Coup Atlas Research Database
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80011161947ConspiracyDissident coup

Thailand, 1947 — dissident coup conspiracy

Thailand (THA)Southeast Asia, AsiaNovember 16, 1947

Event Summary

The dataset records an event coded as a dissident coup conspiracy in Thailand on 16 November 1947, during the acutely turbulent period around the successful military coup of 8 November 1947, in which the so-called Coup Group led by Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, Phin Choonhavan, and Kat Katsongkhram overthrew the government of Luang Thamrong, the front man of the civilian statesman Pridi Banomyong, and installed the royalist Khuang Aphaiwong as prime minister. In the preceding months the government of Thamrong had itself uncovered and suppressed plots against it, and around November it had arrested twenty air force officers on charges of plotting to seize the government. The dataset's 16 November coding, distinct from the successful 8 November coup that is a separate base event, most plausibly reflects one of the counter-plots or alleged conspiracies within this chaotic transition, when the Pridi and Coup Group factions maneuvered against one another.

Pridi fled into exile, and Phibun would return formally to the premiership in April 1948, beginning a decade of rule marked by repeated coup attempts.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The royalist Khuang government installed by the November 1947 Coup Group held office; the transition brought Phibun back toward power
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Khuang Aphaiwong (prime minister installed after the 8 November coup, target)
Plaek Phibunsongkhram and the Coup Group (dominant faction)
Pridi Banomyong and allied officers (rival faction)

Sources

The coup of 8 November 1947 ousted the government of Pridi's front man Luang Thamrong and installed the royalist Khuang Aphaiwong as prime minister, led by Phibun, Phin Choonhavan, and Kat Katsongkhram.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, 1947 Thai coup d'etat open source ↗
Under the Thamrong government twenty air force officers were arrested in November on charge of plotting to seize the government.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, 1947 Thai coup d'etat open source ↗
After the coup Pridi fled the country and eventually took refuge in China, and the coup leaders appointed an interim government headed by Khuang.
SOURCE REVIEWED GlobalSecurity, November 1947 Coup open source ↗
In April 1948 Phibun, by then a field marshal, forcibly removed Khuang from office and took over as prime minister, beginning a second premiership plagued by repeated coup attempts.
SOURCE REVIEWED GlobalSecurity, November 1947 Coup open source ↗

Editorial Note

Dataset date 16 November 1947 falls within the chaotic transition around the successful 8 November 1947 coup (a separate base event); it most plausibly reflects one of the counter-plots or alleged conspiracies of that period, such as the air force officers' plot uncovered under the Thamrong government, with the specific 16 November event lightly documented and flagged. First Thailand conspiracy record in this run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
80011161947

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The royalist Khuang government installed by the November 1947 Coup Group held office; the transition brought Phibun back toward power.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

New York Times

“PLOT FORESTALLED, BANGKOK DECLARES: Siamese Army Makes Arrests – Also Revives Charges in Case of Ananda’s Death,” November 16, 1947

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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