Air power in Thailand can be dated from 1913, when the Army Aviation Unit was established in a rice field south of Bangkok (the present site of the Royal Bangkok Club). The unit was the brainchild of His Royal Highness Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanart, the then Army Chief-of-Staff, who saw the need to build up air power as part of the country's defence programme. The first air arm started out with only eight French-made aircraft-four Nieuport monoplanes and four Breguet biplanes--and three pilot-cum-mechanics who had just completed two years of flying training in France. The three aviation pioneers--Major Luang Saksalyavudh, Captain Luang Arvudhsikikom, and First Lieutenant Thip Ketudat (ranks and titles at the time) and Prince Chakrabongse have since been regarded as the forefathers of the Royal Thai Air Force.
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