Western Area Command (RAAF)

Western Area Command
Provisional RAAF area command boundaries, February 1940
Active	1941–56
Allegiance	Australia
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Air defence Aerial reconnaissance Protection of adjacent sea lanes
Garrison/HQ	Perth
Engagements	World War II
Commanders
Notable commanders	Hippolyte De La Rue (1941–42) Raymond Brownell (1942–45) Colin Hannah (1945, 1946) Douglas Wilson (1945) Bill Garing (1946–48) William Hely (1951–53)

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 at Perth, Western Area Command was primarily 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. Western Area Command continued to operate following the end of the war, before its responsibilities were subsumed in 1954 by the RAAF's new functional command-and-control system; the headquarters was disbanded two years later.

Prior to World War II, the Royal Australian Air Force was small enough for all its elements to be directly controlled by RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne. After war broke out in September 1939, the Air Force began to decentralise its command structure, commensurate with expected increases in manpower and units. 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. The roles of these area commands were air defence, protection of adjacent sea lanes, and aerial reconnaissance. Each was led by an Air Officer Commanding (AOC) responsible for the administration and operations of all air bases and units within his boundary.