US aid for Thai Civil Aviation, 1947–1959

Thailand's aerial geostrategic importance led the United States to offer a generous air aid programme in the 1950s. The US funded the refurbishment of airfields across the country: the extension and hardening of airstrips, and the construction of new tarmacs, terminal buildings and navigation equipment. They also provided technical training to Thai nationals. The leading US international airline Pan American Airways helped modernize Thai Airways. In this paper, I explore the broad outlines of this programme and focus in particular on Pan American's assistance. I argue that although the airport and navigation assistance portions of the programme were largely successful, the Pan American assistance side of the project largely failed to meet expectations.