Battle of Koh Chang

Battle of Ko Chang
Part of the Franco-Thai War
A map of the battle of Ko Chang
Date 17 January 1941 Location Gulf of Thailand Result Vichy French victory Strategic result disputed Japanese diplomatic intervention resulting in ceasefire
Belligerents
Vichy France	Thailand
Commanders and leaders
Régis Bérenger	Luang Phrom Viraphan †
Strength
1 light cruiser 4 avisos 9 aircraft	1 Coastal defence ship 2 torpedo boats Unknown number of aircraft
Casualties and losses
11 killed 1 light cruiser damaged 1 aircraft destroyed	36 killed 2 torpedo boats sunk 1 coastal defence ship grounded Limited damage to shore facilities

Vichy French victory

The Battle of Ko Chang took place on 17 January 1941 during the Franco-Thai War and resulted in a victory by the French Navy over the Royal Thai Navy. During the battle, a flotilla of French warships attacked a smaller force of Thai vessels, including a coastal defence ship.

In the end, two Thai ships were sunk and one was heavily damaged. Within a month of the engagement, the Vichy French and the Thais negotiated a peace which ended the war.

The Franco-Thai War was going quite poorly for the French land forces, who were ill-equipped to deal with the larger Thai Army. The French Governor General of Indochina and Commander-in-Chief Naval Forces, Admiral Jean Decoux, decided Indochina's best chance at stopping the incursions would be attempt a naval attack on the Thailand's fleet and coastal cities. This would clear the way for bombardment missions to support a counter-offensive along the Cambodian frontier.

Although comparatively small, the Royal Thai Navy had been modernized with the recent acquisition of vessels from both Japan and Italy. The major units of the fleet included two Japanese-built armoured coast defence vessels, which displaced 2,500 long tons (2,500 t) and carried 8-inch (203 mm) guns, two older British-built armoured gunboats with 6-inch (152 mm) guns, 12 torpedo boats, and four submarines.

In addition, the Royal Thai Air Force had in its inventory over 140 aircraft, including relatively modern Mitsubishi Ki-30 (Allied reporting name "Ann") light bombers, which saw extensive service against the French during the war. These aircraft were quite capable of disrupting any French naval operation which might be mounted. Other less capable aircraft in the Thai inventory included P-36 Hawk fighters, 70 Chance-Vought O2U-2 Corsair biplanes, six Martin B-10 bombers, and several Avro 504 trainers.

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