Thonburi and her sister ship, HTMS Sri Ayudhya, were designed following the incorporation of the earlier Rattanakosindra-class gunboats into the Siamese Navy in the 1920s.

Priorities for the navy consisted of protecting the extensive Thai coastline, and coastal gunboats were viewed as the best resource.

Several foreign firms from European countries offered a variety of designs, but in the end the Japanese company Kawasaki won the tender.

Both ships were seized by Italy in 1941 before construction had finished (they were never completed), leaving Thonburi and Sri Ayudhya as the most powerful combatants in Thai service.

Both ships of the class had entered service by the time hostilities had broken out in Europe during the Second World War.

Part of her bridge and forward gun turret are preserved as a memorial at the Royal Thai Naval Academy with other relics from her such as the remains of her bow garuda and bell would be spread around the country in various museums.