Sanam Bin Nam

[ncr]

For a long time already I have been wondering what is Sanam Bin Nam ("Water Airport")........?

Where does the name of this road in Nonthaburi (also to be found on Chatchawal's Future Mass Transit Map) come from? Anyone knows? Was there a facility for hydroplanes on the Chao Phraya River in the past, or what?

Thanks in advance for the enlightenment.

[Wisarut]

Khun NCR,

There used to be a flying ship (Ruea Bun) - commercial hydroplanes using Chaophraya River around Kae Rai - Bang Buathong as runway -> circa late 1930's - 1950's. Thuse this is where Sanam Binnam is coming from ...


As the aviation technology becomes more progressive, the hydroplane have become endangered species. ... Only the name survive ...

[The Enforcer!]

Had a quick look at commercial flying boats and it seems that Imperial Airways (UK) used Short Empire Flying Boats (the S23 model) from 1937 to 1940 spurring off from the Australia route via Penang to stop at Bangkok and thence to Hongkong.

Unfortunately I cannot find reference to where they landed in Bangkok.

The Enforcer!

[The Enforcer!]

Just found another Flying boat reference.

At the start of WWII, BOAC (as Imperial Airways had become) linked their London-Cairo-South Africa route to their London-Cairo-Australia route such that the Flying boats ran twice-weekly linking Durban with Sydney, via East and Central Africa, Khartourn, Cairo, Palestine, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, India, Burma, Siam, and Singapore. This was known as the Great Horseshoe Route!

This lasted until December 1941 when Siam (renamed Thailand) was no longer an option.

The entire network soon collapsed as the Japanese Airforce took air superiority, and was not replaced after the war ended in August 1945.

The Enforcer!