Water Aerodrome in history
Water Aerodrome is the name of a sub-district in the vicinity of Nonthaburi province, which is still commonly referred to today. Few people know the origin of this sub-district’s name. In the past, the Chao Phraya River area used to be a landing and takeoff area for airplanes, but there is no clear evidence of the historical background.
This photo was taken in the year 2582 BE (1939 AD) by Air Commodore Phra Sinsap Srisatkhom (Phak Kasasamlee), who held the position of Deputy Commander of the Royal Thai Air Force. The aircraft in the picture is a Shorts S-23 model of Imperial Airways, which conducted the inaugural flight from the United Kingdom to Australia, taking 10 days with overnight stops at hotels along the route for a total of 9 nights. Bangkok was one of the 9 cities where the hotel stops were made.
On that day, the airline invited several dignitaries to board the inaugural flight. This aircraft was one of the 31 aircraft of the same type that the company operated at that time. It had a specific name, Cordelia, registered as G-AEUD Cordelia, built by Shorts in the UK. It made its maiden flight on October 8, 2580 BE (1937 AD) for commercial flights with the company but was used for military purposes from July 2583 BE (1940 AD) to September 2584 BE (1941 AD). It was decommissioned on February 5, 2590 BE (1947 AD) and was destroyed and sold as scrap in Hythe in March of the same year. This photo may be the only existing photo of the water aerodrome in Thailand.
Thank you to the owner of the photo, information: Air Marshal Suchinda Watthanasuk.
