Thonburi was a Coast Defence vessel built in Japan for Siam (Thailand) in the late 1930s (note that her name is sometimes transliterated as Dhonburi, however all the correspondence I have received from the Royal Thai Navy on this vessel has used the alternative spelling Thonburi). She was sunk by the French in the battle of Koh Chang (quite possibly France's only naval victory since Napoleonic times), but later raised and returned to service. After decommissioning, the forward turret and superstructure was preserved in the grounds of the Royal Thai Naval Academy in Bangkok as a memorial to the sailors who died at Koh Chang.
The memorial consists of the superstructure and one turret from Thonburi. The superstructure section is structurally complete and reasonably well maintained, however there are relatively few fittings remaining. There is a memorial room for the fallen sailors in the forward compartment on 1 deck, but the other internal compartments are largely empty.
This memorial has probably the only surviving Japanese 8-inch gun turret (at least above water), so it is a priceless relic. I was unable to go inside the turret, but had a good look at the exterior. The entire turret was encased with what appeared to be a metal heat shield preventing direct sunlight onto the armour, and there were some unusual contraptions above the gunport which appeared to be intended to prevent water ingress, although it is hard to see them being effective in the event of green seas over the bow.
Another point of interest to me was the armoured conning tower. The rangefinder still appears to be mounted on the foretop, however I only went up as far as the bridge top so didn't inspect it closely.
Access to the Naval Academy is very easy - they have their own train station on the BTS system, however Thonburi is not open to the public, so arrangements need to be made in advance with the Naval Academy to visit.
