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, and Maintenance Commands. The area headquarters was disbanded in December 1956 and re-formed as Headquarters RAAF Townsville.
Northern Area was split into North-Western Area (NWA) and North-Eastern Area (NEA) following the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941, to counter distinct threats to Northern Australia and New Guinea, respectively.[1][4] Air Commodore Frank Lukis, formerly in charge of Northern Area, was NEA's inaugural AOC, taking responsibility for RAAF operations against the Japanese in New Guinea, New Britain and surrounding islands.[5][6] His headquarters staff numbered 248.[7]
On 20January 1942, over 100Japanese aircraft attacked Rabaul, destroying or badly damaging six CAC Wirraways and killing or wounding eleven crewmen of No.24 Squadron under Wing Commander John Lerew.[8][9] The next day, NEA headquarters sent a signal to Lerew ordering him to keep his airfield open; Lerew, with only two Wirraways left, replied using a variant of the legendary ancient gladiatorial phrase to honour an emperor, "Morituri vos salutamus" ("We who are about to die salute you"). Ignoring a further message from headquarters to abandon his squadron and escape in a Lockheed Hudson bomber, Lerew began evacuating staff to Port Moresby, New Guinea, on 22January.[9][10]
Air Commodore Lukis (centre), with Group Captain Garing (left), hands over North-Eastern Area Command to Group Captain Cobby in August 1942
No.33 Squadron, operating ex-QantasShort Empire flying boats and several smaller transports, was raised in NEA on 19February 1942.[11][12] Earlier that month, Lukis warned higher command of the poor state of preparedness and low morale of Australian Army troops at Port Moresby, due to lack of air cover and apparent lack of interest from government echelons.[13] On 25February, Nos.3 and 4Fighter Sector Headquarters were established at Townsville and Port Moresby, respectively, to coordinate fighter operations.[14]Horn Island, in the Torres Strait, was raided by the Japanese on 14March.[15] Three days later, seventeen P-40 Kittyhawks of No.75 Squadron, recently formed at Townsville, deployed to Port Moresby.[16] Commanded by Squadron Leader John Jackson, the squadron suffered heavy losses in the ensuing battle. At one point NEA headquarters gave Jackson permission to withdraw but he refused, and the squadron was eventually credited with destroying thirty-five Japanese aircraft in the air and on the ground, securing Port Moresby until relieved by the 35th and 36th Squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), operating P-39 Airacobras.[17][18]
Several USAAF bomber formations operated under NEA's control in early 1942, including A-24 Banshees of the 8th Bombardment Squadron out of Port Moresby, and B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 435th Bombardment Squadron (initially known as the "Kangaroo Squadron") out of Townsville.[19] As of 20April, operational authority over all RAAF combat infrastructure, including area commands, was invested in the newly established Allied Air Forces (AAF) Headquarters under South West Pacific Area Command (SWPA).[20][21] One result of this was the integration of USAAF and RAAF staff at area headquarters. According to the official history of the RAAF, though "more a diplomatic gesture than a practical method of war organisation", it gave personnel from the two services the opportunity to quickly become acclimatised to each other and "in North-Eastern Area, as an example, the atmosphere was happy and the staff extremely cooperative".[22] Following the Battle of the Coral Sea in May, USAAF units no longer operated under RAAF control in the NEA but were commanded directly by senior American officers of the AAF; overall responsibility for operational tasking in NEA transferred to the AAF at the end of July.[23]
No.11 Squadron Catalina at Port Moresby
NEA's operational headquarters, a reinforced concrete bunker known as Building81, was completed in May 1942. Located on Green Street, Townsville, at the base of Castle Hill, it was topped with a suburban house to mislead enemy aircraft.[24] The same month, Eastern Area Command was formed, taking control of units in New South Wales and southern Queensland from Southern Area and NEA.[25][26] This left NEA in command of Nos.24, 33 and 76 Squadrons, as well as No.3 Fighter Sector Headquarters, at Townsville; No.100 Squadron at Cairns; No. 32 Squadron at Horn Island; and Nos.11, 20 and 75Squadrons, as well as No.4 Fighter Sector Headquarters, at Port Moresby.[27] The Japanese raided Townsville four times between 25 and 31 July; most bombs fell in the sea or the hills causing only one casualty, an injured child.[28] NEA's boundaries were fine-tuned on 19August: a portion of Queensland within the Barkly Tableland and the Haslingden and Heywood districts was assigned to the control of North-Western Area.[29] Lukis handed over command of NEA to Group Captain (later Air Commodore) Harry Cobby on 25August.[30] By the end of the month, the headquarters staff numbered 684.[31] No.75 Squadron, replenished after its defence of Port Moresby, and No.76 Squadron, deployed north from Townsville and also flying Kittyhawks, played what senior Australian Army commanders described as the "decisive" role in the Battle of Milne Bay in New Guinea during August and September 1942.[32] During the battle, Cobby exercised overall command of the RAAF units from NEA headquarters, while their efforts were coordinated on the ground by Group Captain Bill Garing, NEA's senior air staff officer.[33]
