Location
Borders to the north by Burma (Myanmar) and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea.

Wartime History
Attacked by Japanese on December 8, 1941. At first Thais resisted, but then surrendered. The The Phibun government allowing the Japanese to use the Gulf of Thailand and the country became a satellite nation of the Japanese, fighting alongside the Japanese. Phibun declared war on the USA and Britain in 1942 but Seni Pramoj, the Thai ambassador in Washington, refuse to deliver the declaration. Phibun resigned in 1944 under pressure from the Thai underground resistance (Thai Seri). After V-J day in 1945, Seni became premier Post war, Japanese planes  were used until 1949.

P-38 wreck found in North Thailand
SUBIN KHUENKAEW, September 2004
The wreck of a US combat aircraft, believed to be from World War II period, has been found near the Burmese border in Wiang Haeng district. The wreckage is believed a P-38, a twin-engine twin-boom fighter-reconnaissance plane, also known as a Lightning. The discovery was revealed by Anuchat Palakawongse na Ayudhaya, of the Environmental Division of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, who recently went to Ban Huay Khrai near the border to do artifact research. Mr Anuchat said a Thai of Shan origin identified only as Long, 73, had led him to the wreck. Mr Long said he and other villagers had seen the plane crash, but could not recall exactly how many years back. They heard a loud explosion about 2km west of the village and saw black smoke billowing in the air. ``We ran to the scene and saw the plane in flames. A man had died in the plane,'' Mr Anuchat quoted Mr Long as saying. At the time, Japanese soldiers had a base on the bank of Mae Taeng river near the village. Mr Anuchat reported the discovery to the air force. A team led by Group Captain Sakpinit Promthep of the air force museum went to the scene recently and identified the plane as a P-38. He said it was fitted with four machine guns and was believed to have been brought down during a reconnaissance mission. At the time, the US had an air base in Yunnan, China, and another inside Burma. He said a US team was planning to go to the crash site.

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Last Updated
May 14, 2011