Western Area Command was one of several
geographically based commands raised by the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
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, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in January 1941, and controlled RAAF units located in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. Headquartered in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, Western Area Command was responsible for
air defence
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
,
aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of i ...
and protection of the
sea lane
A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation wi ...
s within its boundaries. Its aircraft conducted anti-submarine operations throughout the war, and attacked targets in the
Dutch East Indies during the
Borneo campaign
The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held British Borneo and Dutch Borneo. Designated collectively as Operation Oboe, ...
in 1945.
The area command continued to operate after the war, but its assets and staffing were much reduced. Its responsibilities were subsumed in February 1954 by the RAAF's new functional commands:
Home (operational),
Training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...
, and
Maintenance Commands. Western Area headquarters was disbanded in November 1956.
History
World War II
![An010702DeLaRue1941](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/An010702DeLaRue1941.jpg)
Prior to World War II, the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
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, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
was small enough for all its elements to be directly controlled by RAAF Headquarters in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. After war broke out in September 1939, the Air Force began to decentralise its command structure, commensurate with expected increases in manpower and units.
[Stephens, ''The Royal Australian Air Force'', pp. 111–112] Between March 1940 and May 1941, the RAAF divided Australia and New Guinea into four
geographically based command-and-control zones:
Central Area,
Southern Area, Western Area, and
Northern Area.
[Gillison]
''Royal Australian Air Force'', pp. 91–92
/ref> The roles of these area commands were air defence
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
, protection of adjacent sea lane
A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation wi ...
s, and aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of i ...
. Each was led by an Air Officer Commanding (AOC) responsible for the administration and operations of all air bases and units within his boundary.[
Western Area Command, headquartered in ]Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, was formed on 9 January 1941 to control all RAAF units in Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. These included No. 14 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron, No. 25 (General Purpose) Squadron and No. 5 Initial Training School at RAAF Station Pearce; No. 9 Elementary Flying Training School at Cunderdin; and the soon-to-be-raised No. 4 Service Flying Training School at Geraldton
Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth.
At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...
.[Western Area Headquarters, ''Operations Record Book'', p. 1] RAAF Headquarters had maintained control of Western Australian units pending the area's formation.[Ashworth, ''How Not to Run an Air Force'', pp. 28–29] Western Area's inaugural AOC was Group Captain (acting Air Commodore) Hippolyte "Kanga" De La Rue.[ His senior air staff officer was Group Captain ]Alan Charlesworth
Air Vice Marshal Alan Moorehouse Charlesworth, CBE, AFC (17 September 1903 – 21 September 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Tasmania, he graduated from the Royal Military College, ...
. Headquarters staff numbered forty-one, including fifteen officers. No. 14 Squadron, operating Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and p ...
s, and No. 25 Squadron, flying CAC Wirraway
The CAC Wirraway (an Aboriginal word meaning "challenge") was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) between 1939 and 1946. It was an Australian development of ...
s, were responsible for convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol. Shortly after taking command, De La Rue lobbied RAAF Headquarters for a force of long-range Catalina flying boats to augment No. 14 Squadron's Hudsons, but none were made available.
By mid-1941, RAAF Headquarters had decided to form training units in the southern and eastern states into semi-geographical, semi-functional groups separate to the area commands. This led to the establishment in August of No. 1 (Training) Group in Melbourne, covering Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and No. 2 (Training) Group in Sydney, covering New South Wales and Queensland. At the same time, Central Area was dissolved and its responsibilities divided between Southern and Northern Areas, and No. 2 (Training) Group.[Gillison]
''Royal Australian Air Force'', p. 112
/ref>[Ashworth, ''How Not to Run an Air Force'', pp. xx, 38] Western Area, uniquely among the area commands, retained responsibility for training, as well as operations and maintenance, within its boundaries. In November 1941, all available aircraft from Nos. 14 and 25 Squadrons, as well as eight Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCA ...
s from No. 4 Service Flying Training School, took part in the search for HMAS ''Sydney'' after it was sunk by the German raider ''Kormoran''; a Hudson and an Anson each located lifeboats bearing ''Kormorans crew.
In January 1942, Northern Area was split into North-Western and North-Eastern Areas, to counter separate Japanese threats to Northern Australia and New Guinea, respectively, following the outbreak of the Pacific War.[ In May, a new area command, Eastern Area, was raised to control units within New South Wales and southern Queensland. Of geographical necessity, the operational responsibilities of the RAAF's southerly areas centred on ]maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008
Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities.
