Western Area Command (RAAF)

Western Area Command
Provisional RAAF area command boundaries, February 1940
Active	1941–1956
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 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.

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. Western Area headquarters was disbanded in November 1956.