BAAG Report KWIZ #71 Naval Reports – information about Aberdeen,Kowloon, Taikoo and Naval dockyards
Elizabeth Ride has sent BAAG Report KWIZ #71, dated 20th October 1944, and noted earlier: After KWIZ #4, the Naval section is not included in the AWM papers, and does not appear again until KWIZ #66, and then in a slightly different format.
HF: I am afraid because of time constraints I am no longer able to summarize and list the most salient points in KWIZ reports as I did with the BAAG Naval Intelligence Reports, many of which are listed in our Index.
HF: If you are able to provide images of vessels or locations mentioned in this report or information about subjects referred to which you think is relevant to our website I would be delighted to hear from you.
The British Army Aid Group (BAAG) was a military intelligence unit which operated in China between March 1942 and December 1945, originally as a branch of MI9. The officers were mainly European men with a Hongkong connection, and the operative agents were mostly local Hongkong men and women who offered their services, often at great risk, in occupied Hongkong and outside, in the fight for the restoration of their home and freedom. Throughout the the war the BAAG provided unique intelligence – military, political and economic – about conditions in both Hongkong and China; they also gave medical and humanitarian assistance to civilians and military alike, and eventually were able to play a part in the restoration of legal rule in Hongkong.
Further information:
- For general information about the Elizabeth Ride collection, her father Sir Lindsay Ride, and the British Army Aid group during WW2 a very useful introduction is through http://gwulo.com/node/13968
- The BAAG papers are kept at the Hong Kong Heritage Project https://www.hongkongheritage.org/Pages/FindingAids/LibraryCollection/Elizabeth_M_Ride_Collection.aspx
Our Index contains several examples of BAAG Naval Section Intelligence Summaries, other BAAG material plus many articles about Hong Kong during the Second World War.
This article was first posted on xxxx xxxx.
Related Indhhk articles:
- BAAG Report KWIZ#1, Naval Reports
- BAAG Report KWIZ#2, Naval Reports
- BAAG Report KWIZ#3, Naval Reports
- BAAG Report KWIZ#4, Naval Reports
- BAAG Report KWIZ #66 Naval Reports – information about Taikoo, Aberdeen, Kowloon & Cosmopolitan dockyards
- BAAG Report KWIZ #67 Naval Reports
- BAAG Report KWIZ #68 Naval Reports – sketch plan of Naval Dockyard 1944
- BAAG Report KWIZ #69 Naval Reports
Our Index contains numerous examples of BAAG reports, extracts from them and other articles related to Hong Kong during World War Two.
In contrast to some of the other BAAG reports most of the ships listed by name defy identification to a point that it appears as if some of the names may have been made up. Possibly in some cases the Chinese agent asked a Japanese seaman who provided a faked name (?)
In the first section only 5/100 is readily identifiable. This was as correctly reported Hakko Maru 八紘丸built 1916 1132 gross tons ex Norwegian Randi captured Dec 1941. The ship was in HK at around this time although the exact arrival. date is unknown.
5/101 may be Shinshu Maru 神州丸 built 1933, 4182 gross tons which was a tanker converted from a cargo ship. This does match the MFMK profile quoted, the ship was MFM but dimensions 360 x 50 are similar.
The ship listed in Kowloon docks may very well be Nikko Maru No.1 第一日航丸 built 1943 852 gross tons a 1E type standard ship. The ship was 199 x 31 L x W and MFM so would be an apparent rough match.
At Taikoo Docks the ship listed as Joshu Maru is Joshu Go 徐州号 built 1917 1658 ex Hsu Chow. This ship was known to have left Hong Kong 23 Sep 1944 for Mako (Makung) so the identification appears very credible,
The Naval Dockyard list appears very inaccurate. It is possible that the ship described as Shinshu is Shinshu Maru or Joshu Go (see comments above) but the dimensions are clearly wrong.
Kyoki (Hashimitsu) might be an error for Hatsukari.初雁 (Hashidate 橋立had been sunk by this time). Hatsukari operated out of Hong Kong for this entire period- the ship was a torpedo boat not a destroyer.
Minesweeper No.102 (Shown in most Allied records as W-102) was an ex British Bangor Class minesweeper HMS Waglan seized on the stocks at Taikoo Dockyard in December 1941 and completed as W-102 28 September 1944.. The ship had obviously been shifted to the naval Dockyard probably to allow armaments to be fitted and adjusted and ammunition loaded.