The Shek Kong Airfield ( zh, 石崗機場,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: VHSK, formerly RAF Sek Kong) is the sole

airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

of the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

in the

Hong Kong SAR Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, falling under the

Southern Theater Command Air Force The Southern Theater Command Air Force is the air force under the Southern Theater Command. Its headquarters is in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The current commander is and the current political commissar is . History On 1 February 2016, the foundin ...

, and is located in

Shek Kong Shek Kong is an area north of Tai Mo Shan, located near Kam Tin and Pat Heung, in Yuen Long District, New Territories, Hong Kong, hosting Shek Kong San Tsuen, Shek Kong Barracks and Shek Kong Airfield. The area named after an old walled village ...

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

. The base currently houses air force units of

People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison The People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defence duties in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. The garrison i ...

(PLAHKG), as well as previously being open for restricted civilian use during weekends.

RAF base (1938-1997)

Before the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

handover of Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1997, the airfield was used by the

British Forces Overseas Hong Kong British Forces Overseas Hong Kong comprised the elements of the British Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines) and Royal Air Force stationed in British Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong also assumed the position of the commander-in-chi ...

, and was then a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF)

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

, officially known as Royal Air Force Sek Kong, commonly abbreviated RAF Sek Kong. Construction started in , but ceased from 1941 to 1945 and was completed only in due to the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. His surrender occurred after Batt ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. From 1989, to 1993, RAF Sek Kong was also a Vietnamese Refugee Detention Centre. From 1989, the base was also a refugee centre for

Vietnamese boat people Vietnamese boat people () were refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its highest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but continued well into the earl ...

arriving in Hong Kong. At the peak in 1992, the centre hosted 9,000 refugees. During the time as a refugee centre, half the runway was closed and used for temporary housing (mainly tents, and some

quonset Quonset may refer to: Places * Quonset Point, a peninsula in North Kingstown, Rhode Island ** Naval Air Station Quonset Point ** Quonset State Airport ** Rhode Island Route 403, signed as Quonset Freeway * Quonset Glacier, a glacier in Antarc ...

huts). As a result, only rotary aircraft operated from the base. The refugee centre closed in 1993 and the runway was restored for use by fixed wing aircraft. Whilst still under Royal Air Force operation, the

Hong Kong Aviation Club The Hong Kong Aviation Club is an aviation club which offers training on both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter to Private Pilot Licence Level. It was established in 1982 upon the amalgamation of the Hong Kong Flying Club, the Aero Club of Ho ...

(HKAC), Hong Kong's private recreational flying organisation, moved most of its aircraft to Shek Kong in 1994. This was after the hours for general aviation (GA) at

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was an international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply K ...

(then the international airport for Hong Kong) were sharply reduced, to two hours per morning (07:00 to 09:00), as of 1 July that year. At RAF Sek Kong, the

operated a small force of a single squadron from 1950 to 1996. It was a permanent assignment, with personnel and their families living in Sek Kong for three-year tours of duty. The

Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force (RHKAAF) was a Hong Kong Government department based in Hong Kong. It was formed as an air force in 1949 as part of the Hong Kong Defence Force. In preparation for the transfer of sovereignty from the Uni ...

(RHK AuxAF) was also a permanent air force unit in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. A partial list of RAF squadrons stationed at RAF Sek Kong before 1997: *

No. 80 Squadron RAF Number 80 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 15 April 2024 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, after the numberplate was awarded to the British team at the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laborato ...

: 3 January – 1 February 1950, 7 March – 28 April 1950 *

No. 28 Squadron RAF Number 28 Squadron, also known as No. 28 (Army Co-operation) Squadron or No. 28 (AC) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Based at RAF Benson, it serves as the RAF's Operational Conversion Unit for the Boeing Chinook HC5/6/6A heli ...

: 1 May – 7 October 1950, 28 March 1951 – 15 August 1955, 5 December 1955 – 14 June 1957, 17 May 1978 – 1 November 1996 *

1979–1993 A list of RAF aircraft stationed at RAF Sek Kong: With a Vietnamese refugee camp using the runway from 1989 to 1993, the base hosted only helicopters after 1989 until the runway was reinstated in 1995. However, no fixed wing aircraft of the RAF used the runway before the base was closed in 1996. RAF Sek Kong Jul 1983.jpg, RAF Sek Kong 1983 Wessex Sek Kong.jpg,

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the rep ...

660 Sqn Scout 1983 Ping-Chau.jpg,

Westland Scout The Westland Scout is a light helicopter developed by Westland Helicopters. Developed from the Saro P.531, it served as a land-based general purpose military helicopter, sharing a common ancestor and numerous components with the naval-orientat ...

of No. 660 Squadron AAC RHKAAF Dauphin.jpg, Dauphin of RHKAAF The

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

also operated a squadron of

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s at RAF Sek Kong from 1970 until 1993, performing observation /

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

and troop-lifting roles on the Hong Kong to mainland Chinese border, and supporting the army on exercises. The Army Air Corps (AAC) unit was heavily involved in stemming the flood of illegal immigrants from mainland China. No. 660 Squadron AAC operated from 1978 until the end of 1993. The AAC squadron, 50 years old at the time, was the last overseas unit using

helicopters. ;Support equipment

PLAAF base, 1997–present

After the

in 1997, Shek Kong airfield became a PLAAF airbase. The

(PLAAF) has had a small presence in

since 1997. There is one PLA unit stationed in Shek Kong: * PLAAF Helicopter Regiment 39968 ** Hong Kong Special Aviation Unit — transport The PLA ground and naval forces also use Shek Kong, mainly for training and Open Day use. With the PLAAF operating helicopters, the runway is mostly used for civilian fixed wing aircraft. There are four 'H's marked along the runway for the

Harbin Z-9 The Harbin Z-9 (NATO reporting name "Haitun", ) is a People's Republic of China, Chinese military utility helicopter with armed helicopter, armed variants, manufactured by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation. It is a license-built variant ...

Bs to land, and avoided the need to create helipads at the base. It is currently used by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

(PLA) during the week but, during weekends, members of the

(HKAC) use to be allowed to use the airport facilities for operation of private aeroplanes and to conduct private

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

References

External links

Helicopter Database - HK Sek KongHong Kong Aviation Club（HKAC)
{{Authority control Military of Hong Kong Chinese Air Force bases Shek Kong Airports in Hong Kong Military airbases established in 1950 1950 establishments in Hong Kong

RAF base (1938-1997)

PLAAF base, 1997–present

See also

References

External links