North-Eastern Area Command (RAAF)

North-Eastern Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. For most of its existence it covered central and northern Queensland, and Papua New Guinea. It was formed in January 1942 from the eastern part of the former Northern Area Command, which had covered the whole of northern Australia and Papua. Headquartered at Townsville, Queensland, North-Eastern Area Command was primarily responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries. It 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.

History

World War II

Area commands as planned in February 1940

North-Eastern Area Command was formed at Townsville, Queensland, on 15 January 1942, taking over the eastern portion of what was previously Northern Area Command.^[1] Northern Area had been established on 8 May 1941 as one of the RAAF's geographically based command-and-control zones, and covered northern New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Papua.^[2] The roles of the 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.^[2][3]

The outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941 led to Northern Area being split into North-Western and North-Eastern Areas, to counter Japanese threats to Northern Australia and New Guinea, respectively.^[1][4] Air Commodore Frank Lukis, formerly in charge of Northern Area, was North-Eastern Area's inaugural commander.^[5] On 20 January 1942, a force of over 100 Japanese 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.^[6][7] The following day, North-Eastern Area headquarters sent a signal to Lerew ordering him to keep his airfield open, to which Lerew, with only two Wirraways left, replied using the legendary ancient gladiatorial phrase to honour their 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, on 22 January Lerew began evacuating staff to Port Moresby, New Guinea.^[7]

Air Commodore Lukis (centre), with Group Captain Garing (left), hands over North-Eastern Area Command to Group Captain Cobby in August 1942

In February 1942, 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; in March, seventeen P-40 Kittyhawks of No. 75 Squadron, newly formed under North-Eastern Area, were deployed to the region.^[8] Commanded by Squadron Leader John Jackson, the squadron suffered heavy losses in the ensuing Battle of Port Moresby but was credited with destroying thirty-five Japanese aircraft in the air and on the ground, securing the town until the arrival of reinforcements from the United States Army Air Forces.^[9]

As of 20 April 1942, 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).^[10][11] North-Eastern Area's operational headquarters, a reinforced concrete bunker known as Building 81, was completed in May. Located on Green Street, Townsville, at the base of Castle Hill, it was topped with a suburban house to mislead enemy aircraft.^[12] The same month, Eastern Area Command was formed, taking control of units in New South Wales and southern Queensland.^[13] Lukis handed over command of North-Eastern Area to Group Captain (later Air Commodore) Harry Cobby on 25 August.^[14] No. 75 Squadron, replenished after its defence of Port Moresby, and No. 76 Squadron, deployed north from Townsville, 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.^[15] Cobby exercised overall command of the RAAF units from North-Eastern Area headquarters, while their efforts were coordinated on the ground by Group Captain Bill Garing, North-Eastern Area's senior air staff officer.^[16]

Air Commodore Summers (left), who succeeded Cobby as AOC North-Eastern Area Command, with staff in Townsville, May 1944

On 1 September 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.^[17][18] It took over all units in New Guinea previously operating under North-Eastern Area Command. North-Eastern Area initially retained administrative control of No. 9 Group but, on 1 January 1943, this became the responsibility of RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne.^[14] 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.^[19][20] Bostock exercised control of air operations through the area commands, although RAAF Headquarters continued to hold overarching administrative authority over all Australian units.^[21] At this stage Japan was still believed to be capable of invading, or at least bombing, the Torres Strait islands, and North-Eastern Area controlled only No. 7 Squadron, flying Bristol Beaufort reconnaissance-bombers from Horn Island, to counter the threat. It was reinforced in April 1943 by No. 84 Squadron, flying CAC Boomerang fighters.^[22] The same month, No. 72 Wing was formed at Townsville, before deploying to Merauke, New Guinea. Controlling No. 84 Squadron, No. 86 Squadron (flying Kittyhawk fighters), 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.^[23]

Following the formation of No. 72 Wing, North-Eastern Area directly controlled four squadrons tasked primarily with anti-submarine warfare: No. 7 Squadron, now operating out of Ross River; No. 9 Squadron, a fleet co-operation unit flying Supermarine Seagulls from Bowen; and Nos. 11 and 20 Squadrons, flying reconnaissance and bombing missions with PBY Catalinas from Cairns.^[24] Cobby served as AOC North-Eastern Area until November 1943, handing over to Air Commodore J.H. Summers, who held command for the remainder of the war.^[5] North-Eastern Area's Catalinas joined aircraft of No. 9 Group in support of the US invasion of New Britain in December 1943 and January 1944.^[25] 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.^[26] The success of the Catalinas' mining operations over the previous year led RAAF Command in September 1944 to commit additional resources to the campaign, despatching No. 76 Wing headquarters, based at Cairns since January, to Darwin, Northern Territory, where it oversaw operations by three Catalina squadrons, including No. 20.^[27][28]

Post-war disbandment

Following the end of the Pacific War in August 1945, SWPA was dissolved and RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne again assumed full control of all its operational formations, including the area commands.^[29] 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.^[30][31] By 1949, North-Eastern Area Command headquarters was located in Sturt Street, Townsville.^[31] Air Commodore Ian McLachlan was appointed AOC in September 1951 and served two years in the post before handing over to acting Air Commodore P.G. Heffernan.^[32][33]

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][34] North-Eastern Area remained in existence, but only as one of Home Command's "remote control points".^[35] The headquarters was finally disbanded on 3 December 1956.^[36]

As of 2009, the former North-Eastern Area headquarters in Building 81, Green Street, housed Townsville's State Emergency Service group.^[12]

Order of battle

As of 30 April 1942, North-Eastern Area's order of battle comprised:^[37]

• RAAF Station Townsville
  • No. 24 (General Purpose) Squadron
  • No. 33 (Transport) Squadron
  • No. 76 (Fighter) Squadron
• RAAF Station Amberley
  • No 23 (General Purpose) Squadron
• RAAF Station Port Moresby
  • No. 11 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron
  • No. 20 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron
  • No. 32 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron
  • No. 75 (Fighter) Squadron
• No. 3 Fighter Sector Headquarters, Townsville
• No. 4 Fighter Sector Headquarters, Port Moresby

Notes

References

• 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. 
• Ashworth, Norman (2000). How Not to Run an Air Force! Volume 1 – Narrative. Canberra: RAAF Air Power Studies Centre. ISBN 0-642-26550-X. 
• Gillison, Douglas (1962). Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Three (Air) Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 2000369. 
• Helson, Peter (2010). The Private Air Marshal. Canberra: Air Power Development Centre. ISBN 978-1-920800-50-5. 
• Odgers, George (1968) [1957]. Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Three (Air) Volume II – Air War Against Japan 1943–1945. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 246580191. 
• RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 1: Introduction, Bases, Supporting Organisations. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42792-2. 
• Stephens, Alan (ed.) (1993). The RAAF in the Southwest Pacific Area 1942–1945. Canberra: RAAF Air Power Studies Centre. ISBN 0-642-19827-6. 
• Stephens, Alan (1995). Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946–1971. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42803-1. 
• Stephens, Alan (2006) [2001]. The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555541-4.