Everything tagged "A Small Band of Men" | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Everything tagged "A Small Band of Men"

The unit prepares for nighttime patrol - 1990

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1990

The unit prepares for nighttime patrol - 1990

One of the unit's fast pursuit craft (FPC)

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1995

One of the unit's fast pursuit craft (FPC)

A daai fei sinks during a chase

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1991

A daai fei sinks during a chase

The author with a seized daai fei.

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1990

The author with a seized daai fei. This daai fei was in a collision with another one during a high-speed chase off Three Fathoms Cove in Tolo Channel. At night the channel was always in complete darkness. Daai feis ran without lights (to avoid detection) and were not equipped with radar. At speeds of 80 knots, and relying solely on the coxswain's local knowledge, there were frequent collisions during this era. Two men died in this particular case.

A burnt-out daai fei and vehicle.

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1991

Photo 3. A burnt-out daai fei and vehicle. Daai feis were dangerous for a number of reasons. One was that their fuel supply to their five large outboard engines was from loose fuel cans that were connected to the engines by flimsy plastic pipes. During a high-speed chase, fuel would wash through the main compartment and across the deck. It was surprising that more daai feis didn't end up like this one. This photograph was taken at the Marine Police base inside Tolo Channel - 1991.

A daai fei with stolen vehicle cargo

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1990

Photo 1. A daai fei with stolen vehicle cargo, underway, leaving Tolo Channel into Mirs Bay, heading towards mainland Chinese coast - 1990. Very rare to see a daai fei operating in daylight. They almost always operated during darkness. This one must have been delayed for some reason.

Read more about the daai fei in Deadly Game, a sample chapter from the book A Small Band Of Men.

A Small Band of Men in Bookazine

Find out more about the book at https://gwulo.com/node/47507

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