The Flag Officer, West Africa (FOWA) was a military command of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It existed from 1942 to 1945.

The Royal Navy's prior history in West Africa

During the 19th century, the

West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliam ...

was created, primarily as an anti-slavery effort. Later the Cape of Good Hope Station, homeported at Simonstown,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, merged with the West Coast of Africa Station to create the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station for the periods 1857-1865 and 1867-1920. * 1807: British slave trade illegal * 1808: First RN anti-slavery patrol,

, ships on "particular service" * 1819: West African Station an independent command under a Commodore * 1840: West African Station still independent, but not under a Commodore * 1842: West African Station once more commanded by a Commodore * 1857-1865: West African Station again combined with Cape of Good Hope Station * 1866: West African Station an independent command again * 1867 West Africa/Preventative Squadron is disbanded * 1867-1920 Ships in West Africa under control of Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station and West Africa Station * 1942-1945 Flag Officer, West Africa operated from Freetown, Sierra Leone

The Second World War

In 1941, escort forces began to be built up at Freetown. The post of Flag Officer, West Africa was established in August 1942 as part of the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

re-organisation of commands. He initially controlled two corvettes and a few

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

ships. This was due to the growing importance of Freetown as a major base for convoy escorts. It existed until 1945.

Flag Officers, West Africa

Post holders included:

Components

:Distribution of units attached to station included:

References

External links

* Mackie, Colin. (2018) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. Scotland, UK. * Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939-1945:West Africa Command". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 19 September 2015. {{Royal Navy fleets, state=collapsed Flag officers of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945