On 1September 1942, No.9 (Operational) Group was formed at Port Moresby as a mobile strike force to move forward with Allied advances in the Pacific, in contrast to the static, defensive nature of the area commands.[34][35] It took over all units in New Guinea previously operating under NEA Command. NEA initially retained administrative control of No.9 Group but, on 1January 1943, the group was made independent of the area command and its administration became the responsibility of RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne.[30] September 1942 also saw the formation of RAAF Command, led by Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock, to oversee the majority of Australian flying units in the SWPA.[36][37] Bostock exercised control of air operations through the area commands, although RAAF Headquarters continued to hold administrative authority over all Australian units.[38] He personally coordinated operations when they involved more than one area command, for instance when the fighter squadrons of both NWA and NEA were required to repulse a major attack.[39]No.42 (Radar) Wing was formed at Townsville in February 1943, and the following month took control of all radar stations in NEA.[40] As of April 1943, the area command directly controlled four squadrons tasked primarily with anti-submarine warfare: No.7 Squadron, flying Bristol Beaufort reconnaissance-bombers out of Ross River; No.9 Squadron, a fleet co-operation unit flying Supermarine Seagulls from Bowen; and Nos.11 and 20Squadrons, flying reconnaissance and bombing missions with PBY Catalinas from Cairns.[41]
Air Commodore Summers (left), who succeeded Air Commodore Cobby as AOC North-Eastern Area Command, with staff in Townsville, May 1944
In early 1943, Japan was still believed to be capable of invading, or at least bombing, the Torres Strait islands, and NEA had only No.7 Squadron, now operating from Horn Island, to counter the threat. It was reinforced in April by No.84 Squadron, flying CAC Boomerang fighters.[42] The same month, No.72 Wing was formed at Townsville, before deploying to Merauke, New Guinea. Controlling No.84 Squadron, No.86 Squadron (flying Kittyhawks), and No.12 Squadron (Vultee Vengeance dive bombers), the wing was responsible for Torres Strait's air defence, as well as offensive operations against infrastructure and shipping in Dutch New Guinea. In October, No.84 Squadron converted to Kittyhawks and transferred to the newly formed No.75 Wing, which was given responsibility for units at Horn Island, Thursday Island, and Higgins Field on Cape York Peninsula.[43][44] In February 1944, No.75 Wing headquarters moved from Horn Island to Higgins Field, where it was soon joined by other units under its control, Nos.7 and 23Squadrons; the latter operated Vengeances until being declared non-operational in June, before re-equipping with B-24 Liberators for duty in North-Western Area.[45][46] By May, NEA's order of battle on the Australian mainland consisted of Nos.7, 9, 13 (operating Lockheed Venturas from Cooktown), 20 and 23Squadrons.[44]
Cobby served as AOC NEA until November 1943, handing over to Air Commodore John Summers, who held command for the remainder of the war.[5] By the end of November, NEA headquarters staff numbered 499, including ninety-seven officers.[47] NEA's Catalinas joined aircraft of No.9 Group in support of the US invasion of New Britain in December 1943 and January 1944.[48] The Catalinas also conducted mine-laying operations around the Timor Sea in the lead-up to the landings at Hollandia and Aitape in April 1944.[49] That month, No.9 Group, which had become a static garrison force similar to the area commands on mainland Australia, was renamed Northern Command and given responsibility for RAAF units in New Guinea.[50][51] In August, No.75 Wing was disbanded and its units became the direct responsibility of NEA headquarters.[52] The same month, No.76 Wing headquarters, formed at Townsville in January and subsequently based at Cairns, was transferred to Darwin, Northern Territory.[53][54] There it came under the control of NWA headquarters and oversaw operations by three Catalina squadrons, including No.20.[55][56] No.42 Wing disbanded in October 1944, following a decision to assign control of RAAF radar stations to mobile fighter control units or similar formations.[57] By the end of February 1945, NEA headquarters staff numbered 743, including 127 officers.[58] No.72 Wing headquarters transferred to Townsville in May that year, and disbanded a month later.[54]
Post-war activity and disbandment
RAAF area command boundaries in 1947. The geographical command-and-control organisation was superseded by a functional system in 1953–1954.