Maritime patrol refers to ac ...
and anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
, while the northern commands concentrated on air defence and offensive bombing.[Stephens, ''The Royal Australian Air Force'', pp. 144–145] Aircraft from Western Area made their first submarine attack on 2 March, but it was the USS ''Sargo'', which had not identified itself; the American submarine was damaged but continued on to Fremantle. Identification of friendly vessels was an ongoing issue; RAAF patrols often had to depart without the latest naval intelligence reports on Allied shipping, and ships could in any case divert from their planned routes. It was often difficult for observers in fast-moving aircraft to make out Allied signal flags on a ship, and ships' crews did not always immediately recognise RAAF aircraft even when the latter employed their Aldis lamps to identify themselves.
No. 35 (Transport) Squadron, operating de Havilland Fox Moth
The DH.83 Fox Moth was a successful small biplane passenger aircraft from the 1930s powered by a single de Havilland Gipsy Major I inline inverted engine, manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.
The aircraft was designed late in 1 ...
and DH.84 Dragon aircraft, was raised under Western Area's control at Pearce on 4 March 1942. No. 77 Squadron, equipped with P-40 Kittyhawks, was formed at Pearce on 16 March; it was at this time the only fighter squadron available to defend Perth and Fremantle, and De La Rue worked assiduously to prepare it for operations. No. 6 Fighter Sector Headquarters, Perth, became operational on 2 May.[Ashworth, ''How Not to Run an Air Force'', p. 299] The same month, the Air Board proposed raising No. 3 (Training) Group and No. 8 (Maintenance) Group to control training and maintenance units in Western Australia but, though approved by the Federal government, this did not take place. By 31 May, Western Area headquarters staff numbered 247, including 76 officers.
As of 20 April 1942, operational authority over RAAF combat infrastructure, including the area commands, was invested in the newly established Allied Air Forces Headquarters under South West Pacific Area Command (SWPA).[Odgers]
''Air War Against Japan'', pp. 15–16
/ref> Some fine-tuning of Western Area's boundaries occurred in August: North-Western Area, as well as controlling the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
, was given responsibility for the portion of Western Australia north of a line drawn south-east from Yampi Sound to the Northern Territory border. September 1942 saw the formation of RAAF Command, led by Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock, to oversee the majority of Australian flying units in the SWPA.[Odgers]
''Air War Against Japan'', pp. 4–6
/ref> Bostock exercised control of air operations through the area commands, although RAAF Headquarters continued to hold administrative authority over all Australian units. In November, construction began on an airfield under Western Area's control at Corunna Downs, near Port Hedland
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
. Australia's closest air base to Surabaya, it would serve as a staging post for Allied bombers bound for targets in the Dutch East Indies, allowing them to avoid Japanese fighter stations between the Northern Territory and Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
. De la Rue handed over Western Area to Air Commodore Raymond Brownell
Air Commodore Raymond James Brownell, (17 May 1894 – 12 April 1974) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a First World War flying ace. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Brownell was working as a clerk with a firm of acc ...
in December 1942; by the end of the month, headquarters staff numbered 488, including 95 officers.[Ashworth, ''How Not to Run an Air Force'', pp. 302–304]
By April 1943, Western Area controlled four combat units: No. 14 Squadron, flying Bristol Beaufort
The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At le ...
reconnaissance-bombers out of Pearce; No. 25 Squadron, tasked with dive-bombing missions in Wirraways based at Pearce; No. 76 Squadron, flying P-40 Kittyhawks out of Potshot (Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulf is a gulf in the north-west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the Pilbara Coast and Northwest Shelf, and the Carnarvon Basin geolog ...
); and No. 85 Squadron, operating CAC Boomerang
The CAC Boomerang is a fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1942 and 1945. Approved for production shortly following the Empire of Japan's entry into the Second World War, t ...
fighters from Pearce. The area command was also able to call on US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Catalinas of Patrol Wing 10, based at Crawley, for reconnaissance and anti-submarine missions.[Odgers]
''Air War Against Japan'', pp. 140–141
/ref> The Beauforts and Catalinas flew several hundred maritime patrols during 1943. In March 1944, Western Area went on high alert in response to concerns that a Japanese naval force would raid Western Australia. Perth was reinforced with Nos. 452 and 457 Squadrons, and Exmouth Gulf with Nos. 18, 31, and 120 Squadrons, but no attack ensued and the units were directed to return to their home bases. The US Navy withdrew Patrol Wing 10 mid-year, curtailing Western Area's ability to conduct long-range maritime reconnaissance; No. 14 Squadron's fifteen serviceable Beauforts had to fly patrols of up to twenty-two hours in duration to search for German submarines reported in the area. As of 31 May 1944, Western Area headquarters staff numbered 686, including 118 officers.
