Battle of Prachuap Khiri Khan
| Battle of Prachuab Khirikhan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Japanese invasion of Thailand | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of Thailand, RTAF Fifth Wing | Empire of Japan, 143rd Infantry Regiment | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Prawat Chumsai | Kisoyoshi Utsunomiya | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 42 killed 27 wounded 3 aircraft destroyed |
417 killed 300+ wounded |
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The Battle of Prachuab Khrikhan was an early engagement of the Japanese invasion of Thailand in the Southeast Asian theatre of World War II. It was fought on 8–9 December 1941 at the airfield of Prachuap Khiri Khan in Thailand, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand along the Kra Isthmus. The Japanese meant to use Thailand as a base to strike at British possessions in Burma and Malaya and attacked Thailand without warning.
About 03:00 on 8 December 1941, the 2nd Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment, 55th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, under the command of Major Kisoyoshi Utsunomiya, began landing troops at Prachuab Khiri Khan. When informed of the invasion, Wing Commander Mom Luang Prawat Chumsai of Kong Bin Noi (Squadron) 5 immediately gave orders to resist.
The units on the airfield were equipped with six heavy and two light machine guns, which they immediately turned against the Japanese troops trying to surround the airfield. The small garrison of pilots and ground crew was reinforced by members of the constabulary and the Yuwachon Thaharn (a quasi-military teenage auxiliary) who had managed to escape from the town of Prachuap Khiri Khan after the Japanese captured the telegraph office and the police station.
Despite the fact that the Japanese occupied part of the airfield, Kong Bin Noi 5's pilots attempted to take off at sunrise to bomb and strafe the advancing Japanese.
Chief Warrant Officer Prom Chuwong was first to take off in a Hawk III. Japanese ground fire quickly shot him down, killing him. The Japanese shot down two more Hawks as they took off, killing both pilots, and wounded a third pilot as he brought his Hawk onto the runway. Only one other pilot managed to get airborne. Flying Officer Man Prasongdi took off in a Hawk III armed with four 50 kg bombs and attempted to attack Japanese transports in Ao Manao harbor, but he could not locate them due to heavy fog and rain.
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