On 2 September 1945, following the end of the Pacific War, South West Pacific Area was dissolved and the RAAF again assumed full control of all its operational elements.[59] By the end of the month, NEA headquarters staff numbered 526, including ninety-eight officers.[60] The Air Force shrank dramatically as personnel were demobilised and units disbanded; most of the RAAF's bases and aircraft employed in operations after the war were situated within Eastern Area's sphere of control in New South Wales and southern Queensland.[61] NEA headquarters staff at the end of 1945 totalled 227, including sixty-three officers.[62]
In September 1946, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal George Jones, 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.[63][64] Northern Command (redesignated Northern Area in 1945) was dissolved in February 1947.[53] By 1949, NEA headquarters was located in Sturt Street, Townsville.[64]No.10 Squadron was based at Townsville from March that year, operating Avro Lincolns over the Pacific and Australia's northern approaches in the maritime reconnaissance and search-and-rescue roles.[65][66] Group Captain (later Air Commodore) Ian McLachlan was appointed AOC NEA in September 1951;[67][68] he served two years in the post before handing over to acting Air Commodore Patrick Heffernan.[69]
Commencing 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, and Maintenance Commands—assumed control of all operations, training and maintenance from North-Eastern Area Command.[3][70] NEA headquarters remained in existence but only, according to the Melbourne Argus, as one of Home Command's "remote control points".[71] It was disbanded on 3December 1956, and was succeeded by Headquarters RAAF Townsville (Headquarters Tactical Transport Group from June 1988, and Headquarters Operational Support Group from February 1991).[72][73]
As of 2009, the former NEA operational headquarters in Building81, Green Street, housed Townsville's State Emergency Service group.[24]
Order of battle
Flight Lieutenant Les Jackson (second left), brother of Squadron Leader John Jackson, with fellow pilots of No.75 Squadron in Port Moresby, August 1942
↑ "New RAAF chief for North-Eastern Area". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Townsville, Queensland. 9 September 1953. p.3. Retrieved 2 July 2016– via National Library of Australia.
No. 75 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter unit based at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. The squadron was formed in 1942 and saw extensive action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. It was disbanded in 1948, but reformed the following year and operated jet aircraft throughout the Cold War. The squadron was based at Malta from 1952 to 1954, flying de Havilland Vampires, and Malaysia from 1968 to 1983, with Dassault Mirage IIIs, before returning to Australia.
No. 20 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) support squadron. Coming under the control of No. 96 Wing, it is responsible for the management of the airfield at RAAF Base Woomera, South Australia. The squadron originated as a maritime patrol unit during World War II. Raised in August 1941, it operated PBY Catalina and Short Empire flying boats from bases in New Guinea, Queensland and the Northern Territory, conducting search-and-rescue, mine-laying, anti-submarine and bombing missions against Japanese targets in the Pacific theatre. Following the conclusion of hostilities, the squadron was disbanded in March 1946. It was reactivated as an airfield support squadron in April 2015.
No. 9 Operational Group was a major Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) formation providing fighter, ground-attack and anti-shipping support to the Allies in the South West Pacific theatre during World War II. Established in September 1942, it acted as a mobile striking force independent of the RAAF's static area commands. As the war in the Pacific progressed, No. 9 Operational Group itself developed into an area command called Northern Command, responsible for garrisoning New Guinea.
