5
389
C.O.S. 44.
APPENDIX I.
Chiefs of Staff Sub-Committee.
HONG KONG -Defence of
Interim Report by the Joint Staffs Sub-Committee.
1. The Joint Staffs Sub-Committee on the Defence of Hong Kong has taken note of the conclusion reached by the Chiefs of Staff Sub-Committee at thei: 32nd Meeting, held on the 3rd June, 1926, when it was agreed-
To approve
in principle the proposal of the Chief of the Air Staff to take such preliminary steps as may be necessary to acquire ground for an aerodrome at Hong Kong.
The Sub-Committee has further taken note of Colonial Office letter No. C. 7237/26, dated the 15th May, 1926, forwarding despatches by the Governor of Hong Kong, and suggesting that the points raised should be examined, in the first place, by the Joint Staffs Sub-Committee.
2. The proposals put forward were that—
(a) The Kai Tak reclamation area should be acquired as an aerodrome
site.
(b.) A small local unit for police work should be formed.
3. As regards (a), a decision as to whether it is possible and desirable to station regular air forces at Hong Kong in peace time depends on a number of factors which Lave not yet been fully investigated. In certain eventualities, however, such as might occur during trouble in Canton, the despatch of air forces to Hong Kong. perhaps only as a temporary measure, might be desirable.
To provide fer such a contingency, it is essential that an aerodrome, with facilities for seaplanes as well as for landplanes, should be available. The Kai Tak reclamation area on the Kowloon peninsula is not only the best site, but practically the only suitable site, and if it were built over,. the potential use of aircraft for defence in the future would be seriously restricted. In addition, the present time appears to be favourable for purchase, and delay in acquisition now might result in heavier expenditure at a later date.
There appears to be no possible reason from the Treaty aspect against the acquisition of this aerodrome site. A levelled area of ground cannot be interpreted as an increase in coast defences. It is only when buildings are erected and aircraft actually located on the aerodrome that the question of legality appears to arise.
The Sub-Committee is therefore of the opinion that the Kai Tak site should be acquired at an early date, and recommends that the Governor of Hong Kong should be given authority to proceed with the necessary purchase.
4. With regard to (b), e,, the formation of a local police air unit at Hong Kong, it is considered that the proposals put forward will require considerable investigation, and that the question could more appropriately be dealt with by the Local Forces Sub-Committee of the Oversea Defence Committee.
There does not appear to be any particular urgency for the formation of this unit, and the Sub-Committee therefore recommends that the Governor be informed that the matter is being further investigated.
Conclusion.
5. The Sub-Committee recommends :-
(2.) That the Kai Tak reclamation area should be acquired without delay. (b) That the formation of a local police air unit, being less urgent.
should be referred for further investigation.
(Signed) W. G. S. DOBBIE, Colonel, G.S. (Chairman), Directorate of Military Operations and Intelligence, War Office.
(Signed)
(Signed)
WILFRED A. EGERTON, Captain, R.N.,
Plans Division, Admiralty.
B. E. SMYTHIES, Wing-Commander, R.A.F., Directorate of Operations and Intelli- gence, Air Ministry.
APPENDIX II.
Governor, Hong Kong, to Secretary of State for the Colonies,
Hong Kong, February 18, 1926.
Sir,
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your secret despatch* of the 10th December. 1925, covering a copy of a letter with enclosures in original from the Air Ministry. The enclosures deal with a suggestion for the provision of an aerodrome site in the Colony, and the despatch calls upon me to furnish a report upon the practicability of the proposals of the Air Ministry and the cost involved. You enquire further whether the arguments adduced in Sir R. E. Stubbs' secret despatch of the 13th October, 1925, on the subject of expenditure for the increase of the Garrison of Hong Kong apply equally to the question of Air Defence.
2. I welcome the opportunity of expressing my views, as since my arrival in the Colony in November 1925, the question of providing aircraft for Hong Kong has been continuously pressed on my attention, and I have had it under the most careful consideration from every aspect. The requirements of the Defence of the Colony, the possibilities of Police aviation, and the probable development of civil commercial aviation have all been passed under review and fully discussed; and the matter of aerodrome accommodation has inevitably arisen in considering any aspect of the question.
3. The first experience of the Colony in aviation for Defence purposes has heen provided during the last six months by the presence of H.M.S. "Hermes with a flight of seaplanes; and the experience has been important as foreshadowing the value of Police aviation in a Colony where natural obstacles to rapid communi- cation are unusually serious. For purposes of defence the Air Patrol of the Frontier maintained by the seaplanes of H.M.S. "Hermes has been of great value as a deterrent to the operations of strike pickets which I have described in my despatch No. 72 of the 18th February, and has demonstrated the necessity of providing an Air Force Arm for any complete Scheme of defence that may be devised.
53
4. In this connection, I request your attention to the article extracted from the "Hong Kong Daily Press of the 9th February, 1926, which forms the first enclosure to this despatch. The development of aviation in Canton in an organised. manner has been under consideration for a long time past, and the rapid march of events in the Province (especially in military matters) augurs the early establish- ment of such an arm. Aeroplanes have already been used in the recent fighting in Kuang-tung, and, though they are probable, as yet, of little material value, their development may be expected. In any case, the fact that they could, even now, fly over the Colony of Hong Kong with complete impunity must be a source of anxiety. 5. H.M.S." Hermes" utilised seaplanes only, but the Naval Authorities found it necessary to provide some accommodation ashore for her land machines, and this was found on the West portion of the Kai Tak reclamation, near Kowloon City, on which temporary sheds (so marked on the plan which forms enclosure 2* in this lespatch) were erected. The Admiralty ordered on the 17th November that these sheds should be abandoned by the Naval Authorities, and I directed that they should be aken over and maintained at the expense of the Colonial Government. The area on which the sheds stand and the open ground in front of them constitute an important part of the complete scheme, which I put forward in paragraphs 12, 14, 15 and 16
below.
L
6. In formulating the scheme, I have not overlooked the policy outlined in Notes on Proposals for Air Base at Hong Kong," of which a copy was received from the General Officer Commanding the Troops, China Command, under date the 4th December, 1925. It runs as follows:-
"It is not considered that any air menace to Hong Kong exists at the present time from China, since the Chinese only possess a few aircraft which could be kept in check by our machines flown off Carriers as soon as such vessels are stationed on the China Station. Should, however, developments of Chinese Air Forces occur, or the present situation in China be materially altered, the Government might deem it necessary, in order to safeguard our interests in China, to establish an Air Base in Hong Kong, in spite of the difficulties and great expense involved.
*Not reproduced.
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