HTMS Sri Ayudhya
Port-stern view
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| History | |
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 Thailand
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| Name: | HTMS Sri Ayudhya |
| Namesake: | Kingdom of Ayutthaya |
| Builder: | Kawasaki, Kobe, Japan |
| Laid down: | 1936 |
| Launched: | 31 July 1937 |
| Acquired: | 16 June 1938 |
| Commissioned: | 19 July 1938 |
| Struck: | 8 October 1959 |
| Fate: | Sank on 1 July 1951 during the Manhattan Rebellion |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Thonburi-class coastal defence ship |
| Displacement: | 2,350 metric tons |
| Length: | 77 m (253 ft) |
| Beam: | 13.41 m (44.0 ft) |
| Draft: | 4.2 m (14 ft) |
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| Complement: | 234 officers and men |
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HTMS Sri Ayudhya (Thai: เรือหลวงศรีอยุธยา, rtgs: Si Ayutthaya) was a coastal defence ship of the Royal Thai Navy. It was in service from 1938 to 1951, being active during the Franco-Thai war in which its sister ship HTMS Thonburi was heavily damaged in the Battle of Ko Chang. Sri Ayudhya later served as flagship of the navy until it was sunk as a result of fighting in the Manhattan Rebellion.
In the 1930s the Royal Siamese Navy pursued plans to upgrade and expand its limited forces. This was approved by parliament in 1935, and 18 million baht was allocated for the procurement of new equipment. In December 1935, the navy contracted the Japanese Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation of Kobe to build two coastal defence ships for 5.727 million baht. Sri Ayudhya was delivered on 16 June 1938 and commissioned on 19 July; its sister ship Thonburi followed in October that year.
When the Franco-Thai war broke out in late 1940, the navy assigned Sri Ayudhya and Thonburi to the First Squadron, tasked with patrolling the eastern waters against potential French attacks. On the night of 14 January, the group led by Thonburi set sail from Sattahip Naval Base to relieve Sri Ayudhya and its convoy, which had been stationed at the island of Ko Chang in Trat Province. They rendezvoused the following morning, and the Sri Ayudhya group returned to Sattahip. Two days later, at dawn on 17 January, Thonburi and other ships in the group were engaged by French naval forces in what became the Battle of Ko Chang.Sri Ayudhya was sent to assist in the battle, but only arrived in the afternoon after hostilities had ceased. However, some French reports erroneously noted that Sri Ayudhya was damaged by a torpedo during the battle.
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Wikipedia