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 Bill Bostock (right) with Australian I Corps commander Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead (centre) and US Rear Admiral Forrest B. Royal at Morotai, April 1945
South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the Dutch East Indies, East Timor, Australia, the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, and the western part of the Solomon Islands. It primarily consisted of United States and Australian forces, although Dutch, Filipino, British, and other Allied forces also served in the SWPA.
General Douglas MacArthur and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin.
Command Organization, Southwest Pacific Area, July 1943
Royal Australian Air Force chief, Air Vice Marshal George Jones (left) meeting the Allied air forces commander in the SWPA, Lieutenant General George Kenney (right) in mid-1945, in Manila.
Allied Naval Forces SWPA, commander Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (centre left) with MacArthur (centre) on 28 February 1944 on USS Phoenix during the bombardment of Los Negros Island, at the commencement of the Admiralty Islands campaign.