Having converted to Vultee Vengeance
The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was designated A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States, but was operated as a front-line aircraft by ...
dive bombers in August 1943, No. 25 Squadron moved from Pearce to Cunderdin in January 1945 and re-equipped with B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. The Liberators were employed on anti-submarine patrol off Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia.
Description
A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders ...
later that month, owing to No. 14 Squadron's Beauforts being fully committed to other tasks. Between April and July, No. 25 Squadron provided Western Area's contribution to the Borneo campaign
The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held British Borneo and Dutch Borneo. Designated collectively as Operation Oboe, ...
, supporting the Allied invasions of Tarakan, Labuan–Brunei and Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated ...
. Staging through Corunna Downs, the Liberators bombed Japanese airfields in the Dutch East Indies that were within range of Tarakan, up until the day of the landings on 1 May. They attacked Malang near Surabaya at night prior to the landings at Labuan, and conducted daylight raids against Java in the lead-up to the Balikpapan operation that commenced on 1 July. No. 14 Squadron had ceased its regular anti-submarine patrols on 23 May following the end of hostilities in Europe, but remained on standby in case any U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
s were found to be still active. In July 1945, Brownell was appointed to command the newly formed No. 11 Group on Morotai; he handed Western Area over to his senior air staff officer, Group Captain Colin Hannah
Air Marshal Sir Colin Thomas Hannah, (22 December 1914 – 22 May 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a Governor of Queensland. Born in Western Australia, he was a member of the Militia before joining the ...
, who held temporary command for the remainder of the war.
Post-war activity and disbandment
On 2 September 1945, following the end of the Pacific War, South West Pacific Area was dissolved and the Air Board again assumed full control of all its operational elements. Hannah handed over Western Area to Group Captain Douglas Wilson in October. The Air Force shrank dramatically with demobilisation; wartime units were scheduled for dissolution in several stages, including reconnaissance-bomber squadrons by the end of 1945, and other bomber units by September 1946.[Stephens, ''Going Solo'', pp. 11–12] No. 14 Squadron was disbanded at Pearce in December 1945. No. 25 Squadron's Liberators repatriated former prisoners of war from the Dutch East Indies to Australia until January 1946; the unit was disbanded in July that year. Wilson was placed on the retired list in February 1946, and Hannah again assumed temporary command of Western Area until posted to Britain that October. Group Captain Bill Garing took over as Officer Commanding Western Area the following month, by which time headquarters staff numbered 117, including 31 officers.
In September 1946, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...
, proposed reducing the five extant mainland area commands (North-Western, North-Eastern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Areas) to three: Northern Area, covering Queensland and the Northern Territory; Eastern Area, covering New South Wales; and Southern Area, covering Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. The Australian Government rejected the plan and the wartime area command boundaries essentially remained in place.[Stephens, ''Going Solo'', pp. 68, 462] No. 25 Squadron re-formed as a Citizen Air Force unit at Pearce in April 1948, operating and, later, de Havilland Vampire fighters. As well as training reservists, the squadron was responsible for Western Australia's air defence. Garing handed over command in November 1948; by the end of the month, Western Area headquarters staff numbered fourteen, including seven officers.
Group Captain (later Air Commodore) Bill Hely took command of Western Area in October 1951. During Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane was the first test of a British atomic device. A plutonium implosion device was detonated on 3 October 1952 in Main Bay, Trimouille Island, in the Montebello Islands in Western Australia. With the success of Operation H ...
, the British atomic test in the Montebello Islands
The Montebello Islands, also rendered as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands (about 92 of which are named) lying north of Barrow Island and off the Pilbara coast of north-western Australia. The islands f ...
in October 1952, Hely coordinated air support including supply and observation flights by Dakotas of No. 86 (Transport) Wing. He completed his term as AOC Western Area in September 1953, by which time headquarters staff numbered thirty-one, including fifteen officers.
Beginning in October 1953, the RAAF was reorganised from a geographically based command-and-control system into one based on function. In February 1954, the newly constituted functional organisations— Home, Training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...
, and Maintenance Commands—assumed control of all operations, training and maintenance, respectively, from Western Area Command.[Stephens, ''Going Solo'', pp. 73–76, 462–463] Western Area remained in existence but only, according to the Melbourne '' Argus'', as one of Home Command's "remote control points". The area headquarters was disbanded on 30 November 1956.
Order of battle
As at 30 April 1942, Western Area's order of battle
In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the arme ...
comprised:[
* RAAF Station Pearce
** No. 14 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron
** No. 25 (General Purpose) Squadron
** No. 35 (Transport) Squadron
** No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron
* No. 6 Fighter Sector Headquarters, Perth
]
Notes
References
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{{featured article
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1956
RAAF commands