Air Commodore Francis William Fellowes (Frank) Lukis, CBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). A veteran of World War I, he first saw combat as a soldier in the Australian Imperial Force at Gallipoli. In 1917, Lukis transferred to the Australian Flying Corps and flew with No. 1 Squadron in the Middle East, where he was twice mentioned in despatches. A member of the Australian Air Corps following the war, he transferred to the fledgling RAAF in 1921, and became the first commanding officer of the newly re-formed No. 3 Squadron at RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, in 1925.
Air Vice Marshal Allan Leslie Walters, CB, CBE, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Victoria and raised in Western Australia, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, before transferring to the RAAF in 1928. He was one of the service's leading flying instructors and aerobatic pilots between the wars, and was appointed to his first squadron command in 1937. Over the course of World War II, Walters led No. 1 Squadron in Singapore, No. 1 (Fighter) Wing in Darwin, Northern Territory, No. 72 Wing in Dutch New Guinea, and Northern Command in Papua New Guinea. He was decorated with the Air Force Cross in 1941 for his work with No. 1 Squadron, and mentioned in despatches in 1944 for his service with No. 72 Wing.
No. 73 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing of World War II. It was formed in February 1943 at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, as part of No. 9 Operational Group. The wing initially comprised three attack squadrons flying CAC Wirraways, Douglas Bostons, and Bristol Beaufighters, with which it took part in the New Guinea campaign until mid-year. It was then reorganised with three fighter squadrons operating P-40 Kittyhawks and Supermarine Spitfires; in this form it saw action in the New Britain and Admiralty Islands campaigns through 1943–44. The wing was disbanded at Los Negros in August 1944, and by the beginning of 1945 its squadrons had been absorbed into other RAAF wings under No. 10 Operational Group.
No. 76 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing that operated during World War II. Initially based in Far North Queensland, its headquarters transferred to Darwin, Northern Territory, in September 1944 to take control of three PBY Catalina units: Nos. 20, 42, and 43 Squadrons. The prime task of these squadrons was minelaying in the South West Pacific theatre, and they conducted these operations as far afield as Java, Borneo, the Philippines, and China. As well as minelaying, No. 76 Wing's Catalinas flew bombing, patrol, and transport missions, and dropped millions of propaganda leaflets in the closing months of the war. The wing headquarters disbanded in November 1945.
No. 72 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing that operated during World War II. It was formed in April 1943 at Townsville, Queensland, as part of North-Eastern Area Command. Led by Group Captain Charles Eaton, the wing soon deployed to Merauke, Dutch New Guinea, where it comprised three squadrons flying CAC Boomerang and P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, and A-31 Vengeance dive bombers. Eaton was succeeded by Group Captain Allan Walters in mid-1943. No. 72 Wing took part in the defence of Torres Strait, undertaking interception, patrol and occasional ground-attack and anti-shipping duties. By July 1944, its original squadrons had all been disbanded or transferred to other operational formations. No. 120 Squadron, which had arrived in May 1944, operating Kittyhawks, remained at Merauke until February 1945. The wing headquarters returned to Australia that May, and disbanded the following month.
Leslie Douglas (Les) Jackson, DFC & Bar was an Australian fighter ace of World War II, credited with five aerial victories. Born in Brisbane, he was a businessman when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Reserve in 1937. Called up for active duty shortly after the outbreak of war in September 1939, he served with No. 23 Squadron in Australia before posting to the South West Pacific theatre with No. 21 Squadron in Singapore. In March 1942 he joined No. 75 Squadron in Port Moresby, New Guinea, flying P-40 Kittyhawks under the command of his eldest brother, John. During the ensuing Battle of Port Moresby, Les shot down four Japanese aircraft.
RAAF Command was the main operational arm of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. The command was formed in September 1942 and by April 1943 comprised 27 squadrons, including units from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as Australia. Coming under the operational authority of Allied Air Forces Headquarters in the South West Pacific Area, RAAF Command exercised control of its units through geographically based area commands in Australia and, later, New Guinea, as well as large mobile formations including the Australian First Tactical Air Force. The command reached a strength of 41 squadrons in October 1944. From the time of its establishment, until its disbandment in September 1945, it was led by Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock.
