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In 1941, Bangkok (100.529E 13.734N), capital of Thailand, was the only significant metropolis in this otherwise backwards and rural country. It is located on the shallow Chao Phraya River and is surrounded by marshy terrain. The city has many canals connected to the river.
Bangkok has been the national capital
of Thailand since 1782
and was built up as a rice
and teak export center by
King Chulalongkon. By 1937 the population was about 530,000 persons.
Though well upstream of the Gulf of
Bangkok, the city had
significant port facilities at Klong
Toi, south of the city
center. The
port handled some 650,000 tons of cargo in 1940, mostly rice but also a
significant amount of rubber, and
the port had berths for at
least two
dozen ships.
There was also a modern military airfield
at Don
Muang.
Bangkok was occupied by the Japanese on 9 December
1941, who pressured the Thais into a nominal alliance. The city
remained under Axis
control
for the duration of the war, though the city was the target of the first combat mission by B-29s on 5 June 1944. The city later came under air attack by B-24 Liberators and even by P-51 Mustangs, which strafed aircraft at the airfield.
Climate Information:
Elevation: 7'
Temperatures: Jan 89/68, Apr 95/77, Jul 90/76, Oct 88/75, record 106/52
Rainfall: Jan 1/0.3, Apr 3/2.3, Jul 13/6.3, Oct 14/8.1 == 55.0" per
References
Craven and Cate (1950; accessed 2012-6-29)
Ouyyanont (1998; accessed 2014-6-8)
Saunders (1954; accessed 2012-6-29)
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