DS4/90/1/1

CONFIDENTIAL

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Head of DSL

ONOR

CHPIC Hong Kong

DS 4

LONDON.

མ་ལྷ་ས་ལས་

FLO Hong Kong Depts

SW

PRESENTATION BY NAVAL STAFFS ON HONG KONG PATROL CRAFT TO HONG KONG GOVERNMENT ON 12 SEPTEMBER 1973 IN MOD MAIN BUILDING

3

Notes on Main Points Arising

1.

Apart from representatives of MOD Divisions and Establishments the presentation was attended by:

2.

Mr L M Davies

Mr D C Bray

Wg Cdr J Mitchell

Capt R Moland

Secretary for Security Hong Kong Hong Kong Commissioner

HQBF Hong Kong

CAPIC Hong Kong

Mr I Dawson, Head of DS4, chaired the meeting and Captain D 1 Eckersley Maslin, DNOR introduced the presentations, which summarised the three studies called for under the NST for the Hong Kong Patrol Craft as follows:

a.

b.

C.

Craft Study

Weapons Study

Communications Study

the presentation was followed by a discusssion, the main points of which, and the agreements reached, are recorded below.

NUMBERS OF CRAFT REQUIRED

3. Mr Davies expressed concern that during the craft presentation reference had been made to the fact that at least 5 craft would be necessary to replace the 5 TONS. The Hong Kong Government had already suggested that it might be possible to undertake the task with only 3 vessels, and he was going to find it difficult enough to defend the need to replace 5 elderly TONs capable of a maximum of 15 knots with as many as 5 new faster purpose-built craft.

IT WAS AGREED that the proposed contract procedure would allow the number to be reduced to 4 if reliability and operational deployment permitted, but that all evidence at present indicated that 5 would be required.

SPEED

4. Mr Davies again expressed the view that the Hong Kong Government would require a clear statement of the relationship between increments in speed and increments in cost. DG Ships showed that such a relationship would remain in- conclusive until engine design had been completed.

5. IT WAS AGREED that 25 knots was the optimum desirable maximum speed.

DESIGN AND BUILD

6.

DG SHIPS would prefer that at least the first vessel should be built in the UK. DG SHIPS would remain the design authority and oversight would be easier in this country. They would however investigate whether there were any British shipbuilders in UK which had subsidiaries in Hong Kong who might undertake the task.

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CONFIDENTIAL.

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