Royal Thai Naval Air Division
The Royal Thai Naval Air Division or RTNAD (Thai: กองบินทหารเรือ) is the Naval aviation of the Royal Thai Navy. The division was officially established on 7 December 1926.[1] The RTNAD has two air wings and one Flying Unit of HTMS Chakri Naruebet, operating 23 fixed-wing aircraft and 26 helicopters[3] from U-Tapao, Songkhla, and Phuket. The First Royal Thai Navy wing has three squadrons; the Second Royal Thai Navy wing has three squadrons and another wing for HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit.
| Royal Thai Naval Air Division | |
|---|---|
| กองบินทหารเรือ[1] | |
 Royal Thai Navy Aircraft Marking | |
| Active | 7 December 1926[1] |
| Country |  |
| Branch |  |
| Type | Naval aviation |
| Size | 1,200 Active Personnel [2] Approx. 49+ aircraft[3] |
| Anniversaries | 7 December[1] |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
History
The establishment Royal Thai Naval Air Division began in 1921, when the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse gave an opinion to the Naval Command Council of Ministry of the Navy on 23 November 1921.[1] The Naval Aviation Division was expedient to set up an air fleet using Sattahip as a base with 2 seaplanes. The Naval Command Council approved this proposal on 7 December 1926.[1]
Later, the Royal Thai Naval Air Division has more aircraft living with Royal Thai Air Force Place there are some inconveniences so in 1957, the Navy built the Airport coming up at Ban Utapao, Rayong Province by using the navy budget during construction, the United States offered construction assistance and requested to use some parts of U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield in return.
Structure
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The headquarters of Royal Thai Naval Air Division has 10 commanding units as follows;[4]:
- Personnel Division
- Intelligence Division
- Operations Division
- Logistics Division
- Division of Communication and Information Technology
- Budget Division
- Science and Safety Aviation Division
- Division of Engineering Plans
- Administration Department
- Finance Department
Commands
Royal Thai Naval Air Division is a combat unit under commissioned of Royal Thai Fleet. The aviation division is divided into 6 regiments, corresponding to one additional command unit namely; Wing 1 Regiment, Wing 2 Regiment, Air Operations Control Regiment, The Flight Station Regiment, Aircraft Maintenance and Repair Center Regiment, Security Regiment and one additional command unit of HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit.[4]
- Royal Thai Navy Airfields
- U-Tapao RTNAF used for responsible tasked over the northern part of Gulf of Thailand.[5]
- Songkhla RTNAF used for responsible tasked over the southern part of Gulf of Thailand.[5]
- Phuket RTNAF used for responsible tasked over the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean).[5]
- Chanthaburi RTNAF used as a frontal operating airfield for Royal Thai Marine Corps.[5]
- Narathiwat RTNAF used as a frontal operating airfield for Royal Thai Marine Corps.[5]
- Nakorn Phanom RTNAF used for support Riverine Patrol Regiment tasked along the Mekong River.[5]
| Squadron | Status | Role | Type | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing 1 | |||||
| 101 | Active | SAR | Maritime patrol aircraft | ||
| 102 | Active | ASuW and ASW | Maritime patrol aircraft | ||
| 103 | Active | Forward air control | Maritime patrol aircraft | ||
| 104 | Inactive | ||||
| Wing 2 | |||||
| 201 | Active | Military transport | Maritime patrol aircraft | ||
| 202 | Active | Military transport | Helicopter | ||
| 203 | Active | ASuW and Military transport | Helicopter | ||
| HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit | |||||
| 1 | Inactive | ||||
| 2 | Active | ASW and Military transport | Helicopter | ||
Aircraft
Active aircraft
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Quantity | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-wing aircraft | |||||
| Fokker F27 |  |
Anti-submarine warfare, Military transport |
2[3] 3[3] |
MK400 MK200 | |
| Dornier Do 228 |  |
Search and rescue | 7[3] | Also used in Royal Rain Project. | |
| NAX seaplane | |
Search and rescue | 3 or 4[6] | Serial no.s NAX-01 to NAX-04, locally built by Naval Aircraft Experimental.[6] NAX-01 crashed and sank in shallow water in mid-2017, and it is unclear whether it was subsequently returned to service.[7] | |
| CASA/IPTN CN-235 |  |
Maritime patrol aircraft | (+3) | 3 on order[3] | |
| Embraer ERJ-135LR |  |
VIP transport aircraft | 2[3] | ||
| Cessna 337 Super Skymaster |  |
FAC aircraft | 4 3 2 |
H-SP SP G | |
| Helicopter | |||||
| Sikorsky S-76B | |
Search and rescue, Military transport |
5[3] | ||
| Super Lynx 300 |  |
Anti-surface warfare | 2[3] | ||
| SH-70B Seahawk | |
Anti-submarine warfare | 6[3] | HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit. | |
| MH-60S Knighthawk | |
Military transport | 2[3] | HTMS Chakri Naruebet Flying Unit. | |
| Eurocopter EC145 | |
Military transport | 5[3] | ||
| Bell 212 | |
Military transport | 7[3] | ||
| Unmanned aerial vehicles | |||||
| KSM150 | |
Unmanned aerial vehicles | 2 | Defense Technology Institute | |
| Camcopter S-100 |  |
Unmanned aerial vehicles | (1) | One on order. | |
Historic aircraft
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Rank structure
| Equivalent NATO Code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | Cadet Officer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officer ranks |
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| จอมพลเรือ | พลเรือเอก | พลเรือโท | พลเรือตรี | พลเรือจัตวา1 | นาวาเอก | นาวาโท | นาวาตรี | เรือเอก | เรือโท | เรือตรี | นักเรียนนายเรือ | |
| Admiral of the Fleet | Admiral | Vice Admiral | Rear Admiral | Commodore or Rear Admiral (lower half)1 |
Captain | Commander | Lieutenant Commander | Lieutenant | Lieutenant Junior Grade |
Sub Lieutenant | Midshipman | |
| ||||||||||||
| Equivalent NATO Code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enlisted ranks |
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No insignia |
| พันจ่าเอกพิเศษ | พันจ่าเอก | พันจ่าโท | พันจ่าตรี | จ่าเอก | จ่าโท | จ่าตรี | พลทหาร | |
| Master Chief Petty Officer |
Senior Chief Petty Officer |
Chief Petty Officer |
Petty Officer 1st class |
Petty Officer 2nd Class |
Petty Officer 3rd Class |
Seaman | Seaman apprentice | |
See also
- Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse
- Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters
- Military of Thailand
- Royal Thai Army
- Royal Thai Air Force
- Royal Thai Marine Corps
- Royal Thai Naval Academy
References
- Royal Thai Naval, Air Division (17 November 2019). "History of Royal Thai Naval Air Division". www.thaiflynavy.org. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- บำรุงสุข, สุรชาติ (18 July 2019). "เปิดข้อมูลอำนาจกำลังรบไทย". www.matichonweekly.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- World Air Forces, 2019 (17 November 2019). "History of Royal Thai Naval Air Division". www.flightglobal.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Royal Thai Naval, Air Division (17 November 2019). "Structure of Royal Thai Naval Air Division". www.thaiflynavy.org. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- patch, thai (17 November 2019). "Squadron". www.thaipatch.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- thai, mariner (3 May 2012). "'เครื่องบินทะเล' ลาดตระเวนชายฝั่ง". www.marinerthai.net. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- https://www.pattayamail.com/news/navy-plane-crashes-sattahip-178511
- World Air Forces – Historical Listings Thailand (THL), archived from the original on 25 January 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Thai Navy. |
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