A line-up of aircraft at Don Muang for the official ceremony for the return of the RSAS to Siam from Europe in March 1919. The Siamese aviators brought back several types of aircraft acquired in France, including, as seen here, some Nieuport 11s, 17s, Spad 7s and Breguet 14s.

With its Renault V12 engine running, a Breguet 14 of the Royal Siamese Air Service is prepared for take-off with a female passenger in the rear seat. The type became immensely popular with local people during visits to the country’s more remote outposts; for most it was their first experience of an aircraft

A rare photograph of a formation of RSAS Breguet 14s in flight. Although perhaps not an aesthetic masterpiece, the Breguet 14 was an eminently practical aeroplane and was one of the first in the world to incorporate a large percentage of Duralumin - then still a relatively modern invention - in its construction. The type first flew in November 1916.

The capacious fuselage of the Breguet 14 lent it the flexibility to be adapted to various roles, the 14Tbis ambulance version being the most heavily modifed. Early ambulance variants, notably the 14S (S for Sanitaire) accommodated the stretchers behind the pilot, but the 14Tbis, as seen here, located the pilot well aft of the wings.

Five Breguet 14 fuselages in the final stages of construction before being mated to their wings at the Aeronautical Workshops at Don Muang. The high quality of the work undertaken by the Siamese at the workshops surprised many of the Western military attaches who visited the airfield

The noted American military aviator and advocate of air power Brig-Gen William L. "Billy" Mitchell (seen in an RSAS Breguet 14) was touring Asia.

A Breguet 14 of Kong Bin Noi 2 at Don Muang in 1933, some weeks before the outbreak of the Siamese civil war. Most of the unit, as well as the vast majority of the RSAS, remained loyal to the government. Note the two upward-pointing Lewis guns fitted to the ring mounting attached to the observer’s position behind the pilot.

A wounded soldier is loaded aboard a Breguet 14Tbis ambulance variant of Kong Bin Yai 2. This was the definitive version of the ambulance variant, with the cockpit located well aft of the enclosed cabin, which could accommodate two stretchers.

A Breguet 14 of observation unit Kong Bing Yai 2 at Don Muang in the early 1920s. The type established a reputation during the war in Europe as one of the finest Allied day bomber and observation aircraft. As well as providing sterling service for the French, some 370 examples of the type were delivered to the US Army Air Service.

The Breguets of the RSAS were often adorned with motifs and paintings of particular relevance to the many donors who gave money for the acquisition of a “local” aircraft. This example has a shell motif painted on the fuselage, above which is inscribed the donor’s name.

A Breguet 14 of the RSAS at a flying display in the northern city of Lampang on February 28, 1924. The Breguets had individual numbers applied to their fins, this example bearing the number 11, forward of the rudder which is painted with stripes in the national colours of red, white and blue.

The Breguet 14 played an important role in the development of civil aviation in Siam, the RSAS using the type to inaugurate an airmail service to the north-eastern part of the country in June 1922. A seen here, the Breguets carried mail bags in nets on the side of the fuselage and in metal containers fitted under the lower wings outboard of the undercarriage.

In July 1930 the nation’s first commercial aviation enterprise, the Aerial Transport Company of Siam Ltd, was established. Nevertheless, the RSAS was still occasionally tasked with flying services to some of the more remote areas not covered by the fledgling airline. Numbered “9”, this Breguet is seen here at Chiang Mai in 1934.

The Breguet 14 was finally replaced in the mid-1950s by the Vought V-93S Corsair, a type which was also assembled under licence in Siam. The contribution of the Breguet to Thai aviation is enshrined in a replica built in France and moved to the Royal Thai Air Force Museum in Bangkok, wearing RSAS colours and the fin number “1”.