RAF Kai Tak - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

RAF Kai Tak was a Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

station in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. It was opened in 1927 and used for seaplane

Seaplane

A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...

s. The RAF flight operated a few land based aircraft as well as having spare aircraft for naval units.

History

From 1968 to 1978 it was used by various RAF helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

units, as well as the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force was an auxiliary unit of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force, based in Hong Kong. In preparation for the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, the unit was disbanded on 1 April 1993.Although technically an armed...

and Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps Air Unit. The RAF left Kai Tak and moved most other operations to Sek Kong Airfield.

From 1993 onwards the civilian Government Flying Service

Government Flying Service (Hong Kong)

The Government Flying Service is a disciplined unit of the Government of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 April 1993, when Hong Kong was under British rule. It then took over all the non-military operations of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force , which was an auxiliary unit of the United...

replaced Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

at Kai Tak, thus ending the RAF presence at the airport.

The apron and the old NCO Mess areas were used by the Royal Hong Kong Police Force as the Police Driving School premises for a number of years until re-sited.

Non-Military Users

It was the main airfield in Hong Kong housing other non-military users:

Far East Flying Training School founded in the 1920s - later changed its name to Far East Flying and Technical School.
The Hong Kong Flying Club 1927
Aero Club of Hong Kong 1962.
offices of various airlines including:
- Cathay Pacific
  Cathay Pacific
  Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...
- Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO)
- Hong Kong Polytechnic
- Hong Kong Aviation Club
  Hong Kong Aviation Club
  The Hong Kong Aviation Club was established in 1982 upon the amalgamation of the Hong Kong Flying Club, the Aero Club of Hong Kong and the Far East Flying & Technical School.-History:...
- Heliservices (Hong Kong) Limited
- Macau Aerial Transport Company
- British Overseas Airways Corporation
  British Overseas Airways Corporation
  The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...

Aircraft

During the 1940s, Japanese

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

A6M Zero

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...

fighters were based at Kai Tak.

A list of aircraft stationed there:

Builder / Model	Type	Number	Dates
Gloster Meteor Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...	fighter		– 1962
de Havilland Vampire De Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...	fighter		– 1962
de Havilland Venom De Havilland Venom The de Havilland DH 112 Venom was a British postwar single-engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. It served with the Royal Air Force as a single-seat fighter-bomber and two-seat night fighter....	fighter		– 1962
Fairey Flycatcher Fairey Flycatcher -See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.* Taylor, H A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-X....	fighter		1927–?
Hawker Horsley Hawker Horsley \|-See also:-Bibliography:* Jarrett, Philip. "By Day and By Night: Hawker Horsley part 1". Aeroplane Monthly, Volume 21 No 10, Issue 246, October 1993. pp. 32–40....	fighter	3	1935–1937
de Havilland Tiger Moth De Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...	fighter	2	1935–1937
F4U Corsair F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and...	fighter		1950s
Bristol Beaufighter Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...	fighter		1950s
de Havilland Hornet De Havilland Hornet The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet was a piston engine fighter that further exploited the wooden construction techniques pioneered by de Havilland's classic Mosquito. Entering service at the end of the Second World War, the Hornet equipped postwar RAF Fighter Command day fighter units in the UK and was...	fighter		1950s
Hawker Hunter Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...	fighter		1950s–1960s

Squadrons

The Japanese were stationed at Kai Tak during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

and extended the runway at the base.

Japan Force Communications Flight Squadron (28 April 1946 – xxx xxxx)

A list of RAF squadrons at Kai Tak:

Hong Kong Communication Flight Squadron (12 September 1945 – 15 January 1947)
No. 132 Squadron RAF
No. 132 Squadron RAF
No. 132 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a fighter unit in World War II.-Formation and World War I:No...

(15 September 1945 – 15 April 1946)
No. 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service and saw active service in both World Wars, the Korean War and in Malaya...

(17 September 1945 – 28 April 1946)
No. 681 Squadron RAF
No. 681 Squadron RAF
No. 681 Squadron RAF was a photo-reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.-History:It was first formed out of No. 3 PRU, at Dum Dum in India on 2 January 1943, as part of RAF Far East Air Force...

(27 September – 23 December 1945)
No 200 Staging Post RAF (October 1945 – June 1946)
No 1331 Wing RAF Regiment (xxx xxxx – May 1946)
No. 96 Squadron RAF
No. 96 Squadron RAF
No. 96 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron. The squadron served on the Western Front during World War II and the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. No. 96 Squadron served in a variety of roles such as night fighter cover and transportation. It was disbanded in 1959,...

(16 April – 1 June 1946)
No. 110 Squadron RAF
No. 110 Squadron RAF
-Formation and World War I:No. 110 Squadron RFC was formed on 1 November 1917, at Rendcomb, Gloucestershire and was equipped with B.E.2c aircraft. The squadron moved to Kenley the following year and re-equipped with the DH.9A - the first squadron to employ this aircraft. Its original complement of...

