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Hunter Aircraft
SECRET
ANNEX A TO
CINCFE 3031/6130/12 Dated 24th September 1968
4. F/GA 9 Hunter aircraft are capable of carrying out air-to-air gunnery, ground strafing with cannon, rocket attacks using SNEB, Napalm bombing, oblique aerial photography, cine air-to-air gunnery, and practice bombing.
Hunters Currently in FEAF
5.
No 20 Squadron, based at Tengah, is currently equipped with 16 F/GA 9 aircraft and one T7 aircraft. The squadron flying task is 496 hours per month and its total personnel establishment is 119 RAF personnel; of these 24 are pilots and 90 are technical tradesmen for first-line servicing,
6. The Squadron is due to be withdrawn from Singapore in March 1970, but the aircraft would need reconditioning to give them the necessary five years further operating capability.
Estimated Flying Effort
7.
CIRCUMSTANCES AT HONG KONG
Pilot Continuation Training. Each of the six RAF pilots would require 200 hours continuation flying training per year.
8.
Flying for Operations and Exercises. It is considered that additionally some 240 hours per year would be flown by the unit on operations and exercises in the Colony.
9.
Effort. The above would generate an effort of 120 hours per month for the five UE Hunters. The T7 would fly 16 hours per month (21 sorties of 45 minutes) and each F/GA 9 would fly 26 hours per month (29 sortios of 54 minutes).
An RAF Unit.
10.
If an RAF unit were to be established at Kai Tak in accordance with the previous paragraphs, the total personnel requirements would be 49 RAF members and two civilians. Of the former, six would be pilots, and 41 would be for first and second-line servicing.
Local Participation
11. Paragraphs 8 to 16 of the report (1) refer to the possibility of residents in the Colony participating in the activities of the Hunter unit at Hong Kong. The report suggests that this may be more economical than if the unit were staffed exclusively by RAF personnel, and would be a way of identifying the unit with the Colony. The majority of the unit staff would be associated with aircraft servicing and maintenance, and it follows that this field offers attractive possibilities for maximum local participation. In this regard, two schemes are worthy of consideration:
a.
b.
Scheme A
Scheme B
Which involves the maximum possible participation by members of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, and by the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company.
Which involves the maximum possible participation by the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company.
A
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SECRET
/The
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