Air Vice Marshal Alan Moorehouse Charlesworth, CBE, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Tasmania, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and served with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in Queensland before transferring to the Air Force in 1925. Most of his pre-war flying career was spent with No. 1 Squadron at RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria. In 1932 he undertook a series of survey flights around Australia, earning the Air Force Cross. Charlesworth's early wartime commands included No. 2 Squadron at Laverton, and RAAF Station Pearce in Western Australia. Appointed Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Eastern Area in December 1943, he was promoted temporary air commodore the following year and took over as AOC North-Western Area in Darwin, Northern Territory.
Eastern Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in May 1942, and controlled units located in New South Wales and southern Queensland. Headquartered in Sydney, Eastern Area Command's responsibilities included air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries. Its flying units operated fighters, reconnaissance bombers, and dive bombers, and concentrated on convoy escort, maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare. The size of the area was such that the RAAF twice considered splitting it, but nothing came of this.
Peter Jeffrey, was a senior officer and fighter ace in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Tenterfield, New South Wales, he joined the RAAF active reserve in 1934, and transferred to the Permanent Air Force (PAF) shortly before World War II. Posted to the Middle East in July 1940, Jeffrey saw action with No. 3 Squadron and took command of the unit the following year, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for his energy and fighting skills. He was appointed wing leader of No. 234 Wing RAF in November 1941, and became an ace the same month with his fifth solo victory. The next month he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his achievements, which included rescuing a fellow pilot who had crash landed in the desert.
Northern Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in May 1941, and covered northern Australia and Papua. Headquartered at Townsville, Queensland, Northern Area Command was responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries. In January 1942, following the outbreak of the Pacific War, it was divided into North-Western and North-Eastern Area Commands, to counter Japanese threats to northern Australia and Papua, respectively.
Northern Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Established in April 1944, it evolved from No. 9 Operational Group, which had been the RAAF's primary mobile formation in the South West Pacific theatre since September 1942, but had lately become a garrison force in New Guinea. Northern Command was headquartered initially at Milne Bay and then, from August 1944, in Madang. It conducted operations in New Guinea, New Britain, and Bougainville until the end of the war. Re-designated Northern Area in December 1945, it was headquartered in Port Moresby from March 1946 and disbanded in February 1947.
Western Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in January 1941, and controlled RAAF units located in Western Australia. Headquartered in Perth, Western Area Command was responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries. Its aircraft conducted anti-submarine operations throughout the war, and attacked targets in the Dutch East Indies during the Borneo campaign in 1945.
Area commands were the major operational and administrative formations of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) between 1940 and 1954. Established in response to the outbreak of World War II, they underpinned the Air Force's geographically based command-and-control system for the duration of the conflict and into the early years of the Cold War, until being superseded by a functional control system made up of Home, Training, and Maintenance Commands.
Southern Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in March 1940, and initially controlled units located in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and southern New South Wales. Headquartered in Melbourne, Southern Area Command was responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries. From 1942 its operational responsibilities excluded New South Wales.
North-Western Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Its wartime sphere of operations included the Northern Territory, adjacent portions of Queensland and Western Australia, and the Dutch East Indies. The command was formed in January 1942, following the outbreak of the Pacific War, from the western part of Northern Area Command, which had covered all of northern Australia and Papua. Headquartered at Darwin, North-Western Area Command was initially responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries.
No. 75 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing that operated during World War II. It was formed in October 1943 at Townsville, Queensland, under North-Eastern Area Command. The wing soon deployed to Horn Island to take control of RAAF units based there and at Thursday Island and Cape York Peninsula. Responsible for air defence and maritime patrol in the Torres Strait, No. 75 Wing's flying units operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, Bristol Beaufort reconnaissance bombers, and A-31 Vengeance dive bombers. The wing was disbanded in August 1944.
Australian War Memorial (AWM) (1995). Squadrons, Formations & Units of the Royal Australian Air Force and Their Deployment. Canberra: Unpublished monograph held by AWM Research Centre.
RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 4: Maritime and Transport Units. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN978-0-644-42796-8.
RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 5: Radar Units. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN978-0-644-42797-5.
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