(1 June 1946 – 15 September 1947)
No 1430 (Flying Boat Transport) Flight Squadron RAF (5 August – 1 September 1946)
No. 88 Squadron RAF
No. 88 Squadron RAF
No 88 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force formed at Gosport, Hampshire in July 1917.-Involvement in World War I:The squadron was moved to France in April 1918 where it undertook fighter-reconnaissance duties...

(1 September 1946 – 24 June 1951)
No. 1903 Flight RAF and No. 656 Squadron RAF
No. 656 Squadron RAF
No. 656 Squadron RAF was a Air Oberservation Post unit of the Royal Air Force in India and Burma during the Second World War and afterwards in British Malaya. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadron of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with British Army units in artillery spotting and...

(15 July 1948 – 17 August 1949)
Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force
Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force was an auxiliary unit of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force, based in Hong Kong. In preparation for the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, the unit was disbanded on 1 April 1993.Although technically an armed...

(1 May 1949 – 1 April 1993)
No. 28 Squadron RAF
No. 28 Squadron RAF
No. 28 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Merlin HC3/HC3A from RAF Benson.-World War I:No. 28 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed on 7 November 1915. Initially a training squadron it became a fighter squadron equipped with the Sopwith Camel.After the end of World War I No. 28...

(11 May 1949 – 1 May 1950; 7 October 1950 – 28 March 1951; 15 August – 5 December 1955; 14 June 1957 – 2 January 1967; 1 March 1968 – 17 May 1978; 1 November 1996 – 4 June 1997)
No. 80 Squadron RAF
No. 80 Squadron RAF
No. 80 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both World War I and World War II.-Establishment and early service:...

(20 August 1949 – 3 January 1950; 1 February – 7 March 1950; 28 April 1950 – 1 May 1955)
Hong Kong Auxiliary Flight RAF (October 1949 – 1 October 1950)
Hong Kong Auxiliary Squadron(1 October 1950 – 24 November 1953)
Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force Wing (24 November 1953 – xxx 1954)
Hong Kong Fighter Squadron (24 November 1953 – xxx 1954

RAF Detachments

No. 215 Squadron RAF
No. 215 Squadron RAF
No. 215 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron formed as a night bomber squadron in World War I and again in World War II, becoming a transport squadron near the end of the Second World War.-History:...

(October 1945 – February 1946)
No. 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service and saw active service in both World Wars, the Korean War and in Malaya...

April 1946 – January 1955)
No. 81 Squadron RAF
No. 81 Squadron RAF
No 81 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It flew Fighter aircraft during the Second World War, and reconnaissance aircraft in the Far East after the war, but was disbanded in 1970.-First World War:No...

(October 1947 – April 1958)
No. 205 Squadron RAF
No. 205 Squadron RAF
No. 205 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit formed on 1 April 1918. Prior to this it had existed as No. 5 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service. In 1929, it became the first RAF squadron to be permanently based in Singapore, taking as its motto Pertama di Malaya . No...

(September 1949 – March 1958)
No. 88 Squadron RAF
No. 88 Squadron RAF
No 88 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force formed at Gosport, Hampshire in July 1917.-Involvement in World War I:The squadron was moved to France in April 1918 where it undertook fighter-reconnaissance duties...

(June 1951 – October 1954)
No. 60 Squadron RAF
No. 60 Squadron RAF
No. 60 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport. It is currently part of the Defence Helicopter Flying School based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire....

(July 1961 – May 1968)
No. 103 Squadron RAF
No. 103 Squadron RAF
No. 103 Squadron was a Royal Air Force bomber squadron during World War I, World War II and the Cold War, switching to helicopters in the late 1950s until it was disbanded for the last time in 1975.-Formation in World War I:...

(August 1963 – March 1969)
No. 110 Squadron RAF
No. 110 Squadron RAF
-Formation and World War I:No. 110 Squadron RFC was formed on 1 November 1917, at Rendcomb, Gloucestershire and was equipped with B.E.2c aircraft. The squadron moved to Kenley the following year and re-equipped with the DH.9A - the first squadron to employ this aircraft. Its original complement of...

(January 1964 – March 1969)
No. 45 Squadron RAF
No. 45 Squadron RAF
-First World War:Formed during World War I at Gosport on 1 March 1916 as Number 45 Squadron, the unit was first equipped with Sopwith 1½ Strutters which it was to fly in the Scout role. Deployed to France in October of that year, the Squadron found itself suffering heavy losses due to the quality...

(June 1965 – February 1970)

Kai Tak Runway

Kai Tak's first runway was a grass strip and the first tarmac, an east-west runway, was 457 metres long in 1939. A series of extensions were added over the years:

1940s - 1,371 metres runway added by the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
1956 - 2,194 metres north-south runway added
1970 - 2,541 metres
1975 - 3,358 metres
post 1975 - single paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

13/31 - 3390 metres (or 11,122 feet)

Facilities

Hangar for aircraft at Choi Hung Road used to store Supermarine Spitfires.
The former Officers' Mess has recently been refurbished. http://buwww.hkbu.edu.hk/eng/visitors/gettingtohkbu.jsp

External links

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