Western Area Command (RAAF)
Western Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. Its aircraft conducted anti-submarine operations throughout the war, and attacked targets in the Dutch East Indies during the Borneo campaign in 1945. Its responsibilities were subsumed in February 1954 by the RAAF’s new functional commands: Home, Training, and Maintenance Commands. Western Area headquarters was disbanded in November 1956.
About Western Area Command (RAAF) in brief
Western Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. It was formed in January 1941, and controlled RAAF units located in Western Australia. Its aircraft conducted anti-submarine operations throughout the war, and attacked targets in the Dutch East Indies during the Borneo campaign in 1945. Its responsibilities were subsumed in February 1954 by the RAAF’s new functional commands: Home, Training, and Maintenance Commands. Western Area headquarters was disbanded in November 1956. RAAF Headquarters had maintained control of Western Australian units pending the area’s formation, but later split them into semi-geographical, semi-functional groups. In November 1941, all available aircraft from Nos. 14 and 25 Squadrons, as well as eight Avro Ansons from No. 4 Service Flying Training School, took part in the search for HMAS Sydney after it was sunk by the German raider Kormoran. 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 southerly areas centred on patrol and anti-marine warfare, while the northern commands concentrated on air defence and offensive bombing. Aircraft from Western Area made their first attack on 2 March, but it had not identified the USS Sargo, which was damaged but continued on an ongoing patrols. The RAAF often had to depart without the latest intelligence reports on Allied shipping, and could in any case divert from their planned routes to make out for observers in fast-moving aircraft. It often did not always recognise Allied ships’ crews even when the latter employed their Aldis lamps to identify themselves. The latter employed de Havilland Moth and DH 84 Dragon aircraft, operating de Haviland DH 84s and DH84s, and was often difficult for Allied ships to recognise themselves when the aircraft were on a mission. The area command continued to operate after the war,. but its assets and staffing were much reduced. By mid-1941, RAAF. Headquarters had decided to form training units in the southern and eastern states. This led to the establishment of No.1 Group in Melbourne, covering Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and No.2 Group in Sydney, covering New South. Wales and Queensland.
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This page is based on the article Western Area Command (RAAF) published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
