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18-554: Shek Kong Airfield is located in Shek Kong. A sizable Nepal Gurkha population is present in the area even after the withdrawal of British military . Shek Kong is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 74. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and one government school: Yuen Long Government Primary School (元朗官立小學). This Hong Kong location article

36-461: 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. The British Army also operated a squadron of helicopters at RAF Sek Kong from 1970 until 1993, performing observation / reconnaissance and troop-lifting roles on

54-551: A day by a 10-person team using only hand tools. The George A. Fuller construction company manufactured them, and the first was produced within 60 days of signing the contract. In 1946, the Great Lakes Steel Corporation claimed "the term 'Quonset,' as applied to builders and building materials, is a trade mark owned by the Great Lakes Steel Corporation." But the word is often used generically . Today similar structures are made by many contractors in countries around

72-493: A refugee centre for Vietnamese boat people 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 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. The PLAAF has had

90-617: A small presence in Hong Kong since 1997. There is one PLA unit stationed in Shek Kong: 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 Bs to land, and avoided the need to create helipads at

108-512: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Shek Kong Airfield The Shek Kong Airfield (ICAO: VHSK ), formerly Royal Air Force Sek Kong or Sek Kong Airfield , is an airfield ( airbase ) located in Shek Kong , New Territories , Hong Kong . The base currently houses air force units of People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison (PLAHKG), as well as previously being open for restricted civilian use during weekends. Before

126-565: The British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the airfield was used by the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong , and was then a Royal Air Force station , officially known as Royal Air Force Sek Kong , commonly abbreviated RAF Sek Kong . Construction started in 1938 ; 86 years ago  ( 1938 ) , but ceased from 1941 to 1945 and was completed only in 1950 ; 74 years ago  ( 1950 ) due to

144-608: The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II . From 1989, to 1993, RAF Sek Kong was also a Vietnamese Refugee Detention Centre. It is currently used by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the week but, during weekends, members of the Hong Kong Aviation Club (HKAC) use to be allowed to use the airport facilities for operation of private aeroplanes and to conduct private flight training . At RAF Sek Kong,

162-849: The Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I . Hundreds of thousands were produced during World War II , and military surplus was sold to the public. The name comes from the site of their first deployment at Quonset Point at the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center in Davisville, Rhode Island . The first Quonset huts were manufactured in 1941 when the United States Navy needed an all-purpose, lightweight building that could be shipped anywhere and assembled without skilled labor. They could be assembled in

180-550: The Royal Air Force 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 (RHK AuxAF) was also a permanent air force unit in Hong Kong . A partial list of RAF squadrons stationed at RAF Sek Kong before 1997: A list of RAF aircraft stationed at RAF Sek Kong: With

198-535: The University of Iowa . Some are still in active use at United States military bases. The U.S. Department of Energy continues to utilize Quonset huts as supporting structures (fabrication and machine shops, warehouses, etc.) at the Nevada National Security Site . The repurposed huts were common enough that Sherwin-Williams introduced a line of paint called "Quon-Kote" specifically designed to stick to

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216-406: 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 Westland Scout helicopters. From 1989, the base was also

234-424: The base. Whilst still under Royal Air Force operation, the Hong Kong Aviation Club (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 (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. According to

252-524: The book: Archaeological discoveries of Guangdong province during Jin dynasty to Tang dynasty, urns ytaced back to Tang dynasty ( AD 618--AD 907 ) were discovered in Shek kong airport. Quonset hut A Quonset hut / ˈ k w ɒ n s ɪ t / is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section. The design was developed in the United States based on

270-402: The ground with a wood floor. The original design used low-grade steel, which was later replaced by a more rust-resistant version. The flexible interior space was open, allowing use as barracks , latrines , medical and dental offices, isolation wards , housing, and bakeries. Between 150,000 and 170,000 Quonset huts were manufactured during World War II, and the military sold its surplus huts to

288-553: The public after the war. Many remain standing throughout the United States as outbuildings, businesses, or even homes, and they are often seen at military museums and other places featuring World War II memorabilia. Many were also used around the United States for temporary postwar housing, such as Rodger Young Village for veterans and their families in Los Angeles, California , and the Quonset Park complex of married student housing at

306-425: The weather. Other sizes were developed, including 20-by-40-foot (6.1 m × 12.2 m) and 40-by-100-foot (12 m × 30 m) warehouse models. The sides were corrugated steel sheets, and the two ends were covered with plywood which had doors and windows. The interior was insulated and had pressed wood lining and a wood floor. The building could be placed on concrete, on pilings , or directly on

324-438: The world. The original design was a 16-by-36-foot (4.9 m × 11.0 m) structure framed with steel members with an 8-foot (2.4 m) radius. The most common design created a standard size of 20-by-48-foot (6.1 m × 14.6 m) with a 16-foot (4.9 m) radius , allowing 960 square feet (89 m ) of usable floor space with optional 4 feet (1.2 m) overhangs at each end for protection of entrances from

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