18 Apr 1945: RAF B-24 crashed west of Bangkok, killing all 9 crewmen

Note: the information for this webpage came primarily from Thansawath Saranyathadawong.

18 April 1945:

A Liberator VI, KH272,1 as Aircraft “D”, one in a flight of eight 356 Squadron Liberators, originating in Salbani Airfield,2, 100 km west of Calcutta, that flew about 1750 km to attack canal gates west of Bangkok:3

KH272’s specific target was Pratunam Bang Yang,4 in the Damnoen Saduak Canal:5

The specific assignment was:6

KH272 was seen to crash during its attack run:7

Further details were recorded:8

Subsequent Royal Thai Air Force archives explained (in translation):9

. . . the aircraft numbered KH272, code D, was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery near Bang Yang Gate, all 9 crew members were killed. . . .

(Note that Thansawath’s subsequent site visit and discussion with an eye witness contradicted this version (see below).)

The archives also provided these photos:

Looking WSW at bomb detonation on Pratunam Bang Yang10

Looking ENE at smoke resulting from crash of KH272 east of Pratunam Bang Yang:11

Following up on this, Thansawath visited the crash site:12

I went to the site, looking for an elder who might have information about the crash; luckily I found 91 year old Sa-nguan KuanPadung,13 who, as an eye-witness, provided important new details about this event.

On the morning of the crash, planes had come in at low altitude, circling the Bang Yang Gate area. The locals were warning that they would drop bombs and the first plane in did drop a bomb on the gate. But it did not explode right away. A second plane followed closely after the first plane and, as it passed over the gate, the bomb from the first plane went off. This seriously damaged the second plane which then crashed about 150 m east of the Bang Yang Gate. He showed me the area of the crash site; it was located about here: Crash site (Google Maps link).

After the raid he went to the crash site and found the plane’s wreckage had apparently totally submerged. Oil was leaking from the wreckage and continued to leak long after. Generally the local people avoided the site because they were frightened. Long after the war, they did scavenge the area for anything of value and a few were able to salvage some aluminum which they fashioned into combs. Following the war, canal maintenance and construction dredged the area several times, but he said that the plane engines were never found.

At some point after the war, there must have been a concerted effort to recover remains of the crew from the submerged wreckage: records from Kanchanaburi show that remains of six of the nine crew members were successfully recovered and buried:14

The witness, Sa-nguan, seemed unaware of this effort, though he may have thought it was just part of a dredging operation.

A current view, looking easterly, of the crash site:15

 

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2026 Jun 24
 First published on Internet

Last Updated on 24 June 2026

  1. Photo: British Liberator B Mk VI KH113 S of No 356 Squadron RAF after attacking the Japanese oilfield installations at Yenangyaung Burma (offsite link); my ref: \02500 Tango\_Crash sites N TH for Tango\DETAIL SHEETS\A450418 Damnoen Saduak canal\Product\Liberator B Mk VI KH113 S of No 356 Squadron RAF.jpg [↩]
  2. N22°36.74 E87°17.88[↩]
  3. Extract of Google Earth oblique view, annotated by author using Microsoft Publisher.[↩]
  4. N13°38.19 E100°11.72[↩]
  5. Extract from World aeronautical chart, Mae Nam Chao Phraya (2678) Burma-Thailand / published by Hydrographic Department Royal Thai Navy (1945) (offsite link): my ref: \bPROJECT\_MAPS\THAILAND Maps\COLLECTN U of Wisc\2678 Mae Nam Chao Phraya aero cht.jpg[↩]
  6. Attachment to thansawath email 18-Oct-22, 08:28; my ref: \02500 Tango\_Crash sites N TH for Tango\DETAIL SHEETS\A450418 Damnoen Saduak canal\Product\page AIR-27-1759-6-16 pt1.jpg[↩]
  7. Attachment to Thansawath email 18-Oct-22, 08:28; my ref: \02500 Tango\_Crash sites N TH for Tango\DETAIL SHEETS\A450418 Damnoen Saduak canal\Product\page AIR-27-1759-6-16 pt2.jpg[↩]
  8. Attachment to Thansawath email 18-Oct-22, 08:28; my ref: \02500 Tango\_Crash sites N TH for Tango\DETAIL SHEETS\A450418 Damnoen Saduak canal\Product\page AIR-27-1759-6-18 pt2.jpg[↩]
  9. EPD.Sor.A.T.A.: 1955 file; SRT 1970: 154; ACSEA-DOS #979; ACSEA-WIS #76; EAC-WIS #35 as provided by Sakpinit Promthep email of 18:37 14 Oct 2022[↩]
  10. Photo from Report, EPD.Sor.A.T.A.: 1955 file; SRT 1970: 154; ACSEA-DOS #979; ACSEA-WIS #76; EAC-WIS #35, provided by Sakpinit Promthep email of 18:37 14 Oct 2022; my ref: \02500 Tango\_Crash sites N TH for Tango\DETAIL SHEETS\A450418 Damnoen Saduak canal\Product\Bombing lock.jpg[↩]
  11. Photo from Report, EPD.Sor.A.T.A.: 1955 file; SRT 1970: 154; ACSEA-DOS #979; ACSEA-WIS #76; EAC-WIS #35, provided by Sakpinit Promthep email of 18:37 14 Oct 2022; my ref: \02500 Tango\_Crash sites N TH for Tango\DETAIL SHEETS\A450418 Damnoen Saduak canal\Product\Crashing lock.jpg[↩]
  12. Thansawath email of 21:14 14 Oct 2022; my ref:\02500 Tango\_Crash sites N TH for Tango\DETAIL SHEETS\A450418 Damnoen Saduak canal\Retired\Alex emails-original file.docx[↩]
  13. Photo by Thansawath, attached to email referenced above[↩]
  14. Attachment to Thansawath email 29-Nov-22, 21:15[↩]
  15. Google Earth oblique view; my ref: \02500 Tango\_Crash sites N TH for Tango\DETAIL SHEETS\A450418 Damnoen Saduak canal\Product\GE vw lkg NE oblique.jpg[↩]
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