set up in Thailand, Thailand was being ceded to the British Empire. This free country, for a thousand years, being ceded to the British Empire."

Sorry to piss on your fire gramps but read all this before and guess what, I still didn't need a review today either ... 'in fact I bet you didn't even know that.'

Guess the young guys on TV that proclaim they get Thai bar girls for free, would

have limited knowledge of history due to extensive time spent on video games

Bar girls for free..video games, what on earth are you on about? You know nothing about me yet you insinuate that 'my type' are whoring and playing video games? Too many words from your 'history teaching' mouth I fear. I'm a working father with a family to support and certainly no time for video games or whores!

Regardless of your attempts to educate the masses, some of us just wanted to read about the bomb found at the MRT site yet instead SOME wished to hijack the thread with their 'knowlegde' .... sound like anyone we know???

My late grandfather served in Burma so I have always had an interest in the conflict from this part of the world, probably more than most do .. bet you didn't know that did ya???

Well I certainly stand in awe of the knowledge you must be carrying inside your head, by the fact your grandfather served in Burma..... Wait a minute. My uncle served in the Pacific theater in WW2. Does that make me an expert there as well ?? As far as the gramps crack, that is somewhat amusing as I have a three year old daughter. Epic fail for the insult scoreboard.... As far as this story, it could be succinctly summed up in one one sentence. Not sure how much more discussion you feel the fact a bomb was found would justify. But as conversations tend to move in ripples by associated facts, yes a bomb from WW2 would tend to bring that topic up. If that is annoying or confusing to you, just step back from the keyboard....

See, the Stuttering Parrot enjoyed the bit of knowledge passed on. :-)

Edited June 3, 2014 by EyesWideOpen

[KevinB]

For those who love history - the moment the Vichy France Government was established after the capitulation of the French forces in Europe - Thailand invaded what was then French Indo-China - todays Cambodia and Laos. The French navy a tad pissed off because the Brits had knocked the sh** out of them in the Med - while they were still at anchor - was still active operating out of the rest of their Colony - the Vietnam of today. They sailed round the corner into the Gulf of Thailand with a couple of cruisers and support vessels and in a very unfair long range duel (they had sea planes that could be launched and recovered and were used to spot and range their guns) knocked the sh** out of the Thai navy - sinking most their major vessels and killing a number of sailors. I'm told you can dive to these wrecks.

A truce was quickly negotiated before the French navy could sail up to Bangkok and this peace deal was brokered and backed by the Imperial Japanese Government (still a friend of the Allies - ie pre- the bombing of Pearl Harbour and Singapore). The deal gave Thailand some big juicy bits of both Laos and Cambodia (they had to hand most back at the end of the War but not all of it and left, as we have discovered recently with the Temple, a number of outstanding regional border disputes).

I know it might be unpopular history but the Thai regime at the time connived with the Japanese to land troops and equipment and to cross Thai territory so they could launch their simultaneous attacks on the British Colonies of Malaya and Burma. In the early parts of that campaign the Thais helped themselves to parts of both Burma along the north west frontier and grabbed and occupied a big bit of Northern Malaya in the south of Thailand.

The landing of the Japanese expeditionary forces was "secret" - so much so that elements of the Thai army actually attacked them and they got thumped by the superior forces both in term of equipment and professionalism of a army already battle hardened from earlier campaigns against the Russians and the Chinese. The message was finally got to them that these were "friends" on their way to attack the British colonists (not our friends) in the neighbouring states.

A new film is just about to be released worldwide - "The Railwayman" - based on the excellent book by Eric Lomax - read it and see the movie if you can - it has an absolutely startling performance by Colin Firth. But the sad truth much of what happened on the Railway of Death was done with the full compliance of the Thai authorities at the time - thousands of British and Dutch troops captured in Singapore and the then Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) were shipped to the camps up on the River Kwai through the port of Bangkok or transported up from the south through Bangkok in cattle trucks. The most notorious Japanese Prison where some unspeakable things were done was in the heart of Bangkok - in fact some of the Commanders of that facility, loaned to the Japanese by the Thais, were actually executed after the war for war crimes. The truth hurts but for many Thais those prisoners and what was done to them was not a big deal they were only farangs.

History is important - at the time there was a very uncaring military regime in power that had its own agenda and was certainly not "with the People". They watched as thousand of Thais putting up resistance to the Japanese "occupation" were arrested and also sent to labour camps on the Death Railway. Knowing what really happened including the bombing of Bangkok (designed to shock the ruling elite into understanding that they were definitely on the wrong side of history) has it's message for today as well.

[HerbalEd]

post deleted

Edited June 3, 2014 by HerbalEd

[DekDaeng]

"Fact check: Thailand was not involved in WW2."

Fact check check; Thailand was involved in WW2, Siam was not.

Thailand was invaded by the Japanese, then by the Allies.

Could have been a Seppo or a Pommy bomb.